Morning journal and courier., 1884-01-07

and third alarm, and despite the efforts of
 the department the flames seemed deter
 mined to lay waste the very centre of the
 street. in the neighborhood of the fire. are
 situsted the finest retail dry goods and other
 establishments of like character in the city. While the department was engaged wrestling with the conhagration, another alarm sounded and another, so that at 9:30 four | fires were going at once. The fremen were terrible taxed, but they fought well and at last conquered the flames.
 The total loss from the various fires will reach at least $3Oo,00O.
 Water rrrsezing AS Soon As 1t Strikes
 the BuiIdinG-A Hard Battle For the
 Bremen.
 CLEVELAND, O., Jan. 6.-The new Park theater lies in ashes, only the walls being left standing to tell the grim tale of yesterday mornings destructive fire. The fire was first noticed by 8 woman, who saw smoke issuing from beneath the stage door, which was al most immediately followed by nd explosion that sounded like the discharge of 8 cannon. The fire department were much impedsd by the cold, the thermometer marking seven de- grees below zero. Nine steamers were play ing upon the seething, roa ring mass of fire. but just as the water coursed down the out side walls, it froze and soon enveloped the structure in coat of ice, through the win dow openings of which the furnace of flame could be seen leaping and rolling, and occa, sionally shooting forked tongues through their icy easements. The elegant stone edi- fee of the First Presbsterian church adjoin- ing soon caught and like the theater was quickly laid in ruins. The DangIsr Refining company's building. with 8 large amount of stock, was destroyed. The loss in the thea ter block will reach from $15O, 900 to $2O0,- 900, on which there was but $3O, 900 insur- ance. The loss on the church is from $5O,- 900 to $6o,O0o The George Adams Humpty Dampty company, who were playing weeks engagement in the theater, lost everything most of them saving only the clothes they wore. The thsater was handsome one, be- ing modelled after the Madison Square thea ter in New York, aad was first occupied in October. It will be rebuilt at once.
 The fire originated through the careless ness of the man charged with turning of the gas at the conclusion of last nights perform ance. gas 1e6 unQerUeaGn the stage A0Q been extinguished without being turned eff, and the gas escaped all night, completely filling the apartment. When the janitor entered in the morning he noticed 8 smell of gas, and proceeding under the stage with lighted candle in hls hand, the whole mass ienited and caused the explosion. Charles Wood, ths janitor, was hurled some twenty feet by the explosion and suffered se- were contusions about the head. gentleman who was purchasing ticket for the matinee in the afternoon was knocked out of the vestibuls of the thSater into the street, leaving his monsy behind. Louis Morsau, the contractor of the thsatsr, shut the door which connected the upper with the lower part of the stage as soon ss the sx- pIoeion occurred He held it shut, trying to keep back the flames, but the heat and smoke forced him to retire and the flames swept through the building, with astonishing velocity. Had there been anyone to open the f1oodgates with which the stage was pro- vidsd the theater could havo been saved, but it was impossible to reach them after the ex. plosion.