Omaha daily bee., 1889-06-08
SEATTLE'S GREAT DISASTER.
The Ambitious Town OH Puget Sound
Nearly Obliterated.
SEVERAL PERSONS kiLLEC
The Loss Estimated at Twenty-one
Million Dollars-All the Bust
ness Portion Lying in
Ashes.
A Terrible Condagration.


business portion of Seattle is now nothing
but smoking ruins. About o'clock yester-
day afternoon some turpentine caught fire in
the basement of a two-story building on the
southwest corner of Front and Madison
streets. The building, which was owned by
Mrs. NJ j. Pontons, occupied by the Seattle
Shoe company on the first floor, ana the
upper floors as offices, was soon ablaze.
An alarm was instantly turned in and
the volunteer fire department responded
promptly, but it was impossible TO make
headway against the flames. This building
was at the corner of row of frame buildings
all Joined together and of various heights.
" thin ten minutes from the time it started
the flames developed into conflagraton.
The adjoining building was a wholesale
liquor store. AS soon as the fire reached
them the barrels of liquor exploded with q
terrific report and scattered the embers about.
The Denny block, in which were a
wholesale confectionery store, real estate
Offices and several other establishments and
some lodging apartments, was soon licked up
completely. This cleared out the entire
square.
The flames then leaped across Marion
street. and in less than thirty minutes an
other square was burned to ashes. Included
in this square were grocery, confectionery.
fruit, drug store. plumbing and gas fitting
establishment, tailor shop pawn shop, jew
elry and other stores.
While this square was burning the opera
house block, on the east side of Front street,
between Madison and Marion and extending
up Marion halfway to Second street, caught
fire in the upper stories and was soon de-
stroyed This building was valued at Sl2O 600.
With it went the Seattle pharmacy, the ware
house of the Golden Rule bazaar, Harris e.
Co.'s large dry goods and clothing store,
.l-..,. O.. ". ", Il ,ta1r
ing establishment, Lateur's dry goods house,
Broadmans paint and oil establishment,
clearing up another square.
The Kenyon block, to the north of where
the fire started had to go too, notwithstand-
ing the wind was from the east. In this
block were the job printing establishment of
the Evening Times music store and tailor
shop. From the opera house block the fire
became a monstrous contiagration, swallow
ing up the square to the south, consisting of
two o-story frame buildings, occupied by the
Golden Rule bazaar, the California clothing
house, Gordon Brothers tailoring establish
ment, the Oriental bazaar and several other
big concerns.
Notwithstanding the progress of the
flames the fire department struggled with n
determination to save the most valuable por
tion of Front street to the south, between
Columbia street and Yesler, which was one
magnificent row of fine brick buildings of
two and three stories, where four banks had
their offices. This row consisted of the Connor
block, occupied by Toklas, Singermann &
Co.'s gigantic wholesale dry goods empor-
ium; the Union block, Parin building, San
Francisco clothing house, Star block, Arcade
building, and Yesler block on Central
square. All the telegraph offices were in
the block last named. IL was generally
supposed the entire water front would
go, and it was hoped, if such was inevitable,
these buildings could be saved. The Safe
Deposit company also had building in this
block. Explosions of giant powder were
fruitless to prevent the spread of the contia-
grafton. Onward the fire went, cracking,
roaring, and almost shrieking. A three
story building in the rear of the Toklas,
Singermann & Co. establishment, which was
Welton & Co.'s sail factory, was an easy prey
to the terrible heat and ciuders from the
Commercial mill and lumber yards. The fire
soon communicated to Toklas, ,Singermann g.
Co.'s establishment, but the water was Civ
ing out and the streams from the several
hose reached only to the second story.
The Tacoma fire department came over,
but both departments combined were use
less. All that could be done when the build
ings succumbed and the water gave out
completely was to try to save property and
life. People fled to the hills to the east, and
horses dashed up the highlands with pro-
miscuous loads of everything in every avail
able vehicle. The fire made awful progress
when it crossed Yesler street. Down on the
water front quarter, and extending to Fourth
street, the buildings were mostly one or
two stories and frame. The entire water
front, including all the wharves and docks,
coal bunkers and railroad tracks, wholesale
quarters, and everything south of Union
street and west of Second and reaching
around to the gas works and above Fourth
street on jackson, is completely burned.
To give list of everything burned would
be to produce most of the Seattle directory.
1t is estimated that the total loss to the city
IN buildings alone is easily 81, 000, 600, and per-
sonal losses will probably reach $50, 600, 900.
Whether there is much loss of life cannot
yet be ascertained. The city is guarded by
militia. When Toklas, Singermann & Co.'s
building fell about thirty people were near
il and many of them were crushed Similar
accidents befell at most of the large buildings.
Any estimate of the loss of life would be
simply guess work.