The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-11-24

San Francisco. Nov. 23.-The Bald
win hotel, for almost twenty years one
of the principal landmarks Of San
Francisco, is no more. A fire which
broke out in the east end of the build
ing shortly after o'clock this morn
ing, supposedly in the property room
of the Baldwin theatre, totally destroy
ed the immense structure, entailing a.
financial loss of nearly a million and a
half dollars, besides destroying prop
erty that no amount of money or sci
ence can replace.
The loss of life, so far as reported,
has been rniraculOusly light, but two
deaths having occurred as far as is
known.
Dead-Captain j. l. White, San Fran
cisco, capitalist; Lewis Myers, SkaS-
way, Alaska, merchant.
Injured-F. p. Noon, st. Louis, Mo,
both ankles broken; George Huber,
San Francisco cut about the body;
Miss Bridget Mitchell San Francisco,
badly bruised; Fire Marshal TOwe, San
Francisco, cut about head.
Missing-J. NJ Leighthead, San Fran
cisco, purser steamer City of Sydney;
f. Weatherbee and wife, Haverhill,
Mass; Tate Pryor, st. Louis, racing
book writer; r. R. Andrews, cashier
cafe; Fred Webster; two chamber
maids; John Carter, race-track judge;
Thomas Berkey and wife, assessor,
Sacramento. Cal.
The financial losses are very far
reaching, almost every branch of COM
meFcial trade being directly affected.
| The ground floor of the hotel was divid-
ed into a number of stores, and few OF
! their occupants saved anything worth
tai losses. Two of the most handsome
cafes in the city were Quilted and their
/ stocks destroyed. The Baldwin theatre,
! the fashionable amusement place Of
/ this city, was totally destroyed, with
1 the rest of the building, and the Sc
| cret Service company, headed by VIII
! liam Gillette, now playing an engage
ment at the theatre, lost all its paraph-
! ernalia. Many of the members of the
| company lost most of their belongings,
/ and trunks containing the official pa
pers of the company were destroyed.
The flames We're confined to the
| Baldwin structure, but much adjOin-
ing property was seriously damaged by
water and smoke. The Columbia build
ing, on Powell street, on the west side
of the Baldwin, suffered considerably,
and the basement of the Columbia the
atre, another fashionable playhouse,
was Quilted, and much valuable theatr1-
cal apparatus destroyed. The Cay
Coney Island company will lose con-
siderably, and DR.. Freeman, manager
of the company, who was a guest at the
Baldwin, lost trunk containing val
liable papers worth $500.
THREE HUNDRED GUESTS.
There were upwards of three hundred
guests in the hotel when the fire was
discovered, and the scenes which fol-
lowed beggar description. The watch
men, bell boys and other hotel en-
ployees worked nobly in arOusing Sleep
ing residents. 1t is believed that every
person in the building was aDDrised Of
the danger within ten minutes after
the fire broke out, but rumOrs are rife
that many of those in the east wing,
where the flames were discovered, were
cut off and lost. How true these ru-
mCTs are cannot be definitely told for
several days yet, as many parts OF the
building have collapsed, burying any
who have been lett in the building
under the debris
A force of messenger boys employed
in an all-night Office adjoining the hotel
did excellent work III connection with
the warning of guests, and several
brave rescues are credited to the boys
of the messenger service. In conJunc-
ton with the employees of the hotel,
the police and firemen went through
them to dress, and rendering other as
sistance. The employees of the hotel
are highly praised by the guests, and
the firemen and police are spoken of in
complimentary terms. Half an hour
after the first alarm was sounded liz
policemen were on the scene Of the
confagration.
Many of the guests of the hotel are
eastern turfmen, many of whom lost
all their effects. This hosiery was 4
favorite stopping place for sporting
people, the location being an admirable
one, convenient to all sporting resorts
: and places of amusement.
What the loss of life will be cannot
be stated at this writing, but only two
deaths have been reported.
CAPTAIN WHITES DEATH.
Captain A. ]. White, who occupied
a room on the fourth floor, was killed
while trying to escape by means OF a
rope which dangled from the fifth floor
almost to the street below. The rope
had previously done good service, being
the means by which five persons es-
capped from the burning building. The
story of the rope is a thrilling one. For
eight years Kate Richardson has been
an employee of the hotel, occupying a
, room on the fifth floor. Five years ago
: Miss Richardson, as a. precautionary
measure in just such an emergency.
5 procured a lengthy rope, long enough
t to reach from her room to the street.
/ When the alarm of fire was given Miss
r Richardson, with the assistance OF
1 Gussie Johnson, a companion, secured
the rope to a piece of heavy furniture,
and threw the free end out of the win
dow The two girls were about to
make the descent when three lady
guests rushed into the room and begged
y to be saved. The tive brave girls gave
e precedence to the guests, and then Miss
Y Johnson took her position on the rope
t and went down, hand over hand Miss
t Richardson was the last to leave, and
she had gone down but one story when
r Captain White, who occupied a room
: on that floor, called to her appealingly
: begging her not to jump. Miss Rich