The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-10-03
ANTLERS BURNS.
Colorado Springs Famous Ho-
tel in Ruins.
Entirely Destroyed by Fire
With. Much Other Property.
A LOSS OF 100000.
Spark From Locomotive Started
a COnfiagratiOn
Which Was Swept Forward by
a Fierce Wind.


other buildings and threatened for four
hours to destroy the entire business
district, Saturday afternoon. The wind
was blowing at the rate of As miles an
hour from the southwest when the fire
started at the Denver and Rio Grande
depot, at the foot of Cucharas street,
and the flames spread with great rapid
ity. A strip four blocks long from
north to south and two blocks wide
from east to west was burned over.
The AntIers hotel, one of the largest
in the west and two blocks Of business
houses We're destroyed. In round num-
bers the loss is estimated at $1,000, 900;
insured for one-half of that amount
The losses estimated are as follows:
Antlers hotel, $3.50, 900; Newton Lum-
Der company, $50, 900; Crissy and
Fowler Lumber company, 10000; FL
Paso Lumber company, $4,000; Irvine
& Sons, blacksmiths, $4,000; Denver &
Rio Grande railroad, $4,000; Gulf depot,
$4,000; Home hotel, SO, 600.
General losses of business firms and
individuals not enumerated above, $465,
600.
The fire originated in a pile of rub
bish underneath the platform at the
Denver & Rio Grande freight depot
Within five minutes it had cOmmun1-
Gated to freight cars standing at the
depot ard it spread so rapidly that 1t
was impossible to move any of the cars.
Half a car of powder consigned to G.
S. Barnes & Sons, exploded. The cans
were thrown for hundreds of feet and
the wonder is that nobody was injured
Then came the terrible danger to the
city.
Great chunks of fire were scattered
about and in a few moments the Crissy
& Fowler Lumber yards, 500 feet away,
were burning. The wind was sweeping
a perfect hurricane. The flames rushed
through the lumber yards and burned
all the light frame buildings in the
block. Then they leaped across the
street and burned the FL PasO Lumber
company and the paint esta blishment
of Sperry & Tuckerman. A few minutes
after the Newton lumber yards caught
fire.
For a time after this it looked as if
the Ant1ers might be saved, but the
heat was too great, there was not wa
ter enough to send stream half way
up the building.
The colored employees of the hosiery
showed great intrepidity in climbing
out of the upper windows in the face
of an Internal heat and pouring water
upon the fire through a small hose
They left their posts only after they be-
came positively untenable-
Down below the fremen We're also
directing streams upon the buildings,
but the water pressure had become so
reduced that the streams were OF htte
effect.
The contour of the buildings, the up
per stories of which were of wood,
served to make a succession of smoke
stacks along the sides and 1t was out a
few moments until the smoke ana
flames were leaping from nearly every
window. The building had stood for a
long time against the tremendous neat.
The flames rose higher and higher ana
soon the outlines of the stone were seen
with the woodwork burned away from
them Here and there little blue flames
shot up where the copper corn1ces
caught fire.
1t took about two hours for the. hotel
to burn and it made tremendously
hot fire The walls began to fall after
the building had been burning perhaps
an hour and they went down with
tremendous roar.
The smoke stacks remained for quite
a long time and some OF them are stu
standing.
The Antlers annex was quickly in
flames and went up rapidly. Two or
three explosions were heard while the
Antlers was burning and these are sup
posed to have come from the boilers.
All of the Antlers' people, from en-
gineers to the bell boys, stayed at their
posts, until they could stay no longer.
At o'clock all that was left of the
once beautiful Antlers was a mass of
bIazing debris. Thousands gazed upon
it with sorrow and regret, as it was uni
versally conceded to be the chief orna-
ment of the town. The Antlers was
beautiful six story building, owned by
the Colorado Springs Hotel company,
in which General Palmer was heavily
interested. The lessee proper was E.
Burnett. The building was insured
for 100000 and the furniture. valued at
S57. 500 was insured for S31, 500. The
building and it's contents are almost a
total loss. The hotel will be rebuilt.
There were several guests in the ho-
tel including a number of invalids, but
all got out in safety and were taken to
comfortable quarters.
The Union Pacific, Denver & Gulf
railroads passenger depot, on EIuerfano
street, was burned, but the other rail
road passenger stations were unframed.
While the big fires were burning sew
eral smaller ones broke out throughout
the city, destroying several residences
and threw people into CONSERVATION.
The limits of the burn ed sdistrict are
the Denver & Rio Grande railroad on
the west. Cascade avenue on the east.
Pixies Peak avenue on the north and
Cucharas street on the south.
Among the business houses burned
out are the following: MacFarland &
blacksmiths; Silver Moon restaurant;
Kelly Coal company; Felix Americana;
Bloom, tailor; Dietz blacksmith: John
Kline, painter; Bartlett. blacksmith;
Dreamer & Jordan, blacksmiths; Mas
koWitZ clothing; A. Shapiro. clothing;
J. NJ HOlliwan, shoemaker: s. X Kline,
iewelry; NARROW Bros, confectionery:
Campbell feed store: second hand store.
restaurant and grocery, next to Gulf
depot; Salvation Army hall: Columbia
Clothing company; Seldomeridge ware
house.
Their losses range from $500 to $1,000
each.
Ten partly loaded freight cars on the
D. & r. G. tracks were burned.
Several arrests have been made of
persons suspected of starting or at
tempting to start fresh fires, but there
is no question that the first fire, at the
D. & r. G. freight house, was entirely
accidental, possibly being caused by a
spark from q locomotive.