The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-08-07
AN EXPENSIVE BLAZE.
It Destroys the Grand Stand of the
Philadelphia Ball Park.
SPREADS TO ADJOINING BUILDINGS

The Loss to the Baseball Club WIN Reach
Eighty Thousand Dollars. While Other
Losses VIII Aggregate Thirty.three
Thousand Dollars More.
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. x-The pavilions
and spectators stands at the Phiiadel.
phia Baseball park. and the large stables
Of the Omnibus Company General were
destroyed by Gre yesterday, and the car
depot of the Thirteenth and Fifteenth
streets and Twelfth and Sixteenth streets
division of the Philadelphia Traction
company, the saloon property of James j.
Boyle, and many private residences were
more or less injured. The fire was discov.
cred In the wooden panelling Of the
women's retiring room In the main pa
yilion of the ball park at 1890 In the
morning, and Is supposed to have orig
mated from inflammables left by some
plumbers.
The great tiers of seats were deserted
at the time, but had the fire been discov-
cred a few hours later. when the local
club was scheduled to play two games
with the Baltimore team, a terrible STAN.
pede and loss Of life would have ensued,
for q few minutes after the first small
tongue of fame was discovered the entire
mass was roaring furnace.
The Philadelphia team was practicing
ON the diamond when the FIRE was liscov.
cred. Three of the players. Reilly, Fan
ming and Taylor, gave the alarm. and at
tempted to extinguish the blaze. They
were quickly driven back by the heat,
however, and made rush for their clothes.
The players had narrow escapes.
A general alarm of fire brought all the
engines in the city to the spot, but the pa
vilions and open seats were already crum-
bling under the roaring flames. The fire
next jumped Fifteenth street and attacked
the stable of the Omnibus Company Cen
eral, which covers the entire adjoining
block. The offices Of this company were
soon Quilted, and then the flames made
their way to the great hay mows on the
second floor of the new brick and iron
stored. About $50 horses were In the
stable when it caught, but the animals, to-
gether with the vehicles stored there, were
all saved.
The next building to go was the pro-
duce shop of William Bantom, at No
1901 Tucker street, which is total
wreck. The drug store of Thomas Park.
on the corner of Fifteenth and Hunting
don streets, narrowly escaped meeting the
same fate. The windows were broken to
atoms and the woodwork scorched and
burnt. Mr.. Parks loss will be heavy. A
number of adjacent dwellings were sim.
ilarly damaged.
Meanwhile the Traction company's car
depot on Huntington street. opposite the
main pavilion, caught fire, but was
quickly extinguished. The saloon of j.
J. Boyle, at Broad and Huntington street.
was similarly damaged.
The following were severely burned
while saving property or trying to extin.
guish the flames; James MCGEE. fire
man, overcome by heat and injured by
falling down flight of steps, Charles
Boyer, q horse sheer, severely burned
Assistant Engineer Ellinger and Firemen
Tn omas Clayton, George Reese Harry
Thomas and John Elliott badly scorched.
The Philadelphia Baseball park will
loose $50. 900; insured for $50, 900. The ON
nibus company's loss will be $4,000, the
Traction company looses s., 900 and J. j.
Boyle $1,000. The total damage to the
other property will aggregate $4,000.
The games scheduled to be played with
Baltimore In the AFTERNOON were post.
poned, and last night the Philadelphia
club left for Boston. The club will play
two games in this city with the Wash.
ington club on Saturday at the University
of Pennsylvania grounds.