Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1880-02-20
. sp.e> Nv. I'm. .sn. sn. VI,

Special contracts will be made with yearly sd.
vertisers.
The Church of the Holy Trinity, Har.
lem, Nearly Destroyed,
At q littlo sfter ii O'Clock on Tuesday night,
Sergeant Armstrong aud Policeman Essn of
the Harlem police, 10 passing tho Protestant
Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity-on the
northwest c,rner of Fifth avenue and l25th
street-noticod 90 unusual quantity Of steam
escaping from the chimney. and, fearing that
there was something wrong with the heating
apparatus, called up tho sexton, j. W. Cow
perthwaitc. who lives within half block of
tho church, The Sergeant aud sexton visit I'D
the church and found tho fire beneath the boil
er raging lurcusly. and something wrong with
tho apparatus fer feeding water into tho boilor,
so that there was an inadequate how The
sexton opened tho furnace doors. drew out
scmo Of the fire, and waited until he deemed it
perfectly sato to ro-regulate tho automatic me
chanlsm governing tho feed, having done
which, he ard the Sergeant went away. They
had remained thero noaily two hours. 10 that
,imo they thoroughly searched overy part Of
the church, and found nowhere Enything to
CouSJ uIuI W. ihcEC WAS uu y Eeli VI Su0kU, 10
apparent overhcatiDg OF any Of the steam pines
winch lay beneath tho Il ,ors and in othor parts
Of the ediGc,. Sexton CoWperthwaito returned
to his house, and was ia The aot of retiring,
when the tirc alarm rang out tho number 763.
The chuIcA Vas on fire.
Tho night watchman On the Mount Morris
tower had caught sight OF the first blsz, break
iFg through small gallery window on the
l25 h street side OF the church. Sex!oo Cow
pcrthwsito ran bjck as quickly as possible. but
though not moro than four or Gso minutes
could bsve elapsed between his hearing OF the
first alarm and his return to the scene of the
co1iagrstion. the whole interior OF the building
already saemtd ab!azo aud fire was bursting
out from windows aad roof.
Eoeino No. &c was on tho ground within
throo minutes after The sounding Of the alarm,
and second asrm speedily brought moro help,
but the engines were powerless to check the fire
u1t!l 1t had consumed almost tho entire interior
OF tbe cdiGco GuG le!. little more than tho gells
stsn6iog.
judging from heiimised cVidctce5 presented
oy tho tho action Of the fro as subsequently,
seer, in sl slrrotabity started ia the east end Of
the church, near tho southern sido. aud the mcst
tensb!e theory IS 10 its cause is thst it origin
ated 10 the oVeFhea!i1g of pip5s charged With
srperhcited etoam. in c)Etacf with tho wood
work, The spectacle, when the fire Vas az its
height. WAS remarkably brilliant. All tho vim
co"5 woIo of stained geas, and the fire light cf
tho latcror, cleaning through these, spread u
wealth ct fantastic coioI1g over oil about
Vivid tints gowed upcn the snow banks 10 tho
adjacent lots, Lighted up tho taco Of the anxious
multitude gathered about, and even shouo in
md-ajr rs they were caught By the streams of
waiheE thIoWn from tho epei1cs. 1t ouo tino
there vas sound like dull explosion, but
whether it sIas caused by the burning Of the
organ bellows, aS some aVerred, or by tho fall of
s portion OF Tho 7oGf or Of q gallery, could not
be GetormioCd Whatever it vas, it s,nt huge
vo'umo Of sparks dancing up to tho zeptb,
spreading like cloud of fire oE every hand.
One By ono tho windows burst and fell 10 rat.
iiIng showers ct glass revealing 40 interior like
tnat OF az enormous furaEc,. So quickly had
The tirc spread that nothing vas saved
tiom tho body Of tho church, and from the
vestrg room in the southwest eorner beneath
tho t0wor-spproachabl by small door on
18th sirect-exoept the silver communion scr.
vice, tho great Bible, aud tho robes of the rec
ter, the Rtv DR.. Mckim. Tho magnificent
organ, which was given by the ladies' of the
congregation, at o0st of $40 900, went down
With crash 10 on abyss of FIRE, and with it
went 81 500 worth of music. the private prop
crty OF the orgaoist, MIR. Ruttcnbcr. The great
| memorial window in tho nOrthwis, corner of
The church, lt5 chief ornament, spoken of as one
OF the most besu!iful in this country, fell 10
fragments ear ly 10 the progress of tho Ito
Between the church proper and the chapel. on
lts northern SIDE, Was screen Of stained glass,
10 tour parte cpatlo of being opened upon
| Oocasion, aad this soon fell 10 ruins. admitting
| the flames to free course through the beautiful
little chapel. By this time, however, the fire
men were gaming somo control Of the flames,
and the destruction 10 the chapel IVES !ess com
plcte than 10 tho church. Within 40 hour after
the flames broke forth, the ed6oe vas q MOSS
Of ruins.
When daylight dawned, and exploration of
the ruins became practicable aud messurabIy
safe, the extent OF the calamity was readily ap,
preclsted. The walls, Of red Philadelphia
pressed brick, With cream colored Milwaukee
brick buttresScs and trimmings. had not With
stood the lire as Il was hoped they would. The
front or eastern one had sagged sixteen iuches
| out OF plumb at the top, aud ragged cracks 10
tbs southern demonstrated it's insecurity. The
tea iron CQrin!han columns Of the navo sti
stood 10 pl;ce, but the ratiers, grdcrs, and king
pos's, so lately bright With gold and blue and
scarlof, lay lG black masses of charcoal, and the
arches springiug from the columns we're cracked.
Reading desk, pulpit, and chancel rail were
destroyed, and cbasm 10 the Hocr at the east
eud showed where the organ had fallen. The
peTs were all burned, the roofs had vaoished
and the floor was gone 10 msnY places. 10 tbs
chapel the STATS were only partly destroyed, bu
the hoor vas hurned through. and every por
iioB, OF the woodwork showed that the FIRE here
though brief 10 continuapc,, was very ierc.
while it lasted. The Bible class room back o.
tho chapel snd the infant Sunday school clas
loom above II had bsen severely Ecorcbed. bu
many books Tere found there in oOly singec
conditicp. The volumes of the Sunday s,hoo
library, taken from lower front room. yer,
badly damaged by both FIRE and water, and tb,
pastors study, above the library room, Wa
com nplotely wrecked. a piano, kept 10 th
chapel for The uso of the Sunday school, wbicl
| assembled here Was oharred itz kevs war