Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1891-11-24
WORK Of A CYCLONE
Buildings Wrecked at
the National Capitol.
WHITE HOUSE DAMAGED
BY the Falling of Stone Balustrade
From the Roof

WAsHlNGToN, Nov. PA tremendous
wind and rain storm, amounting almost
TO hurricane, passed over this city about
1890 p. m. yesterday, doing great deal Of
damage The worst occurrence reported
was the blowing down of the walls of the
new Metzerett Music hall, I'm course OF
construction ON Twelfth street.
The streets of the city were practically
deserted at the time Of the accident, and
the first intimation that the public had
that there was any immediate result Of the
great storm was when the fire alarm was
rung and the engines and hook and lad
ders and patrol wagons went tearing up
toward the corner of Twelfth and y
streets The fire department went TO
work Immediately to clear away the wreck
and prevent any danger Of fire. The task
confronting them was a herculean one. The
back buildings Of half n dozen stores on
r street were buried beneath the walls OF
the fallen building.
The only way To reach the worst of the
trouble was through the fronts of the
stores that face on + street or across the
great sea OF tangled beams and girders
that are where the auditorium of the music
hall was To have been. The rear Of the two
stores, lll0 and lll2 + street were found TO
be in the worst plight. The first of these
was occupied by George White, ladies'
tailor, the second by 4. Guide q Bro, for
lists. The partitions between the two stores
in the rear were demolished Inside, all
was wreck and ruin and the fronts of both
buildings were completely blown out by
the conclusion Of air from the rear.
The fremen and policemen learned that
when the walls fell at least
-Four People Were I'm the shop
in the rear OF Whites store. There had
been no warning ~ impending disaster,
and the people did not leave the room.
The workers renewed their efforts and
brought to light Clara Greenburg. She
was not seriously .urt She did not speak
English very well hut she managed to say
that the boss and tNo girls were still in
side" At l;3O lea White. aged 2l, was
found. She was badly lruscd. At 2
o'clock the dead body of Mr. White was
removed from the wrecked buildiug. The
fact that il was nOoh and most of the men
we're away at lunch prevented greater loss
Of life.
lam lgc ut the whit. House.
A section of the stone balustrade around
the roof u the White House was blown
down and crashed through the roof of the
ment a large number Of telegraph and
telephone wires were connected with the
roof AT the point of the accident, and they
were car, led down with the mass Of stone,
completely shutting OF all communication
with the house by wirS. The section de-
stroyed was about twenty feet long, com
posed Of frecstone in blocks and pillars,
and in falling carried with il Il large por-
tion of the cornice. 1t struck the roof Of
the east portico with q terrific crash and
wrecked 1t completely. The noise caused
quite n commotion in the presidents
household for a few minutes, but Il speedy
Investigation showed that no one had
been in jured. The flag at the front of the
building was eat in two as neatly as
though done with knife. The president
was receiving the Minnesota delegation at
the time and was apprised Of the storm by
a rush of water under the south window
and the crush of the balustrade. He has
tened to the private part Of the house and
reassured the ladies Of his family.
Gasometer Destroyed.
During the storm lightning struck the
large gas reservoir at the corner Of Twen.
ty-sixth and q streets. Long tongues Of
flames from rents In the top of the struc-
ture rose high in the air. The twelve tall
supporting columns Of cast iron surround
ing the tank snapped into dozen frag.
ments The first break in the thick iron
casing prevented an explosion which
might have been very disastrous. The gas
blazed at the openings rs if they were huge
burners and 10000 feet Of gas was thus
consumed The scene was one Of desola-
ton. The huge casing Of the reservoir was
twisted ia all manner OF shapes and the
fragments Of the iron columns were scat
tered in all directions The reservoir was
nearly full, its capacity being 10000 feet.
The gas company's loss is $4,000 with no
insurance.
Winder's building on seventeenth street,
opposite the war department, was partially
unroofed and the upper floors were del.
uged with water.