Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1896-02-08

Ovef 01e Million Dollars Worth OF Prop
erty N<ttrpycd BY Sabbath Days Com
haGAt|tI. the Flcrcest and Most Stub
born f|Fo that has Visited Philadelphia
In M4f< Years Hssty Flight OF Hotel

Ovek 014 Million Dollars Worth OF Prop
erty N<<trpycd by u Sabbath Days Com
haGatItI the FIcrccst and Most Stub
born fIFo that has Visited Philadelphia
In Maf< Years -Hssty Flight OF Hotel
most born and most destructive
fire thH< has visited Philadelphia in
years ORR <inated at $3.50 yesterday morn
ing N <ne cellar of the Hazeltine
buildinE l4I6 and 14ls Chestnut street,
and be{|[e 1T had been subdued the
Hazelt'H building and the American
Baptist blication society's building,
Ut 1920 1422 Chestnut street, were
destroy the dry goods store of
Homer Bouteliier &c Co., 14l2 and
l4lf Qht tnut steeet, was badly dam
aged, 1NH the rear of the Hotel Lafay-
cite. " n faces on Broad street, was
dama4 to the extent of $7S 900. The
approx 'c.ate total loss by the fire is
81, 81 % the greater part of which is
covered Insurance.
| The Of the fire is not definitely
| known When the fremen arrived
the ine building was already q
ii18ss a Names The building was sew
eral stories in height, with en- ornate
front Of brick and terra Gotta. 1t was
very substantially built, and at first
the firemen thought that they could
confine the fire within the walls. The
flames, however, spr cad through the
building with great rapidity, and the
fire was soon beyond the control of
the department.
The rear stories of the Lafayette
hotel lowered high above the Hazel
tine building and the flames poured
over the wall toward the hotel. By
this time most of the guests in the
hotel had been awakened and, as the
building seemed in imminent danger,
they were warned to leave. Scantily
clothed men and women poured out
into Broad street. dragging with them
their trunks and baggage.
All night cabmen in the neighbor-
hood had been attracted to the scene,
and they garnered a harvest of dollars
in conveying the guests to other hotels.
Police patrol wagons were also pressed
into service for this duty, and among
those who availed themselves of this
sort of vehicle was Mayor Porter
King, of Atlanta, and the other Allan
tans who came on here with the Lib
crty Bell.
The fire in the meanwhile had spread
from the Hazeltine building to the
four-story marble building of the Bap-
tist Publication society, and this, too,
was soon mass of flames. Like the
Hazeltine building, it extends 23O feet
back from Chestnut to SAMSON street.
The Lafayette hotel has only been
recently reopened, after having been
altered and refurnished at cost of
$50O,00O
The firemen directed the most of
their attention towards saving this
building. 1t was on fire at least half
hundred times. but the department did
splendidly efficient work, and confined
the flames to the rooms on the eighth
and ninth floors, facing the fire.
The partition wall of the Hazeltine
building, towering three stories above
the dry goods store of Homer lie Bou-
TELLER 6 Co., fell in upon the latter
place and crashed through skylight
in the center of the store into the cell
lar. The firemen, however, poured a
great volume of water upon the smok-
ing mass of bricks and saved the store
from destruction.
1t was not until the Hazeltine build
ing and Baptist building had been en-
tirely destroyed, and after five hours
hard work that the fire was subdued.
Eight or nine firemen were injured
by falling bricks, but none of them
was dangerously hurt. Frank Hines,
of Pittsburgh, a guest at the Lafay-
cite hotel, in descending the stairs,
tripped and fell breaking his arm
and several ribs. These were the only
casualties.