The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-25
EXPLOSION IN FIFTH AVENUE.
Calumet Club sh~aken-Narrow Escapes o
Persons I'm tho NeiEhborhood.

Persons In tho NeiEhborhood.
Fifth avenue was shaken BY an explosion yes.
terday AFTERNOON which scared tho wits out Of
people in tho vicinity of Twenty-ninth street.
and kept several policemen busy for a couple Of
hours trying to explain to scared property
owners how 1t happened.
The explosion was in the excavation made by
Contractor Matthew Baird's men. who are
getting ready to lay the new water mains.
The workmen were blasting rock. and tho
charge of powder they used was either too heavy
or else 1t exploded prematurely. No one seemed
to know how 1t happened. but every one there
abouts agrees that there was q terrific explo-
sion, and that 1t was pure luck that no one was
hurt.
The avenue Is torn mp the whole width of tho
street at this point. and the excavations extend
for q block on each side. Paving stones and
rocks are piled over on the curb line in front of
the Marble Collegiate Church ON the northwest
corner of Twenty.ninth street. The avenue has
been in this condition at this point for several
months.
Tho Calumet Club Is on the northeast corner.
but the street In front OF the clubhouse is clear.
The building on the southeast corner Is Occur
pied by Neuman & Co., furniture dealers and
Neuman & Co. suffered the most from the ex-
plosion. Windows on the Twenty-ninth street
side were broken BY flying stone; and Daniel
AVN hhuA tho hS"A Va kHS eAiA - W. oNhNs
a bookkeeper in his employ. narrowly escaped
injury.
in front of the entrance OF the Collegiate Church.
about ten feet from the curb line. John Barry
Of si5 East seventyIsevent H. street was The man
laborers were working under his instructing.
Barry warned the laborers to seek a place of
entrance of the Calumet Club.
Then came the explosion which brought police
men and thronRs OF people to the scene. 1t
shook the Calumet Club and the emDlOyppS
rushed out. thinking the builing was going to fall.
Across the street the employees OF Neuman s.
falling glass from the broken windows on tho
Twenty:ninth street side of the building.
the street. Dirt was plentiful, too. The head
OF the firm of Neuman & Co. was the. first 10
iieSI to find the man responsible Tor the explosion.
He found Barry trying to explain to his ex-
cited and SCARED workmen what had happened;
was praying to be saved. -.
NJ. Neumand didn't let Barry out Of his sight
he insisted that he be arrested,
Before the foreman was taken TO the West
maas sn et s,reGt ftsti on the heT gfou m5' w Ssnm iSa
explosion occurred. There were logs over the
hole, but they were n9t chained together as the
any corrugated iron over the logs as there
should have been.
logs had moi been chained. Afterward he said
they had been chained on one end. He
didn't deny that he NEGLECTED to use
the covering OF iron. He said no
hadn't used amy more powder than usual In tho
blast. and he couldn't account for the ~loudness
OF the report. He was locked up for recklessness
on Mr.. Newnan's complaint.
MI. Seuman was sitting at q desk writing on
the second floor of his building near a window
when the explosion occurred. He lodged his
head to the further side OF his desk as two big
jagged pieces Of rock crashed through the win.
dow at which he was sitting and fell with a
bang on his desk.
It the same instant all the windows on tho
same floor wero broken. Downstairs Book.
a rock came through aud grazed his head.
The force of the explosion spent itself on tho
side OF Neuman e. Co. . building. There wasn't
n window broken In the Calumet Club, although
it was first supposed that the club property suf'
fcred most.
The explosion created excitement among the
guests Of the Holland House, at Fifth avenue
and Thirtieth street. They rushed out in droves
to see what caused the great noise. The streets
became SO crowded for a time that the police
were kept busy making the people move on.