Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1891-04-18
NEARLY A MILLION
Dollars Worth of Property Swept
Away by Fire
In the Heart of Chicago-Buildings on
Each Side of West Manison street
Between Union Street and
the Hnymarket Block
Laid I'm Ashes.

| NHlCAGO, ApEll lO.-Ouc OI UIlC nero
est and most disastrous fires the Chicago
department has fought in many years
swept through West Madison street
yesterday afternoon. The big Smythe
building, that extends from Union half
way to l1alstead street, was DESTROYED,
and with it the contents of John NJ.
Smythe e Co.'S furniture house, the
largest retail establishment in the
world. All that is left of Kohl &c Mid
dleton's West Side dime museum is
heap of bricks and charred timbers.
On the north side of Madison street,
from Union street to the HaymarlSet
theater block, five buildings were de-
stroyed. Three of them tumbled down
before the maelstrom of fire, and at one
time the roof and portion of the front
of the theater building was burning so
fercely that everybody thought it
would share the fate of its neighbors,
but the firemen managed to save the
structure but in n seriously damaged
condition. The total loss is estimated
between 81, 800, 900 and 81, 100000 John
NJ. Smythe & Co. alone will lose nearly
100000
An extraordinary feature of the con-
fagration was the lack of fatalities
One man, Alexander Grant, had his leg
broken and his skull fractured by fall
ing from the supporting beam of an
electric light in front of the museum. A
fireman was injured by flying piece of
mortar and two or three spectators who
got under the danger lines were hurt,
but none of them so seriously that they
were unable to go home unaided. The
fire originated in the wagon sheds of
John NJ. Smythe &c Co., directly in the
rear of the museum.
Five hundred persons were in the low
Ell hall of the museum when the flames
| burst out in the rear of the stage. Some
one in the audience saw the smoke
creeping out through the scenes and the
alarm was given. A rush was made for
the doors and those who sat nearest the
stage were panic stricken. Half of the
audience was composed of women and
children and they occupied seats in
front In less than sixty seconds the hall
was emptied but the audience got out
none too soon, for the flames had
already taken hold of the chairs in front.
BY this time Smythe & Co. S big build
lg clear down to Union street was
rblaze. The flames ran through the
inflammable stock like a whirlwind,
bursting through the roof and the front
windows and leaping clear across the
street until they touched the buildings
there. The northwest corner of Madi-
son and Union streets, occupied by Al
fred Peats as wall paper house, was
the next to catch fire. The three-story
structure next door, the lower floor of
which was occupied by Barr Bros. as
hat store, was slowly crumbling under
the influence of the heat. The other
buildings known as LaBarge's Recess,
clear to the east line of the Haymarket,
were on fire. Men and women were
tumbling through their open doors and
running for their lives. Some of them
barely escaped.
Nearly 1000 persons were assembled
in the Haymarhet theater waiting for
the last act of the performance, but
they were dismissed at once through
the alley way leading to Union street
in good order and without the slightest
evidence of panic.
Every engine that could be placed
within 600 feet of the fire was called out
and put at work. Pipemen were dis
tributed all over the neighborhood
Fresh relays of men were sent down the
fiery gauntlet in Madison street, where,
despite the heat and the wavering walls
which rocked and tottered above their
heads, they poured water into the burn
ing buildings in torrents. They stayed
there until Inspector Shay ordered them
to retreat and as they slowly retired
the museum front went down with n
terrific roar when the interior of the
building collapsed.
After the burned building had gone to
pieces the firemen concentrated their
efforts on the Haymarket theater build
ing, which was afire in half a dozen
places, and succeeded in saving it, but
in a badly damaged condition. With
the Haymarllet safe, there was little for
the firemen to do but direct their
streams against the blazing piles, and
they continued to do this until the last
vestige of fire had disappeared.
Francis Gamble, who was struck by
flying debris during the fire but was not
supposed to be dangerously hurt died
at the County hospital shortly before
midnight.
ne LOSSES were ulSUrlDuUeu db IOi-
lows: j. NJ. Smythe & Co., furniture,
5000, 600; Mrs. LaBerge, SIS, 600; A. p.
Peat, wall paper, $96, 600; Neely Bros,
S30,0 Patterson block, owned by Ellis
s. Shephards, $4,000; James Casey
brick building $50, 600; Kohl & Middle
ton, dime museum, 100000; M. Irrman,
cigars, S20,0Oo A. Kaempser, jewelry,
S15, 900; Barr Bros, hats and caps, 81, 200;
j. NJ. Gettmann, Haymarket hotel, S.
600; A. Gerhart, barber shop, $4,000.
Total $500, 900.
The insurance will be very light,
John NJ, Smythe carrying only about
$125, 600, while Kohl & Middleton and
M. Irrman carried no insurance what
ever, having allowed their policies tc
expire without renewal, as they had in
tended moving within fortnight.
Brick Makers Combine.
| e.,