The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-02-28
DISASTROUS FIRE In NEWARK
THE GREATEST THE CITYHAS EYER
EXPERIENCED.
Loss Estimated at Over 81 ,oOO, ,OOO-Re-
tall DrygoOds District Burned Out
Snyder's Big Department Store Loses
RuiIdimgs CompleteIy Guttcd.

New York, Feb. 27-The greatest fire
Newark, N. j., ever experienced swept
through the retail dry goods district to-
night, destroying a score. or more
buildings. The loss is estimated at over
81 O00 The fire started in w. v.
Snyders department store at Broad
and Cedar streets, four story build
ing, Of seventy-five feet frontage and
extending two hundred feet along Ce-
dar street. The stock was valued at
half a million dollars and nothing was
saved. The building was burned to the
ground.
The four story building adjoining the
Snyder building on Broad street and
occupied by j. M. Mantse, dealer in
laces and similar goods ON the first
floor, and offices on the upper floors
was soon burning and was eventually
totally destroyed with everything it
contained. Next to it was the restau-
rant and confectionery establishment
d T. B. Allen, fashionable caterer,
this building also containing many of
fees. The fire completely gutted this
building, but left the front part almost
untouched. From Peddie's it spread to
Strauss The rear Of this building was
gutted. The firemen at this point made
a desperate stand to prevent the fire
from getting into Martegan's jewelry
store, which was in the next block.
At the same time the flames We're
travelling southwark with as much fury
as on the north Of the original fire. w.
T. Rae's jewelry store occupied the cor
ner opposite Snyders. Nothing was
saved here, although the valuable stock
of jewelry, probably the largest in New
ark, was securely locked in the vaults
of the building. Above the jeWelry
store the building was occupied as Of
fees
Within an hour there was hardly
brick of the building standing above
few feet from the sidewalks. The
flames drove through a solid wall into P.
J. Garrigan's drug store. Cairns pho
tograph establishment and galleries
were next above this and nothing could
save either of them. The rear end OF
the Beehive Dry Goods store, owned by
l.. S. Strauss & Co., was next to go and
here large body of firemen concen-
trated and fought hard to keep the fire
from entering the main building, which
was separated from the rear portion by
a party wall with iron doors. The fight
was a stubborn one. The doors became
red hot and the task looked hopeless.
While the flames were thus eating
the heart out of the most important
business block on Broad street, the fire
was spreading westward along Cedar
street on both sides. On the south side
of this street the fire burned from No.
2 at the rear Of Rae's store to No. "a.
These were all small stores, in build !
ings three and four stories high the |
upper floors being floors occupied large |
ly as dwellings. In this row was Bier |
mans pawn shop, where many thousand |
dollars worth of articles were destroy |
ed. On the north side of Cedar street |
back of Synders, the fire attacked a row |
Of all brown stone and brick buildings, |
used as offices on the upper floors and I
stores on the ground floor. Immense
crowds watched the conf1agration. The
entire police force was called into ser
vice and some difficulty was had in
keeping back the crowd.