Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1893-12-15
NEARLY A MILLION.
Large Building at Buffalo Wiped
Out by Fire.
KNOWN LOSSES FOOT UP 100000

With = Ncmber of Stores of Which No
Account OF Value Is Giyen-A Four.
Hours' Battle with the Flames aud
Eirewan-Ltst OF tho Losses and Insar.
ance.
BUFFALO. De-. l5.-The Arcade block.
which has stood for more than thirty years
landmark in the very heart OF the city.
was entirely destroyed by FIRE. The Gre
also swept away the Yerxa building,
| which stood on the south of the Arcade.
and did Its work SO rapidly and complete.
ly that very little OF the valuable con.
tents of the buildings were saved The
loss is estimated at not short of sSoo,0c
Buffalo has no. seen in many years such
furious blaze. and it is doubtful il there
is here another structure that seemed SO
| well adapted to withstand flames as the
| old Arcade. People hal come to lock
aron it as thoroughly fre-proof, but moth.
Ing remains now but smoking pile of
ruins. as the big block burned like finder.
aud at one time the flames threatened
| large section of the business portion of the
city.
SOcn bcy OuO NOutSOt.
Before the fire depar tmens had re-
sponded TO the alarm it was seen that the
flames Lad got beyond control In the
Arcade were w. 5 Robinson's musee,
Shea's music hall and large number of
stores and Offices. 1t extended from
| 200 Main street about 2ao feet. running
through to Washington street. It was
protected on one side by the fire wall of
the building occupied by j. n. Adam d
Co.'S big dry goods store. ard the firemen.
| aided by this, managed to stay the pro.
gress of the flames. Had this not been
done the entire block bounded by Main.
Washington, Eagle and Clinton streets
| would undoubtedly been destroyed. The
owners OF the Arcade block were Public
Works Commissioner James Mooney, of
this city: James Brisbane of New York,
and the la.ter's mother. Mrs George Bris.
Bane, of Batavia, y. Y.
Losses Figure Up n Big Sum.
The Yerxa building was owned by
George B. Mathews. 4 we'll known miller
of this city, and was occupied by Faxoa,
Williams & Faxon. grocers. who came
here from Boston several years ago and
established the finest grocery house in
Buffalo, succeeding +. \. Yerxa IN that
building. The EcrAa was five stories; the
Arcade was a four-story brick building
and was valued at S20o, 600 The insur-
ance is about $780, $50 The Yerxa building
was worth 500, 900 and the insurance was
| aboIt S3o,CoG. Faxon, Williams g. Fax.
| on's stock WAS valued ut 100000 and was
insured for $4,000. Mr.. Robnson's loss
on the Nusee theater is about $780, 600.
Shea and Eterhardt, the owners OF the
music hall. suffer loss of $50, 600; little
! insurance. I. c. Tanke. jeweler, loses
about sc, ,0o3 with scarcely third iasur-
| ance. Otto CIbr;cht lost about $50 eco,
| insurance 1000
Other stores Wiped Out.
On both the Main and Washington
| street sides of the building there was a
number of stores of various kinds which
! were completely wiped ou; In less than
four hours the fire had spent its fury.
| Most OF those who had remained in the
uuilding during the night claim 10 have
heard the explosion by which it is supposed
the fire was originated. Everything about
the building was of the most inflamab,e
I nature. So far as can be learned no one
was seriously injured. although many OF
the hremen mad narrow escapes during the
four hours the fire ragged most fiercely,
Both police and fremeu when they first
| arrived upoa the scene made a tour through
the Arcade rs far as the flames would per-
NIT them. owing to the exciting rumor
that some people within were in danger of
| being burned to death.