New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-04-03
A BLAZE IN TEMPLE COURT.
MANY OFFICES THERE BURNED OUT.
THE FLAMES SPREAD THROUGH SEVERAL FLOORS

THE FLAMES SPREAD SH' A1'''H r'-NN'''
OF THE BIG BUILDING.
Az the massive and inspiring Beekman-st. en-
trance Of the handsome Temple Court building, Is
nosted tho sign For rooms i'll this fireproof build
inr apply 10 Ruhlng d Whiting, second floor.
About 200 professional and business men, VINO
have offices in the Temple Court building will
urobably point this morning 10 the sign in a
epirit of irony when they look at the charred
remnants of wood and paper which represents all
that remains Of their snug. "osey and perfectly
appointed Offices fire yesterday partly destroyed
the best part of four upper floors in the Nassaust
wing Of Temple Court.
How the blaze started is mystery. An en-
animation of the building seems TO show that IT
began in No. 125, room on the seventh fiooT of
the new extension. erected in 1890. The ext?n-
sion Is bounded on the north by the main build
ing, which fronts Beekman-st.: on the east by
Sassau-st and on the west by the little courtway
known as Theatre Alley. The main building and
extension thus form a perfect l.. In the
of the main building and separating the east and
west sides of the extension is the great air and
light shaft, about sixty feet long by twenty feet
WIDE and il was in this shaft, which gives light
as we'll as air to nearly all the rooms in the en-
tension, that the fire found its readicst aid. The
windows of Miss Powers's room. on the Theatre
Alley side of the extension look out upon the air
shaft.
When the fire started at 7:4O a. m. the only
persons in the building the jantor, Frank
Leslie, his wife and children. who sleep on the
tenth floor in the southwest corner OF the
tension and in the rear Of the main building.
Leslie, fast asleep, was aroused by loud crack
ling sound and the punsent. suhocating smell
of smoke. He ran TO his window and looked out
20 gee volume of flame bursting from Miss
Powcrs's room, in the middle of the second floor,
and leaping TO the glass roof. lie krew that
the stairways and corridors would be filed with
smoke before he and his family could reach the
ground floor short ladder led from his rooms
to the roof Up this he ran, dragging his f'mily
with him. and there the shivering group
waited for the lire to 20 out or
for the iremen TO take them down
As they stepped out on the roof laundering
crash told that the glass roof had succumbcd
to the heat and fallen in. The crash was heard
by policeman of the Fourth Precinct who. pa
trolling Nassau-st., had not previously been aware
that fire was burning around the neighbor-
hood, but as the sky overhead grew thick with
the smoke which burst through the broken roof
the few brains he had guided him to fire box
and he sent out an alarm. Chief Lally. fresh
from four hours hard work at the fire in Dukes
factcrv was the first TO respond to the call and
at orce sent out three alarms. BY this time
thu flames had extended to the rooms on po'h
sides of the extension. and had taken IN tiie
seventh. eighth ninth and tenth hoors Du'
the natural tendency Of the fire 70 'aho an
inward course was checked in some degree oS
the fact that the airshaft had oeUh c'"S'
tbe qreund floor. This drew the currcn. Vi a.,
downward. with the result 'ha' '"' nav"
sixth floors were canght. o t-o,r the
Tho Aremen, playing on the names ,iont n,. 80.
ord Tho rear windows of the main building
H"s e,,s Aoor. of fire to contend with AL 'ne
AS1os :, the csntrc OF the block were now o"'n-
inc and il required an hour Of hard' s'eadS "''A
to control the blaze. .ba
cot any adequate idea Of the total loss oy '''e
Nro or water or smoke was simply lmpos'i'0
,erdav owing TO the absence Of the tenants. "v vs.
NJ ,he chief sufferers by the flames were VI
unaware OF their loss, and Will not disc''e - ~ -
tbev read the papers this morning. Nearly go
rooy, on the five floors of the extension oVerioon
A., .;,sbott is moro or less damaged by IRE
- r,a+.r and those in the middle of the biock' oi
ai,ber side are entirely burned ont. In 'i'ese
c.sas ,be glass window Of the doors nave NC"
hrok.n or burned out; the doors themselves "''
seorched and bIackened the furniture papers " VI
ANYTHING which could give clue 70 the n"'.''
Of some Of the occupants are destroyed, whie '''
Advancement of the names on the directory
only adds to the doubt and uncertainty
Among the offices most damaged are tho% VI
al
731 and 732 on the seventh floor; Ira b. Wneeie'
aud Rell Hal who occupy Nos. 93l and '"2 OH
.,o ninth hoor: the Brown Gravel CONSTRUCTION
Comnanv on the fifth floor; johnson a Eomd"u"
an the eighth floor; Bernard Midas NOS ga
and ,30 on the fifth floor; The Telegraph Ase'
an IN. six,h floor; Clarks Island Granite Cohi-
.nr M s22 and Notion d Boardman' W.
s9I on the eighth floor; John Pierce. the "ehV-
worth Monument Company the eastern o"I'~."
a, aThe Cincinnati Tribune the ,ni'ed ruo,
I;sb;no Company: Phipps, Munson q fheips' anu
- e. Rrownson, J. w. Farley and hnisnn. u
p.o,h.rs The loss to The Telegraph AZ
will not amount TO more than S<oo'
nublisbers made prompt arrangements 10 continue
hrs;pess without interruption. The QUICK anu
49,. work of the wornout ana iaseeu
H.onan ssvcd the main building winch, eAcep'
80 s,,cb. scorching Of the Iear windows, Is
~. untouched. Peter Weir, bookseller
eitoecmietn nrurv dealer in foreiln G0ods' p' ~ ~
bnrn phillips, taors, and NJ >. haii; ALL aii {,
,yhnm have stores in the Beeknan OF t rat"r
sides of the building escapeu VIZ" ,,'nr. many hun
dnnds ~ valuable law books ana documents ,,;ii
III nrohabiljty the total monetary oamaze VIII
Among the many wel-known men VINO IN Tstjee gTca
rooms II the Sdilang garrisOn h a"o hangben Eros
S;rady, are raxers sus,s'e Jerome. f. A. Lovecrair
h1sSano Wnnsm ,ieeeroe. John Russell Young, X: T.
N Narnmm and 4. 8. n yermilya ne Wo1, hemG,e Ihe
Court Building j. owned ss ny .usd .pectrd in iissa.
p. pa., as Years went on the increasing dcmahus
fcr snace Obliged the addition OF new wlns so, oi1
the Tassau-st side, and the extension was oPo"''
in 1890.