Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1893-04-20
WAS IT INCENDIARY?
Suspicious Blaze in the Stadt Theater,
Milwaukee.

Suspicious Blaze in the Stadt Theater
Milwaukee.
MILWAUKEE, Wis, April ia fire
was discovered IN the Stadt Theater
building, on Oneida Street. at 2:20
O'Clock this morning, and before the
flames were extinguished the building
and its contents had been damaged to
the extent OF probably 500, 900 The
fire started in the basement and was first
discovered by Officer Dover, who imme-
diately turned i'll al alarm, the fifth from
the theater building within three
weeks. For fully fifteen minutes the
fire burned slowly and an attempt was
made by the fire department to eXtin-
tinguish it with chemicals. Suddenly at
2:35 o'clock the crowd, which had gath
cred at the scene, was startled by loud
explosion as if of bomb, which could
be heard plainly two blocks away.
This came from the entrance to the Stadt
Theater, and moment later the flames
were issuing from the Oneida Street
windows of the building. That the fire
was Of incendiary origin and was caused
by the bombs no one who was in the
vicinity of the building when the eX-
plosions occurred appears to doubt, and
this theory is strengthened by the fact
that within the past three weeks fire
has been discovered III the vicinity of
the building five times, and that an eX-
PLANTATION can be given for only one of
the blazes, none of which until that of
this morning proved serious.
simultaneously with the appearance
of the fire in the theater proper it
appeared to spread to the front Of the
building, which was soon a mass of
flames, as far as the lower story was
concerned, the corner occupied by Lad
wig 4 Schranck apparently being likely
to be damaged the least by fire. Mean
while second and third alarms were
sounded and soon great streams of
water were being poured into the build
ing. This had its effect on the
west portion of the structure, which
is the least damaged by flames. The
auditorium of the theater was, however,
flooded with water and the furniture
and hangings as well as stage settings
are badly damaged. Indeed the en-
tire theater presents a sorry appearance
this morning, the well-furnished rooms
of the Macnnerverein and the Musk
verein in the upper stories, being
deluged with water and filed with
smoke. The stores in front with their
stocks are also badly damaged. Lad
wig 4 Schrank's is filled with water and
there is a loss there of perhaps $4,000.
The beautiful furnishing of the res
taurant, together with the hand
some paintings, valued at $1,000, are
also blackened and the canvases are
dripping with water The loss here
will be heavy, but as yet cannot be es-
timated. Estimates on the loss in the
Stadt Theater itself which is owned by
Capt. Pabst, early this morning were
$4,000, but this may prove much too
large when the building is entered and
examined. The interior furnishings
were certainly almost ruined. The
total loss, it was thought, would approx
mate 100000.
Just after the explosion woman's
cry was heard from the uppur story and
moment later ladder was raised to
the window and Mrs. Mary Wolf, the
aged janitress OF the restaurant, was
brought down the ladder in the arms of
two policemen. Beyond a partial sutfo-
cation by smoke, she was not injured.