New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1897-05-05
PITTsBURG's BIG FIRE.

Thas City visited by tho Most Destructive
Blaze In Over Half : Century.
P1rrsBURG, May 4.-The greatest fire
that has visited this city since the
memorable one Of 1845 started shortly
after midnight in the immense whole
sale grocery establishment of Thomas
G. Jenkins on Penn avenue and Liberty
street and in three hours three large
blocks extending from Liberty street
TO Penn avenue and from Fifth.tO Sixth
street were reduced to smouldering
ruins. The, loss is s., 900, 900 and is well
covered by insurance. Among the
buildings destroyed are Jenkins whole-
sale grocery establishment, Horne's
6-story dry goods establish
Horne's office building, the Duquesne
theater and the Methodist Book Con-
Germ. 5=t
The fire started in the cellar Of the
Jenkins building in a pile Of barrels
filed with waste paper. The names ham .
leaped rapidly up the elevator shaft,
famed by an a T draft used to ventl-
late the great building.
Made Rapid Headway.
The fire made rapid Roadway after it
had started, and by IL 80 O. clock flames
began to pour out of the Penn avenue
front. All the fire departments OF the
CITY and Allegheny were summoned.
and the firemen fought bravely to check
the progress Of the confagration. The
fire, however, attacked the immense
quantity of barreled oil, sugar and mo-
lasses and flour that this building con-
tanned, and by IL AS o'clock the Penn
avenue and Liberty avenue fronts were
one mass of flames: Flames filed Penn
avenue completely and shot into the
air 200 feet Or more, prese nting one OF
the most magnificent sights seen fol
years. The splendid buildings of 10
seph Horne & Co., opposite, caught, anc
the firemen worked desperately to pre-
vent it's loss. At o'clock the Horne
building was burning from cellar tt
| roof. and the flames had communlcat
ed to -
Horne's Immense Office Building
adjoining. The structure was OF ston
and six stories in height. 1t was &C
cupied by w: p Grier & Co., Chin
dealers, Bon Marche Glove company
Snaman's carpet house and scores
physicians. Huck's cigar factory. am
Hall Bros building next fell victim
to the fire and they were quickly fo]
lowed by the Duquesne theater. Meth
} odist Book Concern building and tn
Surprise clothing store. The latte
was an immense 5.story building run
ming back depth of 200 feet.
AS soon as the fire attacked thes
buildings several streams OF waite
were turned OIL them, but the waite
had no more effect than if it was nt
! an extinguisher The flames from til
burning oil in the Jenkins bulldln
rolled out against them and in fly
, minutes the two beautiful Horn
} buildings -"r
We're Burning Briskly. ...
The firemen then left the Jenkil
, building to its fate anu used their uni
} ed and desperate efforts to save tt
\ Horne buildings. All the streams
water that could be summoned we
, turned on these buildings, but tn
; were now one mass of fire. The fl
: departments then turned their attic
: ton to the surrounding buildings, b
, the raging flames rapidly ate their w
b on all sides.
At 3 o'clock the fire was finally ma
= tered, but was still burning with
, tense fury within the. limits OF t
h blocks bounded by Fifth and Six
streets east and west and Liberty a.
Penn avenues north aud south.