Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1893-03-25
IN RUINS.
Fire Destroys Boston's Famous fremont
Temple--A Loss or $500, 600 Church
Societies suffer Heavy Damages.

Tempic--A Loss OF $500, 900 Church
Societies Suffer Heavy Damages.
BosToN, March 20. -Smoldering ruins
| mark the site of the historic fremont
temple, and one wall stands as q me-
| mento to Boston's narrow escape from
| a confiagration that at one time bade
fair to be more serious than any in the
history of the city. Coupled with this
was close call for over 1000 sleeping
guests of the Parker house adjacent.
| The property loss will reach $500, 900,
| only one-third insurance being carried.
1t was 7:10 o'clock when the fire was
discovered in the temple auditorium,
| breathing up through from the boiler
room, and before the department ar
rived, matter of less than four min
utes, the entire interior was a roaring
furnace. Never did fire gain such
Roadway. The alarm was given from
box T29, the private box of the Parker
| house.
Three alarms were sounded in quick
succession, but when the firemen ar
rived the entire upper part of the
building was in flames and the Parker
house on the north and w. S. Butler &
Co's big dry-goods establishment on
the south side were in imminent
danger. 1t looked as though nothing
could prevent the spread of the fire in
both directions, and greater danger
was threatened in the rear, where ten
acres are covered with ramshackle
structures, finder boxes, with the ex-
ception of ClarlS's tavern and the st.
Nicholas and the Park hotel all filed
with guests.
Five streams from standpipes from
the Parker house and engines poured
water into the building, and after two
hours the fremen had conquered and
the flames were kept within the walls
of the temple, though some damage
was done to the adjacent buildings.
fremont temple was of stone and
brick and had frontage of "a feet on
fremont street. running back $50 feet
toward Chapman place. 1t was owned
by the Union Baptist Temple society
and portions of it were leased. 1t cost
1875, 900. The insurance was sos, 900
on building, $4,000 on the great organ
and So, 600 on the fixtures. The society's
loss will be about $500, 600, including
$50, 900 value of the Gilbert collection
of rare music and paintings
The damage to the Parker house, j.
Reed Whipple, proprietor, will reach
sl5, 900, mostly u water loss to carpets
and decorations, fully covered by in
surance.
William S. Butler & Co. IS loss will be
heavy and it is impossible more than
merely to approximate it at $50, ,o0O The
firm employs 800 clerks and carried a
heavy stock, which is badly damaged
by smoke and water.
The Watchman, the Independent,
Women's League, Loyal Women OF
American Baptist Missionary union,
the Kingdom, the Woman's Baptist
Foreign Missionary society, the Amer.
lean Baptist Home Missionary society,
the Baptist State Mission all had of
fees in the temple and lose their
books and furnishings
John Frederhen & Co, opticians;
Mrs. NJ. A. Macdonald, gloves; Sum.
ner, pharmacy; Sam A. Becllard, gen
tlemen's furnishings, and Otto Lubin,
trusses, suffer loss by smoke and water.
The heaviest loss among these tenants
of the Burnham building Ia wing of the
Parker house, and the front of the
Temple building was sustained by Mrs
Mac Donald, who carried $50, 600 stock
of gloves
Patrick Dunn, driver for the district
chief, had his right leg broken by 6
wall falling, and Andrew McLane, OF
Ladder No. 3, was seriously injured by
being struck by falling ak.
There was excellent judgment showr
by the help of the hotel in allaying {
panic, and in recognition of their work
proprietor Whipple gave $1,000 to be
divided between his cooks, bell boy:
and porters, and $1,000 to be divided
between the firemen and policemen.
The fire is supposed to have orig
in ated from overheated steam pipes o,
from an electric wire in the organ loft
Public services were conducted il
the temple and the Maionaon or lowel
hall every Sabbath, and both hall
were rented for lecture and dramatic
, uses. Many big political convention
and rallies have been held in the grea
hail. The temple will be rebuilt
The loss to insurance companies will
be about s24O,0 The lines are wei
distributed, and no one company will
sustain greater loss than $4,000. Al
,, the firms in the vicinity who suffe
losses by smoke and water are we'll Gov
cred by insurance; indeed the only rea
: losers by the fire are the fremont templ
people, whose official title is the Uniol
,, Temple Baptist church.
fremont temple, which was originally
5 theater, has been one Of the most conspicuou
!, public buildings of Boston in the current ger
GRAFTON Since 1868 it has been celebrated a
over the country as the largest Baptist churc
in New England, If not in America, and til
( headquarters of that denomination. The pul
: pose of taking il for religious uses wa
stated in the original appeal for purchas
money TO found free church in Boston. wher
'all persons, whether rich or poor, withor
3 distinction Of color or condition, Nigh
S worship" The night OF March 81, ls5
+ the temple was burned and John Hal
| n citizen, was killed and George Estes,
), fireman of engine No. 7, Charlestown, had hi
4 back broken and died shortly afterward Th
less was sl7s,S65; insurance, Si5,2ii ne
: building on the old site was completed
! bnwayar in Derpmher lS13 nj cost of Slof