Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1895-04-04
SWEPT BY FIRE.
Milwaukee Mercantile Distr;c.
Devastated.
Almost Whole Block in Asaec-Loss
will Reach $l,O0O,O0O.

Milwaukee, Wis, March 27-I,ovor
Grand avenue, where the heart Of the
wholesale and retail commerce of tbo
west side throbs, was the scene early this
morning of one of the most sericus CON.
fagrations in the history of the civ
Some of the leading mercantile institutions
OF MllWaukee are IN ruins; the splendid
Y. NJ. &. A. building, one OF the tinnSt
and best equipped III the country. is
gone; the puDllc library, with it's S,,nnn
volumes, Son.e Of which could never bo
replaced has had a narrow escape.
The fire is the most disastrous since tho
Third ward contlagration of October ~
1892, and the pecuniary loss will exceed
81 100000. 1t furnished magnificent
spectacle for the thousands that filled the
avenue and watched it from surroundinG
buildings. There was, however, luckT
no fatalities.
The burned buildings are the follow
ing:
Plankinton estate on building oc-
cupied by Landauer 4 Co.. and
Tanner Il Co., and Public Library
La oius 4 Co., Wholesale dry Sl'o0oo
Tanner & Co., who esaie furni1re. 7 ~, 'sS
Reliance Storage company. ......... - u0n
Darling & Wambold, retail clothiers sNVSt
Benedict & Co.. wholesale clothiers - On
Columbia Clothing company. l0W9
Y NJ G. A. building. .......... - H,9
Other losses III Library building. So. LOOM
Roebel q Relnhardt, art store. ..... 40 go,
Streaks of smoke shooting through tba
front windows of the Tanner store nj
11:55 p. IN. gave Roundsman Albert
Gentle the first warning of a contiar,1-
ton, and he sent in the alarm that drew
out most of the fire departments couin-
ment from the box at the Third street
corner. Before the engines and Other
f,,s ,l,,,,
headquarters the towers of pink and
yellow flame were mounting skywarI,
scattering the devouring contagion to ali
the four winds. In no time the fire had
spread to the great wholesale dry Goods
establishment of Landauer in the same
building which was 0wne> by the Plank
inton estate, and about the same time
clothing store of Barring, Wambold 4
Co, adjoining on the east This was a
little low two-storied structure, and didn't
more than give the hungry flames a
taste before it was licked up.
Meanwhile also the tirebrands had
leaped across to the north side of the
avenue, running the art store of RoebaE
q Reinhardt, two or three little saloons
and lodging houses and cheap ramshacke
buildings that We're familiar to everyone.
who has ever walked up the avenue.
Before l O'Clock the flames had crossed
Fourth street and were feeding on the Y.
nj. G.. A. building and twenty minutes
later the two upper floors of the Library
block were a seething mass of roaring
fire. About the time the department un-
der Chief Foley's direction had begun its
work to save the library and the three OF
four clothing and dry goods stores it Con
tains the fury of the blaze had spent it
self on the south side of the avenue, after
having reduced the Plankinton estate,
;ol Nv, T q -
Tanner Il Co. to ashes. There was row
the surrounding property on the west side
Of Fourth street, near the Y. NJ. c. A.
building, and from the frebrands scat
tered broadcast by the flames in the upper
portion of the Library block. 1t was only
by desperate work that the library WA;
saved, and at 2 o'clock the Morgan store
had been possibly saved from all damage
except the upper floor, the Library block
suffering damage not more than one
eighth of it's total cost
The public library building at the north
west corner of Grand avenue and Fourth
street was saved by hard work. The loss
on the building is believed to be confined
to the fourth and fifth floors, occupied re-
spectively by the west, side high school
and the Germania society. The building
is owned by the Plankinton estate. AT
one time it was thought nothing could
save the structure.
While the firemen were busy keeping
the east wind from driving the fire west
ward there was also a tremendous effort
being eXerted to save the Davidson thea
ter and hotel from another fiery bath
and to stop the progress of the devourer
before it had eaten it's way into the big
Morgan dry goods store at Third and
Grand avenue The task of saving the
Davidson looked like a hard one because
the Darling & Wambold store extends
around to Third street in the form of an
L and adjoins the theater on the alley.
but in short time it was evident that
the playhouse was going to escape, the
hotel guests who had rushed out in alarm
began to return, and the main efforts
We're then directed to saving the Morgan