Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1895-04-03
SWEPT BY FIRE.
Milwaukee Mercantile District
Devastated.
Almost o Whole Block in Ashes Loss
will Reach 100000.

Milwaukee, Wis, March 27.-Lower
Grand avenue, where the heart Of the
wholesale and retail commerce Of the
west side throbS, was the scene early this
morning of one of the most serious con-
fagrations in the history of the city.
Some of heleading mercantile institutions
OF Milwaukee are in ruins; the splendid
Y. NJ. G.. A. building, one of the finest
and best equipped III the country, is
gone; the public library, with its $1,000
volumes, some of which could never be
replaced has had a narrow escape
The fire is the most disastrous since the
Third ward conl1agration of October %,
lS92, and the pecuniary loss will exceed
$1,OUO,OOO 1t furnished a magnificent
spectacle for the thousands that filled the
avenue and watched it from surrounding
buildings. There was, however, luckily
no fatalities.
The burned buildings are the follow
ing:
Pianknton estate building oc-
cup1ed by Landauer 81 Co., and
Tanner u Co., and Public Library
LandaueF & Co., wholesale dry FA'''0''
goods ................. 400. GOO
Tanner & Co, who esaie furniture. 10000
defiance Storage company. ......... 25,000
BarEng & Wambold, retail clothiers. 80. 100
Benedict Co., wholesale clothiers. 5000
Columbia Clothing company. 10000
I. NJ. G. a. build .ng. ............. 70, 100
Other losses in Library building. 10 0gU
Roebel q Relnhardt art store. go. 40.Uj0
Streaks of smoke shooting through the
front windows of the Tanner store at
100 p. N. gave RoundSman Albert
Gentle the first warning of confag ra-
ton, and he sent in the alarm that drew
out most of the fire departments equip
ment from the box at the Third street
corner. Before the engines and other
apparatus were well under way from their
headquarters the towers of pink and
yellow flame were mounting skyWard.
scattering the devouring contagion to all
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 0Wne4 by the Plank
inton estate, and about the same time
was eating it's way into the stock of the
clothing store of Barring Wambold &
Co, adjoining on the east. This was "a
little low tWo-storied structure and didn't
more than give the hungry flames
taste before it was licked up
Meanwhile also the firebrands lad
leaped across to the north side of the
avenue, running the art store of RoebeI
d Reinhardt, two or three little saloons
and lodging houses and cheap ramshackle
buildings that were familiar to everyone
who has ever walked up the avenue.
Before 1 O'Clock the flames had crossed
Fourth street and were feeding on the e
III. 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 I'M
der Chief FoleyS direction had begun its
work to save the library and the three or
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 estates
block, occupied by Landauer & Co. and
Tanner d Co. to ashes. There was now
the surrounding property on the west side
of Fourth street, near the Y. NJ. G. 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 was
saved, and at 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-
spectiyely by the west side high school
and the Germania society. Inc building
is owned by the Plankinton estate. At
one time it was thought nothing could
save the structure.
While the hremen were busy keeping
the east wind from driving the fire west
ward there was also a tremendous effort
Delng oAeTleu 10 save lAe OdNI0SOu inca
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 Barring & Wambold store. extends
around to Third street in the form of an
L and adioins the theater on the alley,
but in a 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
were then directed to saving the Morgan
building.