Evening journal., 1891-04-13
CRICACO'S BIG BLAZE.
Nearly 81, 900 Destroyed by
a Sunday Fire.
HAYMARKET THEATER WRECKED

partment has fought in many years swept
through West Madison street Sunday aft
ernoon. The big Smythe building that
extends from Union half way 10 Halstead
street was destroyed and with it the con
tents Of John NJ. Smythe & Co Is furniture
house, the largest retail establishment In
the world. All that Is left Of Kohl & Mid
dletons West Side Dime Museum IS a
heap Of bricks and charred timbers On
the north side OF Madison street from
Union street to the Haymarket theater
block five buildings were destroyed Three
of them tumbled down before the mach
strom Of fire like houses Of cards, and at
one time the roof and portion OF the
front Of the theater building was burning
50 fiercely that everybody thought 1t
would share the fate of its neighbors but
the flremen managed 70 save the structure,
but in a seriously damaged condition. The
total loss is estimated at between 81 100000
and S2,00o,0uO- John Nj, Smythe v Co.
alone win lose nearly s000,000
Several People Injured.
An extraordinary feature OF the confia-
grafton was the lack Of fatalities One
man, Alexander Grant, had his leg broken
and his skull fractured by falling from the
supporting beam Of an electric light in
front Of the museum. A fireman was in
iured by flying piece Of mortar, and two
or three spectators who got under the dan
ger lines were hurt, but none Of them so
seriously that they We're unable to 60 home
unaided. The fire originated ia the wagon
sheds of John N. Smythe & Co., directly in
the rear of the museum.
Panic IN the Museum.
Five hundred persons were in the lower
| part of the museum when the flames burst
out IN the rear Of the stage. Some one in
the audience saw the smoke creeping out
| through the scenes and the alarm was
/ given. A rush was made for the DOORS
and those who sat nearest the stage were
/ panic stricken. Halt OF the audience was
composed Of women and children, and
| they occupied the seats ia front The
| tames caught hold OF the light, iniiamable
scenery and soon made short work OF II.
| Smoke filled the hall while the people were
| struggling TO get out, and tongues Of
/ flame leaped from one side Of the narrow
stage to the other Many OF the women
/ tainted or were overcome by the smoke
and had to be carried out William Alex
ander, the deerkeeper, was standing at the
entrance when those who were In the rcaI
Of the house came rushing out.
Doors Torn from Their Hinges.
The doors were torn from their hinges
by the crowds that surged against them.
The doorkeeper sprang inside the entrance
and kept the people from tramping on
| each other in their eagerness TO escape In
less than sixty seconds the hall was empty,
but the audience got out none to soon, for
the flames had already taken hold Of the
chairs In front
They Ran for Their Lives.
BY this time Smythe & Co.'s big build.
| ing clear down to Union street was ablaze
The flames ran through tlhn iniiammable
| stock like a whirlwind, bursting through
/ the roof and the front windows and leap
ing clear across the street until they caught
the buildings there The northwest cor
ner of Madison and Union streets, occu
pied by Alfred Peats as a wall paper house
was the next to catch fire. The three story
structure next door, the lower floor OF
which was occupied by Barr Brothers as d
hat store, was slowly crumbling under the
influence of the heat The other buildings
including the comparatively new one OF
six stories which was known as Ia Barges
Recess, clear 10 the east line Of the Hay.
market, were on fire Men and women
were tumbing through their open doors
and running for their lives. Some Of them
barely escaped
A Third Of the Police on Hand.
Nearly thousand persons were assem-
1 bled in the Haymarket theater waiting for
the last act Of the matinee performance.
| but they were dismissed at once through
the hallway leading 70 Union street in
| good order. All the streets approaching
the fire were filed with people, and so dense
| did the crowd get that they became nearly
unmanageable and it required a third OF
the entire police force 70 keep those who
were nearest the burning buildings from
rushing headlong into places where their
lives would not have been worth a mo
ment's purchase. Every engine that could
be placed within COO feet Of the fire was
called out and put at work Pipemen were
distributed all over the neighborhood in
the alleys and streets, on house tops and
even in threatened buildings, where they
were held in readiness to fight the fire the
moment il appeared
Fresh relays Of men were sent down the
fiery gauntlet in Madison street. where.
despite the heat and the wavering walls
which rocked and tottered above their
-tN-tNt'f NtA~A HNHANA WaAAAA iAN0 tut
buildings in torrents. They stayed there
until Inspector Shay ordered them to re-
treat, and as they slowly retired the mu-
scum front went down with terrific roar
The Haymarket Saved.
This was but the beginning of the disin-
tegration. The entire front Of Smythe's
large store tottered, and finally toppled
over into the street, landing in an i'm
mense heap upon the very spot from which
the firemea had so recently retreated.
The wall paper house Of Peat was the
only one of the five buildings on the north
side Of Madison street that caught fire that
did not go down. The fire then got into
Hannah & Hogs handsome saloon and de
stroyed the whole interior before it could
be checked. Berry's stock Of confections
was ablaze at one time, but the fire was
caught before it had proceeded far and the
place was comparatively uninjured. After
the burned buildings had gone to pieces
the firemen concentrated their efforts on
the Haymarket theater building, which
was on fire in half dozen places, and sue
ceeded in saving it.
Little Hope of Saving the Galena.