The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-04-22
THE ST. LOUIS HORROR.

THE ST. LOUIS HORROR.
"reminiscences Of the Rayages Of the Fire
Fiend in New Orleans.
The great calamity at St. Louis has awakened
feeling of apprehension. in regard to the perils
to life, in hotels and other public buildings Of
great height and unsafe structure, which is re-
lieving itself by various legislation and other pre-
cautions.
One OF the houses OF our General Assembly has
passed bill requiring hotel keepers to keep
constantly ON hand rope ladders, to enable
boarders and employees to escape from the higher
floors OF the buildings. There are many doubts
as to the prsotcsbility and sufficiency Of this
precautien, and the possibility Of enforcing the
requirement prescribed. Iron floors and stairs,
and bannisters and more openings, are regarded
as better securities. These, however, could not
be well enforced against the only hotels we now
have, which have been built SO many years that it
would be difficult to make such changes in their
construction. 1t may be. therefore, that the rope
ladders are the only means within the reach OF
The proprietor sof these establishments, and that
they might prove useful in such q calamity
as that which took place at the Southern
Hotel at ST. Louis. All the great hotels
built in this city during the last forty years. ex
cept one and all the theatres, except the Orleans
Opera House, have been burned. Indeed. OF the
theatres. two have been twice burned, all without
q life being lost in any case.
The st. Louis Hotel had hardly been completed,
md I'll M atr
was, of which the present barn is o vulgar repro
dnction, when it was burned in 1889. II cost q
million and quarter.
The magnificent old San Carlos Theatre, the
largest theatre in the world, except La Scala at
Milan, which had been erected at cost OF q
quarter of million of dollars by that enterpris-
ing citizen, James Fl. Caldwell, was burnt one
Sunday evening in the winter Of 1s43. The fire
was communicated by the upsetting OF q glue
pot in sn undertaker's shop in the rear Of the
theatre. The doors we're just about opening for
an opera performance, when the alarm was
given the splendid edifce was burned to the
Ground. 1T the same time the old Camp street
Theatre. the fret American theatre ever built in
the city. was partially destroyed, so as to induce
it's abandonment henceforth, as theatre, when it
Next, the American Theatre, occupying the
ground upon which the Moresque buildings now
stand, when Ludlow and Smith began their
career as theatrical msnagers, was burned in the
forties, was rebuilt and again burned, and the
ground for long time left unoccupied.
The Varieties was burned some years before
the war, was rebuilt and began q new career un.
der new name. That name was given to 1t by
the new manager, who was no less parsonage
than the famous playmaker, Dion Boucicault.
remained intact from fire until some FIVE or si1
| years after the war; when it WAS again burned
and the new location on Canal street selected fol
the cite Of the present elegant structure. which
among its other recommendations, is tie bes
arranged for the safe exit Of GROVE
in the case tf sudden alarm. OF any large
public building in the United States
The st. Charles Hotel was burntin 1858 The We
randall, most tasteful and elegant ed dos, ant
one Of the most comfortable and best arranged
hotels in the United States, from il on ST.
Charles and on Common street, was bu mt at The
same time of the st. Charles The q y was dis
covered about ii o'clock, and ragged With grsa
violence before the fire department could prccur
water and pipes which would reach he uppe
stories.
It is remarkable that in all these great fires o
buildings, which were usually crowded will
dwellers and visitors, not single life was lost
The only theatre which hsd been spared By th
fire-fend in this cty-the old Orleans Oper,
House-incurred 3 more serious casually in tn
fall of tue dress circle when the house wa
crowded, bs which several persons wer9 crushed
The old building, where the Grand Opera wa
produced on grand scale in the United States
never recovered from the shock and gloom O
this terrible disaster.
80 the people Of Richmond never were recon
ciled to the establishment of theatres with grea
elevation and between walls for many years afte
the terrible tragedy Of 1912, which has only beef
paralleled by the recent one at Brooklyn.
Mr. James 81. Caliwell, who embarked in hi
career as theatrical manager in 1917, in Virginis
encountered bitter opposition from the authori
ties of Richmond to an enterprise which he Sc
on foot for the erection of theatre in that city
He was compelled to abandon his venture, ant
could only present his fine company to tn
wealthy and highly cultivated pubic OF that thel
brilliant metropolis Of Virginia under canvass
theatrical exhibitions between walls and un
der rooted buildings more than two stories higl
being specially prohibited by an act Of the Legis
lature.
II is proof OF the deep impression produces
i by the destruction OF the Richmond Iheater il
1914 that quite recently and since the st. Loui
calamity, d vigorous inquiry has been institnte'