, 1891-08-23
AWFUL CRASH
Horrible Accident in Park
Place, New York City.
An Explosion Occurs in a Con-
demned Building
Which Causes the Collapse Of
the Huge Structure.
Many Persons Buried Under
the Fallen Walls.
Fire Adds TO the Horror Of the
Terrible Accident.
The Bodies Recovered Burned
Beyond Recognition.

New YORK, Aug. ga most dis
astrous accident occurred this afternoon
in Park place, between Greenwich street
and College place. At that time the
street was filed with people and heavily
laden wagons and trucks. A small va
ground floor Of rs, - and "A Park place.
followed by a dull. sullen roar. This was
followed Immediately by an eruption, and
a mass of brick, stone and timber was
hurled thirty feet in the air. Then the
front walls of the buildings at Nos. 1914
fell crashing into the street, leaving not
the slightest semblance of what had been
three seconds before an apparently strong
and well constructed building. The mass
of fallen brick and timber half filled the
street. At first there was no sign of fire.
The falling walls broke a steam pipe. from
which steam was spouting forth. A num-
her OF electric wires were torn down, but
fortunately the current was turned off
from all but one. Crowds made the
streets all but impossible.
IlIt WAS nON sttu 10 Dt breaking out
at No. 6S. A large number OF men who
had clambered up on the ruins to assist
the wounded people In getting out of the
building were forced from their posts BY
the fire, which spread rapidly. Owing
to the blocked condition of all the neigh
boring streets, the fire. department could
not get to the buildings for several min
utes. Finally one small stream from n
hydrant was played on the side next to
No. 6S. Soon after other engines ar
rived and all directed their efforts toward
the one side of the building. Suddenly
flames burst from the third, fourth and
fifth stories of that part of the building
Of Park place. next to Greenwich street.
occupied by Lindsay's type foundry. The
floor was saturated with oil, which fed the
flames generously. A murmur ran through
the throng as they thought of the fate OF
the occupants of the ruined and burning
part OF the building. When the full force
of tremen at last got to work they soon
checked the flames.
Horrible coniecturcs now began to be
circulated regarding the probable number
of injured IN the ruins. Workmen, clerks
and Others of the ncighborhood generally
get their lunch about the hour the
accident happened. On the ground floor
- ~ va - Niltdb restaurant III
which it was thought there were about
twenty-five persons when the accident
happened. In the upper portion of the
building there were n large number of
persons employed. 1t 10 not known how
many were employed IN the building, but
1t was thought probable that most of those
employed there were IN the building at the
time OF the accident. For two hours the
My subject of inquiry by those who
%thronged tue streets was as to how many
were killed or injured. IL was fully two
hours before the fire could be sufficiently
subdued to allow the firemen to make the
least effort 10 extricate the dead and
wounded from the ruins. The number of
dead was variously estimated at from ff,y
to two hundred.
Policeman Peck, who got into the
kitchen under the restaurant through a
plumbing shop, said he hauled three bod
les from there, and that in the basement
he saw at least fifty bodies, dead and
wounded
Bominick Burke. a cook employed in
the restaurant, escaped from the kitchen.
He said there were five persons busy at
work IN the kitchen when there was a
great crash. 1T seemed as If the whole
building was falling about u.s." said he.
but none OF us were hurt There was q
door from the basement into No. &c. but
1t was closed. | knocked it down and the
Others followed me out. We crawled
through an opening in the wall which had
partly flllen."
Policeman Joseph Back was near the
building when the explosion occurred. ae
ran TO the scene and found the building
wrecked and burning ~firrcely. He said.
II saw that nothing could be done from
the front, and with one of the 6remep
went through the basement on wich
street. With hooks, bars and axes we
made a hole through the wall of the
wrecked building. through which we took
three OF the employees OF the kitchen OF
the restaurant. We could see others fast
IN the ruins, but could not assist them.
being prevented by smoke and flames"
Jacob Schesineer, employed in a build
ing on the opposite eide of the street, said
there must have been at least 100 persons
IN the building when the explosion &C.
Cured. He saw n dozen or more girls at
the windows of one of the offices on the
third floor just as the building fell.
Various persons who were in the neigh.
borhood of the ruined buildings when the
accident occurred give accounts of he
scene at the time the wall fell. They saw
oue Ut more persons VINO were undOubt-
eddy killed or injured. The persons seen
were in different parts of the building,
according to the portion Of the street on
which the observers stood.
ii. G. Stahl, formerly employed by
Lieber X Mas. saw the crash. Il knew
most of The men employed there" said
he, and recognized one of them-Louis
BernardIas he fell into the street with
the wall. He dropped with a shower of
bricks from the fourth story. When he
struck the ground he scrambled to his
ieet and got away, but is now at the hos
pital badly injured. | saw many Others
90 down when the front wall fell. but did
not recognize them. They we're all
As soon as the flames were under control
the work OF recovering the bodies of the
unfortunate persons buried beneath the
ruins was begun. The fremen worked IKE
hends. Alter twenty minutes work the
dead body Of one man was found. burned
and charred so that the features were un-
recognizable. Fifteen minutes later an-
other charred body was found. Just then
a low moan was heard coming, apparently,
from under the feet of the party of res
cuers. After working for nearly twenty