St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-02-03
SKY-SCRApERS BURN
MAMMOTH BUILDINGS IN THE
QUAKER CITY COMPLETELY
DESTROYED.
LOSS OF FULLY 100000.
LECTIONS, WHICH CANNOT BE
REPLACED.
Painting Women Add Interest to
the Scene-NO Lives Lost-Ori-
gin II Mystery.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa, Feb. 2.-Chest-
nut street, above Broad, was visited
early this morning by one of the
fiercest fires this city has known for
years. The seven-story building of
Charles H. Haseltine, Nos 1416 and 1418
Chestnut street. and the adjoining five
story structure of the Baptist Publica-
ton society and the American Baptist
Historical society, No. 1920 were total
ly destroyed. The buildings damaged
by fire and water and falling walls
were the four-story dry gods house of
Homer, LIE Boutillier & Co., Nos. 1412
and 1414; the dwelling house at 1422,
owned by the Wistar estate, and the
Hotel Lafayette, at Broad and SAMSON
streets. On either side of the main
entrance to the Haseltine building were
the piano ware rooms of Hallet &
Davis, at 1416. and of Steinway & Co,
at 1418. The two Baptist societies lost
large and valuable collections of paint
ings, books and curios. The detailed
losses have not yet been made up, but
a conservative estimate places the ag-
gregate at
CLOSE TO 100000.
1t is thought that this is almost fully
covered by insurance.
There were about $50 guests in the
Lafayette hotel, which is in the rear
of the destroyed buildings. Among
these were Porter King, mayor of At
lanta Ga, and the others of his party
who escorted the Liberty bell home
Olga Nethersole, the actress; her broth
er, Louis F. Nethersole, Madge Mead
ows and Maud Clayton, of her COM
pany, were also guests of the Lafayette
The guests, barring a few fainting
women kept cool heads, and all were
removed in safety. The Atlanta party
was carried in a patrol wagon to the
Continental hotel, five blocks away, and
the Nethersole party to the Metropole.
opposite the Lafayette. Every other
hostelry in the city was thrown open
for the recection oe the disturbed
guests. Only the eighth and ninth
floors Of the hotel were burned, al
though the back part of the building,
from cellar to roof, was badly dam
aged by smoke and water. 1t had only
recently been opened by a new man
agement. 1t was shortly before 3 o'clock
when two policemen, while patrolling
their beats near by, detected the smell
OF smoke. They ran at once to the
Lafayette hotel, and went from floor
to floor, looking for fire. When they
reached the sixth, the fierce blaze from
the rear of the Haseltine building,
which reached dangerously near to the
back Of the hotel, met their sight. An
alarm or hut
partment could reach the scene.
strong wind had carried the flames
throughout the entire building.
A dozen lines of hose were turned
on the Chestnut street front, but the
light wood and paper which stocked
the second, third and fourth floors
were easy
FOOD FOR THE FLAMES.
The upper part of the building was
known as the Haseltine art galleries
Many leading artists had studios there
and the art collections stored aggre
gated in value thousands of dollars.
AT 4 o'clock the walls began to col
lapse and the flames spread on the east
to Homer, LIE Boutillier & Co.. and on
the west to the Baptist Publication So
ciety. A general alarm was turned in.
energies to preventing the destruction
of the entire block, which was for a
time threatened. The upper portion of
the Lafayette hotel was ignited by
sparks, but the blaze was confined
to the ninth and eighth floors The fire
was not controlled until long after
daybreak, and lines of hose are still
playing upon it. Among the guests
were Jennie Steele, of Terre Haute;
H. L. Bannon and wife of Chicago;
Thomas A. Renham, Detroit; J. N.
Campbell, Spokane; Charles C. Bosche
and wife, Buffalo; w. NJ. Barrett of
Cincinnati; George H. Doran, Chicago;
p. A. Patterson, Chicago; John w.
Delano, Salt Lake City; George B.
Clark, Washington, D. c.; J. H. Lyman
and wife, and H. M Kiretchjian, of
New York
The Haseltine building was valued
at $4,000, and was fully insured 1t
was erected in 1888, and the first two
floors were "fire-proof." The loss on
paintings on the second floor is be-
tween 100000 and 100000 uninsured.
Among those destroyed were two by
G. H. Selous, valued at 100000 each;
one by Roberts-Fleury, valued at $1O,-
600. There were thirty-nine offices in
the building, occupied mainly by art
lists. lawyers and dentists. Drs. Ed
ward and Curry, dentists, on the third
floor, lost collection of South Amer
lean curios valued at $4,000, partly in
sured. The valuable stock of pianos
in the stores on the first floor was de-
stroyed, but the amount of this loss
has not yet been estimated.
The Baptist Publication building and
stock were valued at 100000, insured.
The historical society lost 10000 vol
umes, valued at 100000, and insured
for $25, 900.
DR.. Wayland, the eminent divine,
lost valuable private library, on
which there was no insurance, and DR..
T. c. Stelmoyer lost $4,000. The losses
on the Homer, LIE Boutellier and La
fayette hotel buildings have not yet
been approximated.
The origin of the fire has not been
learned.