The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1897-12-25

non. The building fell very quickly,
as after the first arch fell the weight
was too great for the arches next to
it, and all collapsed. 1t took not over
20 minutes to make complete ruin of
the building
Nothing is known of those supposed
to be lost beyond what has been stated.
Manager Austin. of the exposition, is
confident that the girl Pauline lost her
life, as he says he met her near the
entrance making her way into the
building. He pushed her out, telling
her that she would lose her life If she
entered. She said that her mother was
in there, penned in by the flames, and
that she must help her. Before Aus
tin could restrain her she ran into the
building once more, going, Austin says,
right into a tangle of live electric light
wires. Before he could do anything
more to save her the building collapsed
The Coliseum cost $3.50 900, and was
twice as large as the Madison Square
Garden building of New York. It had
a floor space of seven acres. including
| the ground and gallery floors, was $40
feet long by 300 wide and contained
| 100000 pounds of steel. 100000 feet Of
timber and 100000 bricks.
On Aug. q. 1895. the first Coliseum,
then in course of construction. WAS
wrecked, entailing a loss of sf25,000. The
cause of the collapse was never known,
| but it was thought that the last arch
| was not placed in position correctly.
/ The building was to have been opened
| Sept. of that year by the Barnum 81
/ Bailey circus and the contractors were
rushing the work in order to have IT
completed in time. Six hundred men
| had been working on the building up
| IN half an hour before the crash came
which was at 11:10 at night. Fifty
| thousand feet of green lumber, which
/ was TO have been used for roofing, was
| the roof n q hIliIlinp a the 4 limo
! and the weight of this was supposed
i to have had something to do with the
accident.
After the collapse of the first build
! ing, Architect S. S. Beman at once
| drew plans for a new one, and il was
constructed and opened to the public
| June 1. 1894 The details of the mas
! sive building show a composition of IA
1 enormous arches. 20 feet at the apex
above the ground. and with a span of
| 220 feet in the clear. The building WAS
| eneircled on the inside by a gallery
| 50 feet wide and 80 feet above the floor
The building was insured for Sl2a, no
1 the insurance being written in 20 com
| panies. It is almost impossible to form
any idea of the loss to the exh!i lnfs
as there were about loo booths IN the
place, filled with all sorts Of goods
Coliided Win "A Train.
While responding to the alarm Of fire
/ from the 10llSeum, Engine company
| No. 10 collided with a passenger train
on the Lake Shore road. smashing the
engine badly. Only one of the firemen
! Albert Chamberlain. was injured. how
ever. The accident occurred at Forty
| first street and Cottage Grove avenue
| The hose cart of the company was
ahead of the fire engine and close III
| on the tracks when the watchman
heard a train approaching and closed
the gates The hose cart was too Close
TO the gate. however. and before thf
driver could stop his horses. crashed
into it. carrying il down completely
The driver managed to stop his horses
on the track and the Waterman. see
ing that unless he opened the gate the
/ hose cart would be run into. opened
| the gate. letting the cart out of danger
The driver of the engine, which was
close behind, thought from the raising
of the far gates that the way was
clear, urged on his horses and dashed
on the tracks. The train was ther,
! before he was. and he drove sauarels
into the side of a rapidly moving pas
senger coach. All of the firemen Yer,
thrown from their seats. but all Of then
| escaped injury with the exception u
Chamberlain, whose hurts are not Sc
we're.
| Later-The two men. Laaany. Wht
| conducted the sausage booth, turned VI
/ Ia