The San Francisco call., 1897-12-25
CHICACO'S
COLISEUM
DESTROYED
Number Of Lives Be
lieVed to Have
Been Lost.
Great Structure Razed by
Fire Within Twenty
Minutes.
Was Crowded With People At
tending the Manufacture
ers' Exposition.
WILD RUSH TO THE EXITS.
Some Of the Inmates Overcome by
the Flames Before They Could
Make Their Escape.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

ChICAGO, Dec Z4.-t1re tO-nlgnt
destroyed the Coliseum building at
Sixty-third street and Stony Island
avenue, in which the Democratic Ma
tional Convention was held last year.
The fire was one of the quickest ever
seen in Chicago. From the time it
started from the crossing of two cleo
tric wires until the Coliseum was a
pile Of twisted iron and hot bricks, not
over twenty minutes elapsed. The
building had been rented for a manu-
facturers' exposition and was filled
from end to end with booths, all of
which were destroyed with all of their
contents.
1t is supposed a number of people
were lost in the flames, and although
no bodies have been recovered the
following people are missing and have
undoubtedly 6erished;
Howard Geiser, Wilmington, Del,
decorator.
Joseph Byrnes, Hoboken, decorator.
Geiser and Byrnes were decorating
one of the booths in the balcony when
the fire broke out. The manager of
the exhibit ran TO the booth and called
to the men that the place was on fire
and for them to save themselves. They
were apparently in no hurry, and the
last seen of them they were still at
work. 1t is thought that they were
both lost.
Two women, dancers in the Midway
exhibit, seen entering the building just
before it collapsed.
Two men seen by fremen in the CEN
ter of the building during the fire.
The injured are:
Peter FoOts, watchman, burned
about the face and hands.
Mrs q. A. Lyons, severely burned.
N. J. Morley, lacerated by explo-
sion of CroOkes tubes and burned
about the head.
William Robertson. face and hands
burned.
NJ. ]. Wheeler, watchman. hands
burned.
James Naser, fireman, burned while
cutting a live wire with pair Of
shears.
Robert Harley. fireman, severely
bruised by debris during the collapse
OF a wall of the building.
Miss Helen Conger, shocked by a live
wire and severely burned about right
arm.
The fire originated in a booth which
was used for an exhibition of X-rays,
the booth being managed by NJ. j.
Morley and William Robertson. The
gen machine when they were startled
by a sizzling noise behind them, and,
upon turning, saw a part of their eX-
hibit ablaZe.
Crossed electric light wires which
were over the exhibit are thought to
have caused the flames. They at first
tried to smother the flames, but before
they secured water and cloths the fire
had spread throughout the entire
booth.
Morley, realizing that he and his
partner would be unable to cope with
the flames, then made an endeavor to
save some of the most valuable Of the
X-ray paraphernalia. Running to
the machine, he grasped two Crookes
tubes, and with Robertson began fight
ing his way out Of the building. Be
fore he reached an exit the tubes
which he held in both his hands ex-
ploded from the heat, severely lacer-
ating his hands. His hair caught fire
and he was burned about the head.
Robertson was burned about the face.
Three hundred people were in the
building at the time of the fire and al
the first alarm there was a rush for
safety. Fortunately, the aisles were
wide and, owing to the comparatively
small number of people in the building
there was little difficulty in reaching
the doors. Most of those endeavorine
to escape ran to large door on the
east side of the building, which is wide
enough to admit q team of horses and
wagon. A crowd of fully 200 people
gathered before this door, which was
found to be locked, and, as the fire
was roaring through the building with
great speed, it seemed for a few min
utes as though none of those would be
able to escape.
w. J. Wheeler, watchman, saw the
trouble, and ran to open the, door, but
the crowd was packed in front of it Sc
closely that he had the greatest diff
Guilty in opening it. Once it swung
wide, however, the crowd was in the
open air in a few seconds. During the
jam at this point several people were
crushed, but none were seriously in
jured. The balance Of the people made
their way through the other doors, and
several who were caught in the bal
cony were compelled to jump to the
ground from the roof. The balcony is
lined with windows that swing out
ward, and they had no trouble in get
ting upon the roof, and from there the
leap to the ground was not great
The firemen were at hand before al
the people were out, and before they
made any effort to fight the flame.
they devoted their attention to clear.
ing the hall of the people. BY the time
they were ready to pour water on the
fire the flames had spread with sucl
rapidity that there was no chance
whatever Of saving the building.
Within ten minutes after the fire be.
gan the roof was ablaze, and within Z
short time after the fire had appeared
on the top of the building one of the
large arches gave way with a tremend.
Gus report, and then another and an
other, each going down with a sount
like the report of a cannon.
The building fell very quickly, as
after the first arch went down the
weight was too great for the arches
next to it, and all collapsed. It tool
not over twenty minutes to make q
complete ruin of the building.