The morning news., 1892-02-09
A BIG BLAZE EFT MEMPHIS.
Flames Lick Up $l,ooo,ooo Worth of
Business Property.

EtOPOTty.
MEMPHIS, Tenn, Feb. Sat $50 O'Clock
tonight the building No. $50 Main street, oc-
cupied by the Bruse-Kern Hat Company deal
ers in hats. caps and straw goods, was dis
covered to be on fire. The entire rear
portion Of the 6-story building, from the
basement to the top, seemed to be ablaze in
an Instant. The fire quickly communicated
to the front portion snd by 10 o'clock the
flremen were forced back from the roaring
furnace of hats and straw goods and di-
rected their efforts to saving the trunk fac
tory of s. Levy, adjoining the hat store on
the north.
THE HAT STORE CoLLAPsEs.
At 1915 o'clock the building occupied by
the hat company collapsed and into the
space formerly occupied by 1t crashed the
building of the Langstaff Hardware
Company, which adjoined it on the south.
The firemen were utterly unable to
cope it'll the flames and at 10: 80 O'Clock the
Levy trunk factory was total wreck and
Leuhrman's, probably the finest hotel south
OF the Ohio river, was in flames. At IL
O'Clock Leuhrman's hotel was total loss.
STILL SPREADING.
MEMPHIS, TENN, Feb. 8, IL 40 p. M-The
fire is spreading, The Ruby saloon and
large harness factory aud another building
are now burning and will probably be a
total loss. Ii is thought that no lives were
lost in the Leuhrman hotel as the guests had
ample opportunity Of escaping before the
fire communicated to the hotel.
The loss cannot be approximated at this
hour, but it will foot up in the hundreds of
thousands, as the burned portion of the
city contained some Of the finest buildings
in town.
THE BURNED HOTEL.
MEMPHIS, Feb. 8, 1870 A. M.-The mag
niticent 5~story hotel at the corner Of Main
and Monroe streets was splendid food for
the flames, and in less than one hour was
totally destroyed. The hotel was magnificent
ly furnished and had but recently added
splendid bar outfit of the most costly de-
sign. The loss to the hotel will be 500, 900.
AT this juncture breeze arose
ald changed the course of the
firemeu were forced back at every point by
the resistess fury of thet.ames and in a
short time the Ruby saloon and the
saloon Of j. G. Mayer, adjoining buildings,
were destroyed. Eastward and to the south
Of where the blaze started the fire went on
Soon Lennon g. Gates wholesale
dry goods store was a maEs of ruins. II.
Wetter's hardware store and William
Jacks china store was the next to be de-
stroyed and w. N. Wilkerson's wholesale
drug store was next reached. 1t was
thought that this splendid structure with
its well-known f1re-proof walls would prove
a barrier to the flames. but the fire crept in
upon the stock of inhammable drugs from
the side and rear and it was soon blazing
fiercely.
THE FIRE ENTERS SECOND STREET.
Again the wind veered to the west and
the fire started eastward to Second str eet
John Huehn & Co. 8 printing establishment
was burned to ashes in short time. The
Lilly Carriage Company on Second street
next caught andethe rear portion of their
factory with part of the stock was
destroyed.
The flremen on Second street meanwhile
gained foothold and began to keep the fire
within the block. The wind died out about
this time. which probably saved w, Il. .
Bruce's carriage factory and one
or two smaller buildings, which
alone were left in the block.
The block destroyed is bounded by Main,
Union, Second and Monroe streets, and is in
the heart OF the dry goods district of the
city. The loss will reach 81 10000 The
Peabody hotel, on the northwest corner of
Main street and Monroe, and the Louisville
and Nashville ticket office on the opposite
corner were on fire several times, but
by hard work on the part of the hotel em-
ployes, guests and by-standers pres sed into
service to aid the firemen, were saved. The
fire at a, m. is burning fiercely, but is
under control. As far as known at this
hour, no lives were lost.