Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-08-06
Destruction Of Another Base Ball
Grand Stand.
DAMAGE At PHILADELPHIA GROUNDS
Rapid Spread Of an Apparently IN
significant Fire.
TIL E PHILLIES HOMELESS

PHILADELPHIA, August 6.-The Phila-
delphia Base Ball Park. one of the finest of
Its kind in the country. is a smoking wreck
of crumbling walls. charrcd timber and
twisted iron, the large stables of the Omni-
bus Company adjoining 10 the west is now
burning, and the car stables of the 18th
and 18th streets division of the Philaiel-
phia Traction Company and adjoining prop
erty are badly damaged.
The disastrous conflagration started be-
tween the partitions in the ladies' toilet
room at the west end OF the main pavilion
OF the ball park. The Philadelphia and Bal
tir1ore teams had been scheduled to play
two games at the park this afternoon and
all of the players were either practicrng on
the field or were in their dressing rooms.
Suddenly one OF the bystanders noticed a
narrow tongue ot flame shooting up betwe en-
the boards Of the partition at the west enl
Of the stand. The ladies' toilet room is
approached by fliSnt of steps, which raises
1t over ouc of che entrance staircases and
very close to the roof Of the pavilion. The
players on the field dii not think the fire
serious and several of the bystanders start
ed TO put IL out. The interior fittings Of
the main pavilion are all of yellow pine, and
1t burned like SO much pitch. In an instant
ana scarcely before the improvise1 fire
brigade had time to reach the ground again
the entire structure was roaring furnace.
Location of the Park.
The ball park is situated at the corner of
broad and huntington streets, close to the
outskirts of the city. 1t had a seating ca
paeity of about 5000. the seats radiating
from a common center at 10Th and Hunt
insdon streets The grounds extend from
Broad street to 10Th, a block to the west
ana from Huntingdon street to Lehigh ave-
nue., block to the north
Inc paviiions are all arranged so that
.ne spectators have their back to the after
noon sun. Inc main entrance was at the
corner of 10Th and Huntingdon streets and
from there the main pavilion and the long
nhes or bieachers extended along Hunting
don street to Broad and along 10Th street
TO Lehigh avenue. The pavilions were all
OF the most permanent character The
lower floor of the main pavilion was ar
ranged in rising tiers of seats, and above
it's lofty ceiling Of iron and ornamental
wood was placed one upper deck contain
ing plaza, private boxes and several hun
dred reserved seats. Still above this rose
the picturesque roof, ornamented by shin
gled gables and frequent pointed towers.
The structure had all the attributes of a
handsome building, but being without walls
the fire famed by the light breeze, made
the destruction of this pavilion a matter of
lut few moments, and the airy galleries,
light towers and slender pillars of the
siiperstructure soon crashed to the street
in ruins.
Omnibus stable Burned.
The stable of the Omnibus Company Gen.
eral. which operates o line Of omnibuses on
Broad street, was opposite the main pavil-
ion on 18th street. at the corner Of Hunting
don. 1t is an almost new building of brick
and iron, and extends several hundred feet
along Huntington street 1t could not long
Withstand the blazing bonfire of yellow pine
opposite, and the flames rapidly spread to
It. The omnibuses and horses were all
saved. but the upper floor contained a large
M nj Of hnxr or,I
hour is still burning fiercely and threatens
to wreck the entire structure. The car
house of 18TH and 18th streets trolley line
is at the corner of 18th street. opposite the
ball park on Huntingdon street. One end
Of 1t was destroyed, it's window frames, etc,
We're burend, but the f1remen prevented the
building from being consumed. The sum-
mer garden of James j. Boyle, opposite the
park, at the corner of Broad and Hunting
don streets. was also slightly damaged by
the scorching heat. but the loss here will be
thrilling. -.t.-'l.-t
While the firemen were making strenuous
EFFORTS to save the adjoining property, the
long lines of bleaching boards opDosite
right and left field In the ball park had
fallen easy prey to the flames, and an hour
after the fire started the seats and pavil-
ions, which for the past week have been
crowded with people, were nothing more
than a few charred timbers, while the dia-
mond. which had been the scene of SO many
hard-fought battles. was blackened and
The Losses.
The loss is likely to aggregate many thou
sand dollars. The original improvements
on the ball grounds cost $4,000, and most
OF this sum has been lost. The heaviest
stockholders n the company are Col John
/. Rogers, its president. and A. j. Reach
1t was said at the ball park tho both Of
these gentlemen were out Of town. Many
of the players lost their suits, while others
had an opportunity to save them. This
less will be trifiing.
The Philadelphia team will go to Boston
tonight and beyond that no definite plans
are announced.
Several thousand dollars will probably
cover the damage done to the car house of
the 18th and 18th street trolley line.
At this hour, with the flames still as
cending in columns from the stable of the
omnibus company, 1t Is impossible to tell
how great the damage will be there but the
stables are fully insured Several persons
were slightly burned. but none of them Sc
riously. .. .......a., -.-