New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-02-19
CRUMBLING IN AN INSTANT.
COLLAPSE OF THE PARK CENTRAL HOTEL.
HARTFORD.

snouT WITTY GUESTS WERE IN THE HOUSE
s1xrrEN KNOWN TO BE KlLLEp. MANY IN
,uRxp. AND OTHERS STILL MISSING
THE ACCIDENT GENERALLY AT
rR1BUTED 10 BOILER Ex-
pLosIoN THE BUILDING
KNOWN TO BE
INSECURE.
ley TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNAL
usrtford. Conn, Feb iS.--The fve-story
kric, building known as the Park Central
Hotel. at High and Allyn sts, was
destroyed by the explosion Of boiler in the base
ment at ten minutes Of s o'clock this morning
The shock was SO violent that ii was heard for
miles about the city. Hundreds Of panes OF glass
were shattered in the immediate neighborhood OF
the hotel The destruction of the building must
have been accomplished within the space Of three
minutes From what can be learned from sur
vivors. the building was lifted bodily by the ex-
plosion Then it collapsed. the greater portion OF
IL falling into the cellar, covering little more
ground than the building itself, showing that IL
fell inward, crushed like an eggshel Inc
hotel could accommodate about sixty persons
The register being buried deep in the ruins. no
exact knowledge can be obtained as to the num-
Der Of guests. Mr.. Ketchum, the proprietor oil the
hotel, who was taken out of the ruins alive near
o'clock, said that thirty-6ve guests were In the
house when he went to bed He did not know
how many arrived on the midniGht train. 1t is
thought that there were ten fifteen late guests.
The timbers took fire almost Immediately, and
the scenes about the ruins were terrible. In the
centre of the heap of ruins stood man, his wife
and a little girl No help could get TO them, ana
they finally fell back into the flames and died IN
plain sight of the spectators. The little one cred
for help but the man aud woman uttered not d
word Embraced in each others arms, they met
death brayely Far out, near the annex, the
shrieks of q woman attracted attention, ana tne
blood Of the people looking on turned cold as
they saw young girl lying with her BODY across
beam Finally the support fell, and she dis
appeared from sight
An alarm was rung, the Fire Department re
spending none too quickly, as the names sprang
M almost instantly. For several hours the IRE
men STRUGGLED to subdue the fire and to rescue the
fe,U persons who might be alive beneath the tons
RI brick and lumber. Tie city laborers were
early put to work removing the WRECK, ana IN
about two hours began to reach the victims
Meanwhile a driving storm OF sleet and rain SET
in. interfering seriously with the work oil the
rescuers Progress was slow, and the crowd Oh
excited people gathered about the wreck gave little
room for effective work. To meet this emergency,
Colonel Cone rendered the services OF the lst
Regiment, and at l o'clock Governor bulKeiey
ordered It out. The soldiers Immediately formed
. Gordon around the ruins, guarded the street ap-
vroaches and assisted in digging away the ruins.
II was the duty Of George Gaines, the night por-
FER. "a see the boiler at o'clock in the morn
ing. and the theory Of the explosion is that he
turned cold water into a low and hot boiler. Amos
E. Risley, the engineers about an hour after the
EXPLOSION. said left the boiler all right at IL
o'clock last night. We never run 1t all night
either ON Saturday or Sunday. Last night
h.ntod the Ere with sixtv hounds pf stes'" CA
and smut al the hampers In ham an hour tne
steam ought to have been down to twenty pounds.
Then went TO bed in the annex,
on the second floor. When the explo-
sion came I got out all right but how the thing
exploded 1 cannot explain" Rsley is regard
ed as competent man. He is under arrest, de-
tained bv Coroner Sperry The boiler was only
six years old and had been rigidly inspected in
August. 1883. At that time it was all right in
every particular. The pressure was limited to
seventy pounds 1t was ffty-four-inch hori-
zontag tubular boiler, and was set parallel with
AIlvu-st. 1t was used for running dynamo and
for heating and laundry purposes. While the
catastrophe is generally attributed TO the boiler,
there are some who insist that as long as frag
ments of the boiler are found the cause must
he sought either in possible explosion Of dyna-
mite. or in the collapse Of a building known to
be untrustworthy. 1t is said that the site of
the hotel was made ground.
The Park Central Hotel was built in 1873 by
George Hastings at cost Of 81 10000. No stone
work or plng entered into its foundations, and it
has always been regarded as cheap and unsub-
stantial No local insurance company would take
risk upon it. Two large cracks were remedied
by bolts on the side facing AIlyp-st
The list of dead and injured is as follows:
DEAD
BRONSON, Louis H., Of Hartford. secretary Of the
Hartford Stove and Plumbing Company
BRONSON. Mrs. Louis H., OF Hartford
BRONSON - daughter OF Louis H. Bronson
BUELL., Dwight H., ieweller, OF Hartford
ENGLEu, J.. George, Hartford
GERALD, Idzzie a young woman OF Springfield. Mass
GAINES, George, coored the night porter OF the hotel
GALoDY Max, Editor Of the German "Herold" Hart
ford
eALopA. Mrt. Max.
HOWE Fanny, young woman Of Springfield Mass.
HAUSMAN, NJ, commercial traveller Tor the Revere
Rubber Company OF Boston.
HILy j. c., idertined BY the name the neckband
Of his shirt He is supposed to be commercial travel
Ter from Buffalo
EETCHUM. Eddie OF the proprietor Of the hotel
KFTcHUM George brother Of the proprietor.
ROOT G. W.. Brocport N. T., commercial traveller for
Waite, williams & Co., Boston.
TLLLoTsoE, A. H., Cincinnati traveller Tor the Merrill
Chemical Company
WHITING, A. n.
Body Of man about forty years old. with brown hair
head bald tOp. He has heavy brown mustaehe and
light eyes
Body Of an unknown
INJURED.
BOYLE Eddie, last seen about the hotel.
CoRRIGAN, Michael Of Windsor. Conn, was badly
bruised.
cRAMER Rachel. Of Avon. was bruised and scratched
DECKER Jennie, had her log broken.
GAY, walter NJ. Bayonne N. J.. siikhEy injured.
HEwsoN, Charles G., slightly hurt
JAMES Enos slightly hurt
JOY, William
KETcHUM Wellington. the proprietor Of the hotel
KETcHUM, Mrs. wellington, was badly scalded about
head Her hip broken.