The Savannah morning news., 1902-12-10
Big FIRE IN ATLANTA
ABOUT HALF A MILLION WENT UP
IN SMOKE.
HEART OF BUSINESS SECTION
VISITED BY THE MOST DEsTRUC-
TIVE FIRE IN YEARS.

Started at an Early Hour Yesterday
MorninE i'm the Furniture store of
Shook & Austin-NOrcross Building
Destroyed - Jacobs Pharmacy
wiped out-List OF Those Who suf-
fered Losses and the Amounts of
Insurance Carried-Street Car Sew
vice Suspended.
Atlanta, Dec. 9.-Fire to-day in the
heart of the downtown section of At
lanta wiped out almost a block of
business houses, causing a loss esti-
mated at between $500, 900 and $500, 900.
The fire originated in the furniture
store of Shook g. Austin, on the
Whitehall street viaduct, and was first
discovered about 4 o'clock in the morn
ing. 1t spread with great rapidly to
the Norcross building, a structure on
the corner of Peachtree and Marietta
streets, whose six stories were large
ly taken up with the offices of ply
Norcross building and the Shook
building were entirely consumed, only
portions OF the walls remaining.
The building occupied by the Ja-
cobs Pharmacy Company. adjoining
the Norcross building on Marietta
street. was completely Quilted, and the
Jacobs company and the Shook COM
pany sustained the heaviest individual
losses Of the fire. Water did consid-
cradle damage to several stores adj
joining and across the street.
Feared for Hotel Guests.
The Williams House. a small hotel,
located on the upper floor of the ia
cobs pharmacy building, contained
about sixty-five dodgers, and for some
time rumors prevailed that loss of life
had occurred among the guests of the
hotel: but Fire Chief Joyner declared
tonight that all the guests had es-
capped unframed.
The entire street car service of the
city was suspended for a period of
about four hours. during the fiercest
progress of the fire. The burned build
ings were most of them old, and their
material value was not great. The
Norcross building, the most valuable
of those destroyed, was to have been
demolished within a year to make way
for a modern office structure. 1t was
built at a cost of about $4,000.
The heaviest monetary loss falls upon
the merchants in the various burned
buildings, who lost their stock and fix
lures.
Alarm for the IximbnII House.
There was considerable apprehension
early In the morning that the flames
would spread to the Kimbai House
and involve the entire central business
portion of the city, but the heroic
work of the fire department confined
the fire to a comparatively narrow
area, 1t is not believed that the White
hall street viaduct is seriously dam
aged.
The Shook building was originally
the old National Hotel, which, DUR
ing early reconstruction days. was
the headquarters of Robert Toombs,
Benjamin II. Hill, Alexander II.
Stephens and other Southern states
men.
The heaviest losers, with insurance,
so far as ascertained are as follows:
Jacobs Pharmacy Company $4,000. in
surance $4,000; p. H. Shook e. Aus
tin Furniture Company, 100000 in
surance about the same: r. M. Rose
e. Co., liquor dealers, $4,000 covered
by insurance; Hammack Drug Conn
pany, $4,000, covered by insurance;
Guarantee Clothing Company, $4,000,
insurance 100000 Williams Hotel.
1000, insurance 5000.
The other losses have not been tabu-
lated, but they will swell the aggre-
gate to an amount over 100000. AL
most all the plate glass windows were
broken in the retail stores across from
the Norcross building on Peachtree
street.
Porter May BE a Victim.
]. F. Porter, superintendent of con-
struction of the American Moistening
Company, is supposed to have lost his
life in to-day's fire. He. was a guest
at the Williams House and said last
night he was going to Columbus at
$50 this morning. He has not shown
up In Columbus, and no trace of him
can be found here.
-e-<-~
JUMPED TO DEATH