Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-09-26
4 TEARING STORM,
Penn Incline Hall Struck by
Lightning and a Part of
the Walls Fall In.
one NAN SLIGHTLY HURT.
4 Southside Man Is Hit on the Head
by Falling Timbers.
SEVERAL BUILDINGS DAMAGED.
Many Police and Telegraph Wires Are
Rendered Useless.
one NAN SLIGHTLY HURT.
SEVERAL BUILDINGS DAMAGED.
TIE WORK OF THE TORNADO IN DETAIL

sIOTH WIS very SEVERE laSI
night The wind was doing a gait of 80
miles an hour. and this coupled with a
heavy rain and still heavier electrical dis
turbance caused much damage. The princi-
pal work of last nights tornado was accom-
plished at the Penn Incline Hall.
About $50 o'clock, when the storm was
at its height, a heavy stroke of lightning
struck the fre-wrecked building. 1t hit
the northwest corner of the structure. Sew
eral tons of brick were knocked loose.
They tumbled down through the second and
first floors into the engine room. In this
apartment was Engineer John Connell,
Fireman James Lambert, and visitor
Patrick Lyons The first two men escaped,
but Lyons was hit by something on the leg.
He was slightly injured.
Most of the brick fell on the cable and
stopped the cars Aside from this no dam
for a couple of days. 1t had only gotten
rightly started after the fire of several
weeks ago.
A southside Bank Wrecked.
During the storm the roof of the build
ing occupied by the German National Bank
ct South Fourteenth and Carson streets,
was blown off and portion of the building
was badly wrecked.
The wind blew off a section of the tin
roof of Byer's galvanizing works at South
Sixth and Bingham streets One of the
sheets struck Watchman DAILY on the head
and painfully injured him.
A water spout on the building occupied
by John Kemmler, a jeweler, on Carson
near South Nineteenth street, was blown
off and pedestrian had a narrow escape
from injury.
a lot of trees on Carson, between South
streets, were blown down, and the lumber
in Sehulte's lumber yard on Mary, between
South Twentieth and South Twenty-frst
streets. was scattered about in various
directions by the playful zephyrs.
An awning was blown down in front of
Hammel's liquor store on Carson near South
Thirteenth street, and a section of the iron
shattered a large plate glass window, en-
failing g serious loss.
Caused Trouble Among the Wires.
Down town the storm did considerable
damage to the telegraph and telephone
wires The Western Union Company had
10 New York wires knocked out and the
Central Telephone Company had number
Of local wires placed in the same condition.
The FIRE alarm and police patrol wires were
made inop9&r -e also and more or less
trouble ensued. In the fire alarm service
enc circuit was burned out in the Soho
district and another further out in the East
End, but these we're expected to be repaired
bv daylight
In the police patrol service a number of
boxes were cut out by the lightning and
rendered useless for the night. Numerous
calls were made at police headquarters re-
porting electric wires down in the heart of
the city. Some of them were stretched
across the sidewalks, endangering pedestri-
ans lives. An awning pole Smithfeld
street, near Fifth avenue, was charged in
TINS way. No particular damage was done
TO property.
Damage in the East End.
In the East End the storm played havoc.
On Homewood avenue a large tree was
blown down. completely blocking the road.
4 telegraph pole carrying a number of
wires also came down at this point On all
sides limbs were blown from trees, and along
Larimer avenue a number of trees were lit
orally twisted off,and in one or two instances
carried for several feet. The patrol system
aC the Fourteenth and Nineteenth ward
stations was rendered useless. Superintend-
ent Mead OF the Bureau of Electricity, and
q force of assistants were busy the greater
part of the night locating and repairing
The break. A number of cellars were flooded,
DUJ no serious damage is reported.
Out Penn avenue it WAS very severe. but |
no one was injured. The wind tore a large
awning down in front of Wilson Runette &
sons dryEUods store, at Butler and Forty
second street. and dashed through a 500
plate glass window III the front. The whole |
side of the eight-fOot fence surrounding a |
vacant lot at Butlerand Forty-fourth streets |
was BLOWN down and fell in. The Butler NJ.
d hos 1Nao hnl ir,or 1aNp fara in
the lot, and two booths were destroyed.
IN electric light wire on Thirteen th street |
was struck by lightning and set on fire and
lGnlted the post. 1t WAS eNt1nguiShed with |
difficulty.
\ number of trees in the yard of Edward |
Frauenheim, at 1915 Butler street, were
blown down, and part of the fence was car |
Iied away. |
The electric wires in the stables of De- |
wald Wuestof, between Thirteenth and |
Fourteenth streets, on Pike street, were in |
some manner separated, igniting one piece |
OF timber. No damage was done. Engine /
Company No. 10 was called out.
A small plate glass window at the side of |
Emil o. Stuckey's drugstore at Seventeenth |
street and Penn avenue was broken during |
the storm. |
Blocka ded Cable Road. |
The Central Traction Company's cars |
were blockaded for half an hour. The water |
had flooded the vaults and the cable broke. |
In Allegheny the storm was the most Sc |
we're OF any that has visited the city since |
1854. The wind blew a perfect hurrca ne,
and the rain fell in sheets, flooding the |
streets in many places to a depth of several |
inches. Trees were blown down in all parts |
of tie city, and awnings and signs blown |
from their 1astenings. A large plate glass In
the window or the music store of James A. |
Nichols, at Federal and North Diamond |
streets, was broken by an awning stay fall ]
ing through 1t, and another in the window |
CT George Prices barber shop on Federal |
street, near the sixth street bridge. An |
electric street light mast arm was blown |
down on Main street, between Pine \
aud Sycamore streets, and tie trolley wire |
Of the Troy Hill electric street line car was |
blown from the poles in many places
An electric light wire broken by the |
storm fell on th roof of Miller's printing |
Office CT Franklin street. and set fire-eo the |
building. The crew of the Good viii En- |
gjne House was called out and extinguished |
the blaze before much damage was done. A |
large tree blew down on California avenue, |
breaking the trolley and feed wires OF the |
Pleasant Valley Electric Street Railway |
line, delaying travel on that road for over |
an hour. Two trees were blown down on l
montgomery avenue and one on Sheridan |
avenue.
Caused by Electric Wires.