Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1892-04-29
A THEATRE PIRE.
Serious Panic at the Burning
OF the Central Theatre,
Philadelphia.
Hundreds Trampled Under Foot
in the Desperate Attempt
to Escape.

ing ruin. The Times annex, which
stood directly in the rear of the Central
theatre, where the flames originated, is
also in ruins. In addition to the Times,
which occupied two floors and the base
ment, the building was occupied by a
number of business houses whose losses
will be heavy. Taggart's Sunday
Times and Poulson's hotel, which stands
on Walnut street above the theatre,
are badly Quilted, and the loss will be
large. At this hour careful estimate
places the entire loss at over $1,000, 900,
and it is said that the insurance will not
reach $500, 1000.
Origin Of the Blaze.
At o'clock Gilmere's Central thea-
ire, the most popular variety theatre in
the city, was crowded, the attraction
being 1.-THE Devils Auction" While
the orchestra was playing the overture
a stage hand was startled by the dis
covery of fire in the fies-a border had
swung against one Of the border lights
and in an instant the sheet Of flames
swept over the stage. The iufamma-
BILE scenery caught like finder and al
most before the alarm could be given
the stage was a mass Of fire. Half
dressed chorus girls and actors made a
wild rush for life and sought the street.
Those on the stage easily escaped, but
those in the dressing rooms under and
above the stage had hard struggle for
life. AS they rushed from their dress
ing rooms they were met at every turn
by the flames and many had narrow es-
capes. A number of women tainted
and were carried into the street, almost
at the cost of their lives and those Of
their rescuers. All of them lost every
thing except the costumes which they
had on at the moment the fire started.
In the Front of the House
the first warning received was from the
crier on the stage, which was followed
by burst Of smoke and tongues of
fame which swept through the procen-
ium arch. "Fire" resounded on every
side, and there was rush for the doors.
Men, women and boys were borne down
and crushed to the floor in their fight
to reach safety. In the top gallery the
rush WAS the worst, as the stairway
leading to the street is narrow. On the
Walnut street front are improved fire
escapes, and hundreds reached the
street by them. Hundreds more were,
however, trampled under foot, crushed
and bruised into insensibility and left
lying in the burning theatre. The
force of officers on the spot worked like
beavers. The police and firemen began
work at once and brought out those
who had been injured and left to perish.
Many were found to be but slightly
injured and took care of themselves az
best they could, for there were too
many who needed medical aid at once
to be provided for. Ambulanees from
the J, :telson, Pennsylvania, and the
Univer> lily hospitals were promptly on
the ground. and aided by the police
wagons, carried about
Ono Hundred and Thirty Injured
to the hospitals. The flames spread like
wildfre and in an incredibly short time
the rear of the theatre was a mass Of
seething flames. Directly in the rear of
the Central theatre and fronting on
SAMSON street was the eight-story Times
annex building, separated from the
theatre only by few feet Of space. AS
the flames shot up they licked the wall
and burst through tho windows. When
the alarm was given the whole Times
force was at work. Compositors were
on the top floor and the literary staff on
the seventh floor. Ample time was
afforded for escape and the employees
had no trouble in leaving the building
in safety. At the southwest corner Of
Ninth and Walnut is the historic old
Walnut Street theatre, where a large
audience had assembled to see COM
edy. When the alarm was given Man
ager E. H. Price, of the comedy COM
pany, wishing to avoid panic, an
nounced that owing to the continued
illness of one of the actors no perform
ance would be given. The audience
left the theatre in order and no accident
occurred.
The, rush down the fire escapes at
Gilmore's Central theatre was very
exciting. Like rats those from the
galleries rolled and tumbled down,
with an occasional rod to stay their de-
scent Some of them landed on the
sidewalk with broken limbs, stopping
at nothing in order to get out of the
building. It is miraculous that no one
was killed. At the hospital where the
injured were taken, crowds hang around
the gates and seek for information Of
friends or relatives who We're supposed
to have been in the theatre when tho
fire broke out.