Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1894-07-12
BUN AT THE FAIR.
SEVEN MAMMOTH STRUCTURES
SWEPT AWAY.
Adminlstrstion's Golden Dome and Corons
Fall In observation-disclosures Bugding
Rsssd to the Ground-Large Portion 81
4 the Exposition Grounds Devastated.
A Sea Of Flsnis. I

n beo OF EI3m0s
A year ago the Court OF Honor OF the
fair white City" stood in unrivaled
splender upon the shore of Lake, Mich
igan, and thousands reveled in its
beauty. Thur day night it passed
away In fiery sp'endor, and thousands
mourneds its fail! Blackened and
twisted arches of iron, with their grid
ers sagging. under the weight of torn
sheets Of roofing rear their skeleton
forms whore the buildings Of the
beautiful city once stood Beneath
them lie huge mo, nis OF smol-
dering ruins frosted with a waste
of snowy ashes. Tangles of wire
the mis- shapen hulks of fallen statuary
and long rows of blistered columns
mark the outlines of avenues and
drives. The pIrapets, the bridges,
and the wide sweep OF itaircasing
which fanked the buildings have been
licked up by the fire to the waters
edge. Every other at ack of the ele-
ments, fire, wind, CT water, was as
nothing b,fo g this all-devouring tor
nado OF flame which swept from end
to end and laid low every important
building left standing by the wrecker.
The Worlds air buildings are in
ruins.
Beginning with the huge weather
beaten remains of the terminal station
at the south OF the grounds, the fire
sped rapidly moi t1wdrd, and in the
course of its Pre- gress c implicitly de-
stroyed the following structures:
Terminal Building.
Administration Building.
Mines and Mining.
Electricity.
Manufactures.
Machinery.
Agricu ture.
Stock Paw ion.
Philadelphia Cafe.
One man lost his life in the flames
and another received burns from which
he may die. Besides these a number
of persons received minor injuries.
Saved bya Change of Wind.
Tho firemen made no attempt to save
the buildings alter they were once
ablaze, but devoted every effort to
prevent the fire from spreading. The
transportation and government build
ings were saved only by tho most rer-
sistent efforts of the firemen At one
the north end of the grounds would be
from the southwest to the northwest
prevented the flames from advancing.
A dispatch from Chicago says that
q few minutes after o'clock Park Po-
liceman John Reynolds saw two spirals
of blue smoke curling lazily upward
from a window in the southwestern
corner of the Terminal Building.
fastening over to the spot he burst
into the building through broken
door. A stihing gust of smoke rolled
out. Penetrating t. the center Of the
building he saw a point Of flame
shoot upward from under a staircase
in the corner. Famed by tho breeze
from the open door the whole end Of
the structure was mass of fame in
less than moment. Reynolds ran rap
idly across 10 machinery hall and
turned in an alarm. When he returned
the fire was playing hide ahd-seek IN
the ornamental cornices. 1t had not
yet felt its power. BY some stra age
fatality the crew Of the Worlds Fair
station was mile away extinguishing
little blaze at the corner Of list street
and Stony Island avenue. 1t was a full
half hour after the first alarm sounded
bOiOiO 0hO III oO iCOO-O otIOdhl OIOhO
into spray at the caves Of the tall
building 1t was too late. The fire
had found its power. The walls of
the terminal station which still re-
NAMED standing gaped wide with
cracks through which glowed
the volcano of fire within. The
flames lighted up Whitley the
faces of the thousands of spectators
who came streaming out of the park
from every street. Some of them
shouted Fire" Fire" at the, top of
their voices, but they could not be
heard above the roar Of the flames.
The dry building with its lath and
staff roof and wooden Orders burned
like finder. A billowy cloud of smoke
arose slowly until the upper end of the
cloud resembled a huge ba loon, the
top of which was trst crimsoned with
the rays of the setting sun. Suddenly
the northern wall of the building fell
with crash, and there was an illumina-
ton of fireworks greater than any
that ever graced summer evening
during the Fair. Nothing could stay
the flames, and the swept on until all
the buildings in their aery path were
in ruins. $50 efsr