The herald., 1894-04-30
FOUR LIVES SACRIFICED.
Result of the Fire in the
Crescent City.
Burning of the Elegant St.
Charles Hotel.
The Magnificent Hostelry Completely
Ruined by the Flames.
Several Other Buildings Damaged by
Fire and Water W orkmen Search
ing tho Ruins for Bodies
OF Victims.
BY the Associated Pres.

BY the Associated Press
New ORLEANS, April pa few min
utes before IL O'Clock last night fire
broke out in the kitchen OF the St.
Charles hotel. A large audience was
leaving the st. Charles theater at the
time, and in few minutes the widest
excitement prevailed in the street.
At first the fire was raging in the in
terror of the court; the flames made
comparatively small showing from the
street, and as the fire brigade responded
promptly, hopes were entertained for
some time that anything like serious
disaster would be prevented, but those
within the walls realized that the whole
building was doomed. Guests and en-
ployees Of the hotel were soon hurrying
out of the building, half clad, with such
few personal effects as could be snRtched
up on their hurried exit from their
sleeping rooms.
AS nearly as can be ascertained, four
lives have been sacrificed. One man
leaped from the fourth story and was
almost instantly killed, while four men
and one woman were seen to leap from
the iron staircase leading from the rear
of the building, and were lost to view In
the court, which looked to be almost
solid mass Of flames. One of these men
succeeded in reaching the street, but
nothing has been seen of the others. 1t
is also reported that a child is missing,
but this lacks confirmation.
The scene inside the hotel at this time
was one OF terror and confusion. Ter
ror-sfrickeu half-clad guests we're flying
from the flames which were roaring be-
hind them. Some were dragging their
trunks with them, and offered extrava-
CANT prices for help to convey their val
uables to place OF safety.
Meanwhile the fire continued to ed-
vance to the front of the buitdtng' WHICH
was still intact. ST. Uharles street
looked dark and aombre, though the
upper stories of the buildings opposite
the hotel were lighted up with the re-
Election of the flames.
The hopelessness of the situation, as
far as saving the hotel was concerned,
became evident almost as soon as the
fire broke out. At the center OF the
vast pile of masonry which forms the
hotel and occupies over half of the
square in which it is situated, was
kind of cylinder amphitheatre built for
the purpose of giving air to the rooms
which did not face ON the street. Hav-
ing got fair start over the engines, the
fire spread with lightning raPidity. The
flames made their way into the rooms,
and then finding such inhammable ma
terial as bedding and light furniture,
increased the wild riot of their advance.
Room after room being deserted by it's
terror stricken occupants, fell prey to
the fire and added to the magnificent
pyrotechnic display which thousands
from all parts of the city had gathered
in vast crowd to witness.
About a. m. portion of the wall on
Gravier street, as we'll as a section on
Common street, fell in, and a small por-
tion of the Gravier street fell outward,
wrecking about 80 telegraph wires.
By a. M. the last of the interior of
the building had tumblsd in, leaving
only the st. Charles street wall intact.
On Gravier street the flames were eating
their way into three buildings which in
tervened between the wall of the hotel
and the old Union bank at the corner.
These buildings on Gravier street were
occupied by q number of firms engaged
in the insurance and machinery agency
business.
lu6 lO5b le d6tlnhb6Q ~ lLOLQ pOUU,OUU
to 100000.
Besides the St. Charles hotel, there
are other losses. The first outside
building to be ignited was number 1863
Gravier street, the ground floor being
occupied by the New Orleans Electric
company, and the upper floors as q
boarding house. The building was
Quilted in short time. Several ladies
ID ha khirl Haow 49, 10
police. No. Ill Grsvier street was also
badly damaged, aad No. 15S and 100
Common street were also almoHt de-
stroyed, and 1862 and 164 considerably
damaged. Nearly all Che buildings in
the rear of the hotel in the same square
and fronting on Carondelet street were
more or less damaged by fire and water.
Alexander Levy, tailor; the Turf ex-
change; the ticket Office of the Texas
Pacific, loss, $4,000; barber shop;
Rosenfelder & Herrick, shoes; j. S.
Smith. shirts; Tepelie, tailor A. Bonne,
shoes the ticket Office of the Louisville
and Nashville; the Piedmont railroad
ticket Office, and w. II. Brown, are
among the losses. Beneath the stair
case WAS the handsome bar room owned
by the widow of Leon Lamont.
work removing the debris and in search
of the bodies of the missing employees.
The man who was killed by leaping from
the building was John Reilly, q baker.
The st. Charles hotel was built in
1888. the work of construction having
been commenced in 1885. The cost of
the building was 5000, 900 and the ground
cost 100000. The dining room was one
of the most finely finished apartments
in America, the ceiling being composed
of beautiful elliptic domes for chande-
lers. The ceiling and walls were hand
aomely freecoed by Oanova, ephew of the
great Italian sculptor, and the building
contained some handsome statuarY.
This building WAS destroyed by Ere in
1851. The building OF the new hotel
was commenced. and the building then
was again destroyed last
night. 1t attracted attention through
cut the world for the fact that it was one
Of theifnest hotels in the world and the