The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-02-05
Frank R. Girard's Place of
Business Partially De.
moliShed.
IN CENTRAL BANK BUILDING.
The Operations Were in the Heart of
the City, but the Burglars Were
Not Disturbed.
OAKLAND OFFICE SAN FRANo1sco CALL, |

A heavy safe was wrecked and pieces
weighing thirty pounds were hurled fifty
feet, glass Office was demolished, piano
was blown to pieces and three other
pianos were badly injured by an explosion
of nitro-glycerine this morning in the rear
of Frank Girard's piano-store in the Gen.
trail Bank building. The work was done
by safe-craekers, who secured money and
Jewelry worth about $500 and committed
damage to the amount of about $1,000.
The most remarkable element in the
affair is that although three policemen
were on duty within two blocks OF the
scene OF the robbery, and although the
City Prison is only one block away no one
heard the explosion, which experts say
must have been audible for four blocks.
From the accounts OF the lanltor, who
slept in the building, and OF the watch
man at the narrow-gauge depot, which IS
across the street from the bank building, 1t
Is clear that there were two explosions. The
safe-crackers evidently blew open the safe
at $3.50 o'clock this morning and returned
at o'clock, blew open a little iron box in
an inner corner of the safe and took all
that it contained. After applying the
fuse they doubtless took themselves
off to await developments. Two hours
after the explosion, as nobody seemed to
have been disturbed. they entered and
completed the work OF wreckage and pill
iage and went away unmolested.
The burglars entered from. the rear.
Back of the building is a small courtyard
or area way, tianked on three sides by the
walls of the building, and on the fourth by
twenty-fooE wall facing on vacant lot.
To scale this wall, the burglars took lad
der belonging to H. G. Bradley, painter
whose shop on Fifteenth street backs up
on the empty lot at the rear OF the burg
lariZed Cfnra The ladder baA hQare hoin Nd
to the side OF the paintshop, but with a
Jimmy the paddock which held it was
forced. The burglars then placed it
against the wall which leads into the area
way back of Girard's place.
On the inside of the wall the workmen
had placed an old set of stairway. and on
, this the craftsmen came down. There
\ was one of the cellar doors open and they
entered. The only outlet besides the door
through which they came in was q heavy
wooden door. barred by scantling.
The burglars pried the door open. Marks
OF jimmy show that this instrument was
used, and a broken mason's spirit level
shows that this was also used as lever.
In this basement is Lund's workshop, and
while one of the burglars took small
hammer and large circular file the other
ran upstairs, pressed the key of the cash
register and extracted $13 so which had
been left by the proprietor.
The window in the basement under the
store must have been left opened or I'M
locked and was easily raised. Stairs lead
from the basement into the store, and the
office. door was unlocked. There is no
light left burning in the Office, and it is so
far from the front of the store aud the
view so DISTRACTED that it is almost impos-
sible to discern anything from the street.
This fact was evidently appreciated by the
burglars, for before trying their hand on
the safe they pried open every drawer and
looked over every book and paper, and
even took half dozen cigars that were in
the pToprietor's desk.
The wreck was OF such proportions and
SO complete that theories as to how it was
done are not borne out by any evidence.
The job was desperate one, and the ex-
ploslon caused many times the damage
the robbers intended it should.
The janitor of the bank building, Ed
ward Fay. who was awakened from his
slumbers by the explosion, has the follow
ing to say concerning his experience: 81
sleep on the fifth floor of the building and
was awakened suddenly by loud report.
1t seemed to me as loud as rife. /
thought that it must have been a police
man firing his pistol at some one. and so 1
went TO a window on the FouIteenth-stree
side of the building.
Everything seemed to be very quiet,
and after 1 had been looking out Of my
window about five minutes / saw a police
man walking slowly by. He went as far
as the narrow-gauge depot and then came
back on the other side of the street. From
the way that he acted / supposed that
everything was all right, but before going
back to bed looked out on the Broadway
side of the building and saw nothing un-
usual there. / then went back to bed, and
it was then 90 minutes TO by my clock ]
thought no more OF the affair until l was
told that Girard's safe had been cracked"
Il.
heard the explosion at clock, has the
following to say; 81 come on duty here at
Fourteenth and Broadway at $50 o'clock.
About 6 o'clock this morning the night
engineer of the gas works came along and
he stopped for q moment to talk with me.
While we were talking we heard report
coming from the direction of Girard' s.
store. l remarked that some one had fired
a pistol over there, but no one went over
to the place. 1t was still quite dark at
this time"
From these facts it is certain that there
were two distinct explosions, and that the
modus operandi of the burglars was as
previously mentioned. The full force OF
the big explosion was evidently received
by piano which stood at an angle to the
front of the office. Half of the outside
plate of the safe door struck this instru-
ment with terrific force, completely shat
tering it. The heavy piece OF steel then
rebounded against another piano, cutting
deep cash into the side OF the lnstru-
ment. 1t then fell to the floor.
The other half of the outside plate OF
the door was evidently sent flying through
the air and alighted in the front portion OF
the store, caroming on one OF the pianos
as 1t went, A piece OF the wooden parti-
elon OF the Office was also sent flying at
aahother angle and made an indention in
o ohe clustering ten feet from the floor in
lose u; proximity to a picture. A third
pian9 had a portion of the veneering
Frank Girard SAID al today aLaS9 that he had
beenoh hn yesterday that he would
De robbed, and the money in the
t sate belonged TO his wife. "They have
500 sonei verythlng," he said. "There was
=; fonle leWeiry, silver plate and about $3.50
s 81 ,.tlohey: l have also missed some bank
ieWe a anu r,ao Dank books and notes. The