The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1891-08-23
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Full Details of the Awful
Calamity in New
York.
PROBABLY FIFTY DEAD.
The Collapse Of a VIGOROUSLY
Unsafe Building Was the
Cause Of the Dis
aster.
Hideously Crushed and Burned
Bodies Being Extricated
From the Ruins.
PROBABLY FIFTY DEAD.


One of the most terrible catastrophes
which has visited this vicinity in years
occurred in New York yesterday. A four
story building on Park place, near Green
Wioh street, collapsed Without the slight
est warning, shortly after noon, burying
large number Of people in its ruins.
the wreck then took fire and burned
fiercely. Up to midnight last night eight
bodies had been taken from the wreck;
ten persons lay at the Chambers
Street Hospi tai suffering from
wounds. several had gone home
with their hurts dressed, and over
fifty ames OF missing people had been
reported at the Church street station
house.
WHERE IT HAPPENED.
Inc building WIS Nos. 49, rs, 10 and 70
Park place. 1t had frontage OF almost
one hundred feet on Park place and ex-
tended back about the same distance. 1t
was on the south side OF the street and
about one hundred and fifty feet east of
Greenwich street. The ground door was
occupied by Rosenfeld g Co. manufac-
Iurers OF paints and bronzes, and
Fred w. Trip, wholesale drug
Risf. Between these was popu-
lar cheap restaurant kept by
man named Peterson, from the basement
of which there was separate exit Lead
ing TO the street. Ellis q Mcdonald,
blank book manufacturers occupied the
second story; the Southern Publishing
Company, art designers, were on the
third floor Liberman g. Mas, Iitho-
gfaphers, occupied the two upper floors.
On The fourth floor there were eight new
Hoe presses, and seven printing presses
OF other makes.
MYSTERY
The origin of the catastrophe is
wrapped il mystery mud there are
various theories concerning it, It was
said that the boiler In the basement ex-
pIoded, but there was no boiler in the
building. The steam used was from the
pipes OF the New York Steam Heating
Company. Some say it was an explosion
of benzlne ia the drug stores or the print
ing office, but it is not probable that there
was sufficient stored in either place TO so
comp lelely wreck the building The
generally accepted theory is, that
borne down by the heavy ma
chinery on the top floors and
lnosened BY the jar and oscillation
printing presses the building simply col
1apsed II WIS an old building which
'NWas condemned several years ago and
which was on the black list of the fnsur-
ance companies. The land belonged to
the Columbia College corporation and
the building was the property of the
father of City Chamberlain Cram.
Mr.. John Ramsey, a new spaper man OF
this city, who was on the opposite sisie OF
Park Place, looking at the building at
thestine of the catastrophe, says it SEEM
ed to be lifted up and then TO fall. A boy
who was on q fire engine on the same
side OF the street with Mr. Ramsey, hirt-
Jug with the girls on the lithographer's
hoor, says the same thing. All agree,
however, that at 1890 O'Clock there came
loud noise like an explosion from the
building. 1t seemed to rise upward for a
moment and then it fell outward with q
ioud crash which startled every one for
blocks around. Before the clouds of dust
ard steam which followed tue collapse
had fairly risen about the wreck. bright
tongues of flame shot upward out of
the tangled mass of beams, iron
girders and bricks. They were hot, fierce
flames and they burned with such rapid
ity that in less than ten minutes the
fiery furnace.
PAssERs-BY CRUSHED.
The debris fell into Park place and
piled itself up across that thoroughfare
to height Of four feet. People were
passing at the time, and a little girl
aud two boys were playing in the
gutter in front OF the doomed build
ing. They were buried beneath
the debris. How many people
were in the building it is hard to say.
1
inc restaurant. There were thirty-three
girls employed on the fourth floor in the
iithoQraphing establishment, and many
peopie worked on the other floors. Owing
to the half holiday, however, many had
left the building but It IS probable that
employed there were lost. Only lew
are known to have escaped.
A WONDERFUL ESCAPE.
Martin Fillmore Barrett of No. 160
West Thirteenth street was employed in
the Ithographing establishment. He was
an the third floor of the building about
"a knock off for the day. He heard the
exnloson. and saw that the walls We're
falling. lie and half dozen Others made
break for the open air. They reached
tia second floor Barrett stopped to look
aut tha window. A great hot brick struck
him al the head. He lost his balance and
feii our Of the window. He knew no more
nntiI the police picked him up and
helned the ambulance surgeon place him
in the ambulance,
nastinr room OF the bookbiDdery. lie
heard the walls falling aud with others
,naee a break for the street. lie does not
inovy how he got out, as he wandered
about the street IN uaAeu anu seiiA-
unconscious condition.
RESCUE WORK.
ra,nas I, Ransom OF Jersey City
ueights VINO was passing through Green
wien street at the time Of the couapse.
heard the crash and ran around into Park
Mace, He says the building had fallen
aud girls and men were eGmlngg 1 doWn Inc pe
the south on the corner or GreenWlch
street. Mr.. Ransom and another gentle.
man ran across the street and procuring
4 ladder from a paint shop placed
it under the Gre escape and helped the
fugjtives to reach the ground IN safety
the firemen promptly responded 70 tne
upon the flames. The fire threw out
heat so intense that working In the mar
row street was difficult task. The hre,
men. however, crouched down behind
The piles OF debris in the street ana stuck
to their work When the police arrived
upon the scene they sent out ambulance
calls and began the rescue Of those IN the
debris. The surgeon OF the lirst am9u,
lnnce to arrive found six men nuuulea
together at the coruer of College place,
4ley had escaped from the building and
were more or less injured. They were
taken to The Chambers Street Hospital;
About a:i5 o'clock the dremen VINO