The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-05-04

Placide. United States, Girard and Oxford
DYNAMITE USED.
When the fire reached Julia street Il was
a roaring furnace without any prospect OF
being put under control. The local military
companies were called out to keep back the
crowds and the fire department began TO
use dynamite TO blow up the houses a block
from the fire and thus prevent the fire from
spreading. So fierce was the blaze, how
ever, and so strong had become the wind
that millions of sparks and flying burning
shingles spread over five or six blocks, set
| ting the roofs Of the houses on fire in ad-
| vance of the department. Soon Senator
Taliaferro's residence, then the adjoining
houses on that block were ablaze, and in
, spite of all efforts TO save the Windsor and
| the st. James hotels both hostelries were
| quickly envelOped I'm flames. For about an
| hour the guests in the Windsor had been
busily packing their trunks and went away
| loaded with trunks and grips some un-
| fortunately to the United States Hotel, but
| most of them to Riverside.
Leaping madly across the street from the
Windsor the flames attacked the Sells
House and then the Methodist parsonage.
and in a few moments the Trinity Meth
odist Church was a mass of flames. The
opera house block followed and the Rich
ards and Livingstone boarding houses. A
desperate effort was made to save the Bald
win mansion, which was recently purchased
by the Elks for $4,000. No earthly power
could save this building, and that entire
block and the one west was quickly mass
of flames
Once the fire got started on Main street
| the closely adjoining buildings went one
after the other. Paint shops with barrels
of oil were plentiful in this district, and
when caught fire the blaze rose hundreds
of feet high and quickly set the buildings
across the street on fire.
A DANGEROUS PLACE.
Then the Hubbard hardware store
caught, and the people scattered when they
saw what had happened. Hundreds of
pounds of powder and great deal of dyna-
mite were stored in this building. In ten
minutes there was a roar and the building
collapsed like an eggshell. The dynamite
and the powder had exploded. Here again
there was much danger for the firemen.
Cartridges began to explode and bullets
began to fly around, and the effort to fight
the flames at this point had for time to
| be abandoned This only the start of
| the most intense part OF the fire. The new
| Furchgott building was soon ablaze, and
| then quickly the Gardiner building was also
| a mass of flames.
Down the street the fire spread with
| rapidity, and the entire section of Bay
street, from Market to Main street, and ex-
tending for five blocks back, was burning
| all at once. The city building went, the fire
department building, the armory, the coun-
| ty courthouse, the clerks office, with the
| county records, the criminal courthouse,
the city Jail, and the graded schools and
the Catholic Church and orphanage, st.
johns Episcopal Church and the convent.
| All this destruction was wrought in less
| than four hours.
| At $50 the fire was checked at the inter-
section OF Laura and Bay streets. where
! the Commercial Bank is located. which
went up in flames. The Western Union
| telegraph office, just across the street, was
| not damaged.
| SOME OF THE LOSSES.
| partial estimate of the losses as Sc
| cured up to $50 o'clock Friday night, is as
follows: Cleveland Manufacturing Com
pany, $4,000; Commercial Bank, $4,000;
First National Bank. $4,000; Hubbard's
| block, $4,000; Industrial Savings and Trust
Company s5,OOO Windsor Hotel and Annex.
ss5, ,OoO St. James Hotel, $4,000; Hotel Pla-
| eide, $4,000; Mohawk block $4,000; Gardner
| building s2oo.OO0; Kohn- -Furchgott building.
| $25,0 ,00O Seminole Club, S15,0Oo; Elks Club,
| s35. 900; opera house. $4,000; Herkimer block.
| s25, ,O0O Palmetto block, $4,000; III. & w. b.
| Drew, $4,000: Hotel Richelieu, $4,000; Ely
| block $4,000: Gilkes building, $500 Nede-
| man block, $4,000; United States Hotel s25,-
600; Albemarle House, $1,000; Christie,
| Grower & Co, drugs, 100000; McMurray
livery stable, $4,000; New York steam laun-
dry, $4,000: r. d. Knight & Co, $4,000; A
B. Campbell Company, $4,000; Heffiey
Bros drugs, $4,000; Gable Piano Company,
$1,000; Auditorium and skating rink, $4,000;
c. c. Belts drugs. $4,000; Law Exchange.
$4,000; police station Crented): $4,000; Green
leaf & Crosby, $15OOO0; Merchants National
Bank $4,000; Florida Hardware Company.
s.. 900: East Florida Printing Company, $2O,-
600; Ritzwoller Shoe Company, $S.OO0 Belvi-
dere saloon, $4,000; st. John Hotel, $1,000;
Smith building. S,OOO Barton block. $1,000;
ST. Mary's Orphanage, $4,000; Church of
the Immaculate Conception, parsonage and
st. Joseph's Convent. $4,000: Goodman In
stitute (colored), $4,000; First Baptist
Church, $4,000; st. Johns Episcopal
Church. s5O.Oo0 McTiere Memorial Church,
So, 900: W. S. Wares residence, 100000 Sen
rotts residence, s35 900; Mr.. Pollock's resi-
dence, $4,000; Col II. Bisbee's residence.
$4,000; Judge w. b. Owens residence,
$1,000.