The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-06-19
Business District of Blooming
ton, ILL.,, Wiped Out.
Court House and Five Squares
of Stores Burned.
LOSS NEAR s2,OOO,OOO.
Buildings Blown Up With Dyna-
mite to Stop Flames.
Noise of Explosion Caused Death
of One Person.

Bloomington. Ill. June 19.-HaR OF the
business section Of Bloomington. fncfud-
ing five squares Of the finest business.
blocks Of the city and the court house..
erected at a cost Of 100000, were de-
stroyed by fire this morning. The lOss-
is variously estimated at from one and
a half to two million dollars. One death
also resulted from the fire. Robert
Schmidt. 10 year old boy dying from
the shock occasioned by the noise Of the
explosion of dynamite which the fire
men used in blowing up buildings in an
endeavOr to stay the progress OF the
flames.
The fire department was badly Eandi-
capped by an almost total failure of the
water supply and it was not until late
this morning and after many buildings
had been blown up with dynamite that
the flames were finally got under con-
troll.
The list of buildings destroyed and
business firms burned out with heaviest
losses included:
The court house, erected 25 years ago
at a cost of 100000 mineral building,
Windsor hotel loss $4,000; Griesham's
Office building, loss 500 900; State Ma
tional bank; Helms building; Eagle
office building; George Brand & Co,
furniture; Vimont & Koen, dry goods;
Cooper & Jackman, glassware; Pixley
&, Co., clothing; r. Thompson & Sons,
furniture; Model laundry; 3. S. Green
| Co; x. T. Miller & Son, hardware;
| Prritt's jewelry- store; Cole Brothers
building, occupied as dry goods store;
Fahey's saloon; Corn Belt bank; Reed
Brothers, hardware; Klopp, hats and
| caps; NJ. Sans, No Name store; ;Niehaus'
I restaurant; Helbig's music store; Nc
l Lean County Coal company; Guthrie'S
| cigar store; -Phoeniz hotel; Garver's
| drug store; CobIent's drug store: r. c.
! Roger, wall paper; c. w. Klemm, dry
goods, loss 500. 600; stephen Snithson's
| dry goods, loss SIS 600: J. H. Riggs dry
| goods, loss $4,000; Bolles tailor shop;
/ Schneider shoe store company; Sen
seney's coal office; Wilcox dry goods
| livery; GOwcy's Boston store; Ebert q
| Good, notions; Klienaus confectionery
Ensenberger's furniture store.
The fire started in the Model laundry
| on Monroe street in the block north
east of the court house. A strong wind
was blowing at the time, and before the
| fire department arrived the fire had
| spread to the four story brick building
| occupied by B. S. Green & Co., and
| thence steadily eastward.
! In an hour the entire block except the
! pOstoffice building, which was saved
| by hard work, was in ruins. In this
block was the old Durley theater, which
was being remodeled The fire work
ing westward across to Greishams 5
seven-story building at the corner of
Main and Jefferson streets, soon that
entire block was also in flames. From
there the fire spread to the court house
and thence to adjacent blocks. In the
meantime aid had been summoned from
Peoria and Springfield and with the as
sistance of fire apparatus from those
cities the fire was gradually brought
under control to the west. To the east
it was necessary to use dynamite to
destroy several buildings in the path of
| the flames before the fire was stopped
in that direction. The burned district
| includes the north and east sides of the
court house square, the two other
, blocks cornering on the square and half
a block of buildings west Of the square