The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1889-06-08
THE FIRE BEYOND CONTROL
And Nothing Could Cheek the
Course of the Destroyer,
A Long List Of Valuable Build-
ings Swept by the
Flames.
Business and Resident Part Of the City
Burned and Thousands Of People
HOmeless-Damag Estimated at
$s5,OOOO,OOO to $4O,OOO,OOO.

SEATTLE, w, T., June 1.-THE entire
business portion OF Seattle Is now moth.
ing but smoking ruins. About 8 o'clock
yesterday afternoon some turpentine
caught FIRE in the basement OF a two
story frame building on the Southwest
corner Of Front and Madison streets,
The building, which was owned by Mrs.
Margaret ], Pentens, and the front story,
which was leased by the Seattle Shoe
Company and the upper floor being oc-
cupied for offices, was soon ablaze. An
alarm was instantly turned in and the
volunteer fire department responded
promptly, hutit was impossible to make
any headway against the flames. This
building, like most Of tho others Of It's
kind In the business centre, was not de.
tached but was a corner one OF row OF
frame buildings, all Joined together, and
OF various heights. ValiantIy did the
fire department fight the fire, but with.
out avail, for the buildings OF tinder
were an easy prey to what within ten
minutes from the time 1t started, de.
veloped into q Conhagration. Adjoining
the frat building was a Wholesale liquor
store, Dietz 4 Meyer, and as soon as The
fire reached the barrels Of liquor It OK.
ploded with terrific report and scattered
flaming timbers far and wide.
The Denny block In which was a
wholesale confectionery store, Gilmore
& 90. s real estate o. flee and several other
establishments, including q number OF
professional offices and some lodging
apartment, wer0 soon licked up com.
pletely, This cleared out the entire
square. The efforts to flood the Cole.
man building on Front street, to the
South, were utterly useless, for tho flames
leaped aeross Marion street with greedy
rapid!ty 70 two saloons, the Palace saloon
and the Opera House saloon, and in less
than thirty minptep the square was
burned to asheS, taking In Addison s.
smith'g grocery, Merchant'a wholesale
confectionery and q fruit store, ]. w.
Lang y Col drug store, John spencer's
plumbing and steam fitting establish
ment, r. ], Graham's tailor shop, Edgar
Bryan's pawn shop, Palace restaurant.
Senison Brothers shoe store, Gering K
0'Connell's jewelry store, shuster Bar.
Der shop, Lesly,s clothing store and Do
hully 4 MarionS clothing store. While
this square was burning the Opera House
block on the east side OF Front
street, between Madison and Marion,
aud extending up Marion hall way TO
Second street, caught Are in the upper
story. The bplldina, a fine three.story
bricS structure, owned by George i,
Frye. and valued at $4,000, soon Weld.
ed to the irrepressible tongue of fame.
With It went the Seattle pharmacy. tbe
warehouse pI the Golden Rule Bazaar
Harris 4 Co.'s large dry goods and cloth.
Ing store, Albernathy's shoe store,
Oroose 4 CO.. 9 undertaking establish.
ment, Latour's large dry goods house, n
paints and oil Establishment, clearing
pp another square.
ANOTHER BLOCK CORA
The Kenyon block, 10 the north Of
where the AFe originated had to 70 too,
Notwithstanding the wind was from the
east, little by north. In this block
was the job printing establishment Of
the Evening Times, Ven and yaughs
music store, and haries tailor Sbcp,
From the Opera block thefre was now
faGt becoming monstrous Conaagration,
swallowed up the square 10 the south,
consisting Of all the two story frame
buildings occupied BY 7. I,ohes Golden
Bula Bazaar, the California clothing
house, Gordon Bros, large tailoring
establishment, the Oriental Bazaar and
several other big concerns.
Notwithstanding the ntorIess OF the
flames the FIRE department struggled
with determination 10 save the most val.
liable portion OF Front street 10 the
south, between Columbia street and
Heslel, which contained a magnificent
row Of brick buildings Of two and three
stories high, where four banks had their
offices, the Bank OF Commerce, Mer.
chants National, First National, and
Washington Guarantee and Loan Asso.
ciation and Savings bank. This row
consists Of a corner block occupied hy
Tokles, Gingermah 4 Con- rlRanlfe
wholeBAle dry gooda emporium. Tie
| onion blopk, the Parin building the
San Fr9nClse5 clothing house, the Star
blncz, the Arcade building and Yesler
block on Central square. All the tele.
graph Offices were IN Central SQUARE, Il
was generally supposed that tho entire
water front would 20, but II was hoped,
such was inevitable, that these build.
lngs could be saved. The Safe nepoSlt
Company also had a building in this row.
ExPloSloNs PRutTLEsS.
The explosions Of giant powder were
iruitlesS 70 prevent tho awful spread Of
the relentless flame, and clouds Of blind.
Ing, buIloCating smoke. Onward The
ConHAgfatlon went, cracking, roaring
almost Bhrleking. The three Btofy
building 70 the rear Of ToklaS, genSef
man 1 Co., which Was Welton ( Co,il
Saii factory, was at, easy prey 10 the ter
fible heat and cindefs from the BURNING
Commercial mill aud lumber yAIds
The fire communicated 10 Toklas', Een
german 4 %. The water was giving on
and the streams from several llnea n
|, hose only reached the second story,
The Tacoma fire department had com,
] over from Tacoma In Blxty.two minute
on the Puget Sound Shore railroad, I'M
both departments combined were fowei
lees, and the attempts 10 blow IN MN *,
+ Union block were more dibaBlF6uS /
% we VallAnt tite fighters than 70 anyon
o else' All thls row Of buildings SuCCini
/. ed, Although their occupants had I'm
70 get out most oi their valuable ELECT
soNH or TUE LoSsRs.
x The square north gayo Wav IN lh0 n,