New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-01-26


a''ehdants at mass in a neighboring church and
d great crowd Of frightened people mostly women,
soon collected
LINES OF POLES DRAGGED DOWN.
Inc hrst pole that fell across the elevated rail.
way station tangled its hundred wires and cables
III fantastic net across the tracks of the Sixth
ave. ROAD. oDstructing travel for over two hours
lhey were nnally cut away by workmen with
axes and travel was resumed shortly af,.,
o'clock the first pole east of the station fell
with crash on the sidewalk its ton cnd str;k
ing stone stoop in front of No. 34O AN an.rt-
ment house, and breaking the timber in t,vo inst
under the crossarms. Relieved of the support
OF this pole, others began to incline to the cast
ward, all of them being Of great size and as tall
as the tallest houses. Three poles fell ir ouick
succession in front of the apartment houses mum.
bered from 326 to $40. All Of them fell agains,
the houses, smashing windows and crashing to
the sidewalks. The wires caught on the frees
capes and draped themselves in odd festoons from
house to house. In two instances cross-arms
caught against cornices by which alone were thew
prevented from falling to the sidewalk. along
which pedestrians paraded unmindful of danger.
Those two poles remained in that precarous con-
dition all day, no attempt being made 10 remove
them. But the danger was so apparent that To
walk on either side Of the thoroughfare was n
voluntary risk
One pole fell upon and crushed the roof OF a
four-story frame apartment house, numbered from
800 to 324, and rested there, with its cross-arms
twisted down and its wires hanging into the
street like the broken wisps OF hair from the
bow of giants violin. Another pole fell against
the brownstone apartment house Nos 30s 10
81 4, and was prevented only by the cornices
against which it leaned, from plunging into the
street.
RUSHING OUT FROM HOUSES,
There was panic in Fifty -ninthst when these
poles began to fall. 1t was then only n little
after daylight, and the people were still sleeping
The houses in that neghborhood are mostly
large apartment structures, and are occupied by
many families in comfortable circumstances
When the Sunday morning luxurious maps OF
these people were disturbed by the crashing Of
the poles against their houses their alarm was in
proportion to the comfort they had enjoyed while
the storm was raging. Some of the men rushed
down to the street to obtain a correct idea of the
gravity of the situation, and quickly pcrceiying
that safety lay within doors rather than without.
returned to queu the fears of their wives and
children.
From o'clock until noon poles in other parts
of the city kept falling in quick succession. endan-
houses against which they fell Some of the
talIest and biggest poles in the city were those
in Seventh-ave. which crosses Broadway through
Long Acre Square, above Forty -second-st. The
gale had a clean sweep through the square from
the north. and probably had the effect of weaken
ing the poles SO that they more than
dinarily susceptible to the extreme weight Of the
snow great stick of timber, taller than the
tallest of the buildings fell against the east side
of Cunningham Sons & Company's big building
at the north end of the square, and smashed many
windows, besides breaking hole in the brick
wall, in which its topmost end rested. When one
pole fell others were sure to follow. for 1t was
evident that nothing but the wires from one tn
another held them all up. In quick succession
the big timbers came down into the avenue,
creating CONSERVATION from Thrty-second To
Fifty-ninth sts.
1t was 3 o'clock when they began to fall In
Long Acre Square, and there were many people
in the thoroughfares in that neiChborhood at the
time Everybody rushed into the side streets,
where there safety. to watch the big poles
come tearing down to the street. As each one
fell a cry would 60 up from the crowds, when
seemed to be moved somewhat by feeling of
awe feeling which was not at all apparent, by
the way. when the same kind of crowds watched
Commissioner Gilroys men bring down poles in
Broadway when the electrical companies were
compelled to bury their wires
Seventh-avc is wide thoroughfare, and as the
poles fell from the west side of the street to tie
east there was room for them 10 fall without
damaging property. Travel, however, was seri-
ously impcded during the early morning hours
until the poles could he hauled engthwsr along
side of the car-tracks and the wires cut away
SMASHING INTO HOUSES.
Two big poles on the north side OF tltty-hith'sN
between Broadway and Seventh-aye.. fell at
o'clock. smashing the windows of the houses on
the opposite side of the street. One OF thesr
poked its top into the third-story window oil
house, and rested there until IL was hauled away
by a team of horses. when IL tumbled To the siue-
walk Another one at Seyenth-aNe ana fl'S-
trst-st, and still another at Forty-elghtn-st ana
Rroadway fell against houses. knocking on Few
cornices and then falling to the street All along
Seyenth-ave there are a great many poles bending
over. which were allowed TO remain standing
because the snow melted from them ana from
the wires in time 10 save them
Anothrr dclav was occ;sloncd To the trains on
the Sjxth-ave elevated road early in the morning
hv the falling over the elevated structure OF q
gigantic pole at SiNth-avc. and IwentNseVehth-s@
The iron Euard-ralls Of the structure gave way nn
der the weight Of the pole and the wires were
strcwn over the tracks Trains in both directions
were compelled to stop running until me wIrr, M,
could be cut away and the pole removed Most
of the damage in the lower part of rhe city 10
the poles seemed to be on the West SIDE; but ~
Harlem il was the reverse. NOT one OF lLP grcat
nolcS IN Fast nndred-aud-twenty-tifih-st, 10
the river remains standing. These carried IN,
trunk lines of cables that come up the elevated
road on Third-avc" and the cables c2n,a!hrn
some of thc most important wires in the Western
'nion Companv'S system Both wires and cables
were snapped into pieces or twisted into ir-
rcgnlor sh5ncs They may We melted over as
old metal but for any other purpose they are
practically useless. All Of these poles fell TO me
eastward on the sidewalk or to the northward
into the street. Few of them struck the houses
and such damage as was done 10 the houses con-
sisted mainly in the smashing Of windows or the
breaking of cOrnlces
Thirty ninth-st east Of Sixth-ave. was tn" scene
of great destruction during the morning hours.