The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1889-06-15
SEATTLE WIPED our.
&xtV-four Acres of Business Blocks
Swept Away.
The Town Suffers a Loss Estimated at
$l2,00O,000.
Thousands of People Made Homeless by the
Confagration.
Chfcs5o's Disastrous Visitation Repeated
in the Far West.

SEATTLE, w. t., June lit is now es-
timated that the total loss to the city
by the fire which started Yesterday af-
ternoon, in buildings alone, is $40, ,0O0,-
COO, and that all personal losses will
| probably reach 81 000, 600. 1t is thought
| many persons musU have perished in
| the flames. Giant powder was used to
| blow up buildings in hope OF staying
| the progress of the flames, but to no eff
| feet. 1t is reported two men have been
| lynched for stealing. The fire is still
| burning.
The entire business portion of Seattle
| is nothing but smoking ruins. About 3
P. NJ. yesterday some turpentIne caught
ire In the basement OF two-story frame
building on the southwest corner of
Front and Madison Streets. The build
ing WIS owned by Mrs. Margaret J. Pom
thus. The volunteer fire department
was unable to make any headway against
the flames. This building, like most
| OF the others of Its kind in the business
center, was not detached, but was cor
ner one of row of frame buildings all
joined together, and of various heights.
Naliantly did the fire department fight
| the fire, but without avail, for the build
ings of tinder were an easy prey to what,
within ten minutes from the time 1T
| started, developed into a contlagration.
Adjoining the first building WAS a
wholesale liquor store, Dletz & Meyer,
and as soon as the fire reached the bar
| rels of liquor exploded with terrific
| force, and scattered flaming timbers far
and wide. The Denny Block, in which
was wholesale confectionery store,
| Gilmore & Co.'s real estate office, and
| several other establishments, including
| a number of professional offices, and
some lodging apartments, were soon
| licked up completely. This cleared out
| the entire square.
The efforts to flood the Coleman build
| ing, on Front Street, to the south, were
utterly useless, for the flames leaped
across Marion Street with greedy rapid
ity, TO two saloons, the Palace saloon
and Opera saloon, and in less than
| thirty minutes another square was
burned to ashes, taking in Addison S.
| Smiths grocery, Merchants wholesale
confectionery and a fruit store, ]. w.
| Lang & Co.'s drug store, John Spencer's
| plumbing and steam fitting establish
| ment, r. ]. Graham's tailor shop. Ed
ward Bryan'H pawn shop. Palace res
| taurant Semison Bros. shoe store, Ger
| ing q O'konnelPs lewelry store,
| Shuster's barber shop, Lesly's clothing
store, and Dohully q Marion's clothing
/ store.
While this square was burning, the
| Opera House Block, on the east side of
| Front Street, between Madison and Ma
rion, and extending up Marion half way
| TO Second Street. caught fire in the up
| per story. This building, fine three
| story brick structure owned by George
f. Frye, and valued at Sl20, ,000 soon
| yielded 10 the irrepresslble tongue of
| flame. With it went the Seattle phar-
macy, the warehouse of the Golden
| Rule Bazaar, Harris & Co.'s large
| dry goods and clothing store,
| Abernathy's shoe store, Croose & CO.
| undertaking establishment, Latour's
| large dry goods house, Broadman's
| paints and oils establishment, clearing
| north of where the fire originated, had
| to go too, notwithstanding the wind
vas from the east, little by north. In
| this block was the job printing estab-
| lishment of the Evening Times, Venen
| s. Naugh's music store, and Barrie 8 tail
| or shop.
From the Opera House Block the fire,
now fast becoming a monstrous contia-
| grafton, swallowed up the square to the
| south, consisting OF ali the two-story
| frame buildings occupied by f. Lobe's
| Golden RGie Bazaar, the California
| Clothing House, Gordon Bros large
| tailoring establishment, the Oriental
| Bazaar, and several other big concerns.
Notwithstanding the progress of the
| flames, the fire department struggled
| with determination to save the most
valuable portion of Front Street to the
| South, between Columbia Street and
| Yesler, which contained magnificent
row of brick buildings of two and three
stories high. where four banks had their
offices-the Bank of Commerce, the
| Merchants National, the First Nation
al and the Washington Guarantee
and Loan Association and Savings
| Bank. This row cons sted of a
corner block occupied by Toklas.
| Singerman & Co.'s gigantic wholesale
| drv goods emporium, the Union Block,
the Parin building the San Francisco
| Clothing House, Star Block, the Arcade
/ building, and Gesler Block on Central
Square. All the telegraph Offices were
| in Central Square. 1t was generally
| supposed that the entire water front
| would 90, but it was hoped, if such was
inevitable, these buildings could be
saved. The Safe Deposit Company also
| had . Building in this row,
Toe explosions of gis.r r~sder were
| fruitiss - - prevent the awful spread of
| the ,ia U., NSpG clouds of hllndlng, suffo-
| cati=g srsoKs nUnR ore- E- city. On
war2, the connas-stion vent cracking,
| roaring a:EoDsI snFIeklng. The three
| story fuiiding 10 the rear OF TokIas,
| Singer gaS & Co., which was Welton &
| Co.'S sail factory, was an easy prey to
the terrible beat and cindeTs from the
burning commercial mill and lumber
| yards. The ere soon communicated
TO Toklas, SingeTman & Co. The water
was giving out, and the streams from
several lines OF hose only reached the
| second story
The Tacoma fire department came
over from Tacoma in sixty-two minutes,
| on the Puget Sound Shore Railroad, but
| both departments combined were pow
erless, and the attempts to blow up the
| Union block were more disastrous TO
| the valiant fire fighters than TO any
| thing else. All this row of buildings
succumbed, although the occupants had
| time to get out most of their valuable
| effects. The square north gave way
| 70 the fire easily, and soon the
root of the three-story Occidental Hotel,
the finest In the city, got ablaze. Be-
| fore the confagration reached Gesler
| Avenue, Toklas, Singerman & Co., Col
| berg's wholesale grocery, the banks
| above mentioned, Treen's shoe store,
| Humphreys book store. Lowman <
| Hanford's book. stationery and Job
| printing establishment went TO the
ashes.
| On Yesler Avenue the Western
! Union, Pacific Postal, and Puget Sound
| Telegraph Companies were burned out;
also the building Of the Daily PostIn-
| telligenCer, o:lce OF tie Canadian Pa
| cihc hallway Company, and many law
| yers and doctors who occupied offices