The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-10-17
THE OPERA HOUSE DISASTER
BUILDING PROVED TO BE
DANGEROUS MAN TRAP.
Proyidential That Sc Few People At
tended Performance on the Night
of the Tragedy-Miraculous Es-
cape.

Cincinnati, O., Oct. i6-Ths common
expression today with reference to the
disaster at Robinson's Opera House is
"what good fortune it was that the
house had so few people in it,
From q careful examination. it APP
pears that not only was the construc-
ton of the building faulty, but the
work and material defective In
word, the tirnbers were rotten The
walls. which are no more than eight
inches thick, were dry and parched
with age. There is a space of ten feet
in the center between the ceiling and
the roof In order to support the roof
and ceiling trusses were run across
from the west to the east walls There
were four Of these trusses. All were
made of wood and We're connected out
or joined by pieces Of joist by both
holdings Between these we're joists OF
the ordinary kind. Between two trus-
seS in the middle was hung the dome,
nine feet tall. 10 feet in diameter and
about Do feet in circumference. From
the center of it, hung a chandelier,
containing 10 or so incandescent lights.
The dome was made of heavy timbers
and bolts and nails, but there was no
iron about its construction The space
between the ceiling and the roof might
be called an attic. but il was never
used. The only time anyone visited the
apartment was to let down the chan
delier, but that has not been done this
year.
ROTTEN TIMBEKs.
After the accident an investigation
showed that the trGeses and timbers
holding the dome were rotten. They
had been in use 60 long that they had
warped and parted. This caused the
bolts and nails to loosen. The entire
construction was thrown out Of Gear
and the weight of the dome brought 1t
down. With it came mortar, bricks and
rafters.
| The hugs rafters composing the truss
! that fell in we're as dry as punk and
! the pieces OF joist that connected Them
| were worm eaten and rotten. The nails
and bolts were rusty and everything
went to show that the entire part of
! the building was in such Il dangerous
/ condition that it is strange that the
( fact had not been discovered long ago.
ANOTHER THEORY.
Another theory advanced to account
! for the falling of the dome and trussas
/ is that the building had been injured
I by the Earring of the heavy machinery
! of an electric light plant in the neigh
! borhood. The high walls had no floor
supports, except such as we're used in
constructing the dress circle and bal
comics across the front of the building
/ opposite the stage. The walls were
not massive, and at the time the house
/ was built there were criticisms Of tii2a
Workmanship Residents in the neigh-
! borhood say their dwellings are Seri-
! ougly shaken and Injured by the jar
ring machinery and suits have been
brought to recover damages, 1t is ar
I gued that these high and not especially
/ well built walls have been injured in
! this way. 4 hneman Who recently
went about the dome putting in light
| wires said the structure shook peroep-
| tibly under his movements.
MIRACULOUS ESCAPE.
The name Of Lucy Cohen was in
Guided in the list of dead furnished at
the city hospital. 1t has been learned
that this was a mistake, growing out
of a mistaken Identification of Mrs.
( Kleeman. The dead man whose ideN-
tity was not established last night was
today Identified by his wife at the city
! hospital. He is Isaac n. Nelghbors,