The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1891-01-07
THE FIFTH AVENUE GONE
On the Anniversary Of Its
Previous Fire.
An Historic Theater Burns
to the Ground
Six Firemen Lose Their
Lives in the Flames.
Hermann's Play House Also a
Mass OF Ruins.
The Firemen Have Some Very
Narrow Escapes.
Fanny Davenport Had a Presentiment
of Ill Luck.
Fully a Half Million Damage Done
Already.
Hermann's Play House Also g
Mass OF Ruins.
The Firemen Have Some Very
Narrow Escapes.
Fanny Davenport Had a Presentiment
of Ill Luck.
Fully a Half Million Damage Done
Already.

today, the Fiith-ave. theater, then in the
rear OF the Fifth-ave. hotel on the Twenty
fourth-st. side disappeared in flame
and smoke. Within a short time after
Augustine DAILY had old Appolo hall,
where the famous committee OF seventy
had its birth, changed into a playhouse.
Fifteen minutes or so tonight after Fanny
Davenport, in the character of Cleopatra,
had trod the boards of the Fifth-ave. thea
ter, and the audience had passed out of the
Broadway and wenty-eighth-st. entrances,
a Waterman ran out of the theater scream
ing fire" A few seconds later fire en-
gines were dashing up Broadway, and
until nearly l o'clock this morning new
attachments were still responding to ad-
ditional signals for help.
What was at first believed 10 be a false
alarm proved to he one that destroyed a
whole block upon Broadway, besides the
Fifth-ave theater, Herrmann's new play
house, a dozen stores, and threatened
the Sturtevant house on the east side
of Broadway between Twenth-eighth and
Twenty-ninth-sts. Up TO this writing,
while the fire is yet raging, no lives are
known to have been lost. There were a
dozen or more narrow escapes and at
one time it was thought that
three fremen, who were caught
upon the roof top, would perish. For two
of these brave fellows it was very lucky
that a line of hose ran from the
roof to the street. The daring
"laddies'' took advantage of this
act, and when their conrad IS
on the street gave them up as lost they
slid down to the street. But the other, a
reckless sort of au individual, scOrned,
it seemed, to escape that way.
He stood his ground, and was soon lost
sight OF in the smoke. Ladders were
hastily raised. but the searchers failed to
find McGinnis-that was his name, it was
said-but to the surprise of his comrades,
half an hour or so later, the brave man
made his temperance on the street. He
had crawled along the roof until he
reached a hatchway, through which he
made his escape.
The fire had been burning less than
half an hour before the flames shot
through the roof, causing the widest con-
sternation among the guests of the Browes
house, on the northeast corner,
and the Sturtevant house. The
shower of sparks which covered the
pavement of Broadway also set fire to the
awnings of the latter. To add to the con-
fusion there were six explosions in the
Fiftn-ave. theater. which blew burn
ing rafters sky-high, and these set
fire to. the roofs OF the buildings sur
rounding the burning theaters. While the
fremen were powerless to do anything to-
ward saving the play houses, they worked
nobly in preventing the destruction OF
houses in the vicinity of the immense
blaze. All the property burned belongs
TO the Gilsey estate and the total damage
TO the building and its contents is roughly
estimated at s 10000.
Manager Harry Miner was early on the
scene, as was also Professor Hermann.
While the former saved nothing from the
wreck, the professor and his wife worked
like beavers. Mrs. Hermann saved her
four pet doves, but her husband SORROW
fully said that his favprite trick apparatus
worth S20,O00-was lost to him forever.
The occupants OF the stores on the
west side of Broadway from Twenty
eight to Twenty-ninth streets. which
numbers from 1885 to 1908, were as fol-
lows: No. 1855, J. j. Slater. shoes; No.
1857 was the wide entrance to the Fifth
ave. theater; No. 1889 was occupied by the
Cash register company; No. ll91. j. B.
Crooke & Co, sporting goods; No. 1893, L..
Spero, tailor; No. 1,195. entrance 10 Herr
mann theater No. 1.197, AID. Kirch florist;
No. 1893. ]. B. White, i~eweler; No. 1901
Wissman, florist. and No. 12O3, Hannah &
Son, shoes. The goods in all these stores
are badly damaged by water and should
the walls topple in the salvage will be
very small. They are shaky at present,
and the firemen, aware OF their condition,
for safety's sake are working from the OPP
posite side of Broadway and w. Twenty
eighth-st., and the roofs Of the houses to
the westward.
The first of the series of explosions, which
are thought to have been caused by the
bursting of gas tanks, came very near
Der 9 a serious affair, for a dozen
or more fremen under the leadership of
Battalion Chief McCabe, were at that
moment working in the auditorium OF the
Ffth-ave. theater. They were almost
blown into the street with several re-
pOrters.
At intervals OF every few minutes ex-
plosion followed explosion. The firemen
did not know what was coming next,
and they were, for the first time
in the history of the department.,
more or less frightened. But they soon
rallied. Ladders were raised and the wa
ter towers and several MOBILES with "sia-
mese four ways" were doing their best to
stay the spread of the fierce flames. The
stih breeze which was blowing from the
Northward got in its fine work and there
was no stopping the fire. 1t had simply
10 burn itself out, and to the cha9rin of
the fire department, Herrmann's new
theater, which has recently been
rebuilt at considerable expense. was found