Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-09-22
Where Once Gardeners
Stately Coliseum Stood.
General Opinion Is That Fire
Was Work of Incendlary.
Rigid investigation to Be M,dc-Re.
building Not Probable.

the many places in the city whera per-
sons congregated, Wedesnday. was the
series of lnes, early that morning and
the many features connected with II
The SCENE of the fire on the Caus,w,v
WAS the nucleus of groups of men
women ana children nearly all day and
the subject has been thoroughly gone
over by those in a position TO know and
Judge. Connected with the two 1irrs
W cdneSday morning, are facts that
maize the thinking ones ask: WAS
not the fire-and in fact both fras-of
incendiary origin?" and il seems to be
the general opinion that such is the
case.
1t will Re remembered that earlier in
Inc year or at the time Of The fire in
the Milton granite sheds on the
FauSeWay, when the stock shed of the
works WAS destroyed and the Wincate
Darn, at the rear of the house on Bridge
street, was damaged by fire before the
Milton sheds We're discovered to be
burning. There was suspicion at that
time that the Milton building was set
on fire.
AS singular coincidence it is known
that, this Wednesday morning two
buildings in the same vicinity as that
of the fire earlier in the summer were
discovered to be on fire. In fact. one
of the buildings burning, the Wingate
barn. WAS the same one tfat OCCUPIED
the attention Of the fire department be-
fore, and the other building that fig
l..4I in l,, 1.
stones throw of the second fire in the
first case mentioned.
1t could not be learned for certain
ty the exact time which elapsed be-
tween the discovery of the two fires
Wednesday morning. but the second
alarm, for the Coliseum, was lung in
only a few minutes after the last NUM-
ber for the Wingate fire was blown.
The FIRE at the Coliseum seems 20 he
attended with the most suspicious
features. Several persons who are
believed to be among the first to no
tice the fire at the eunl-etatc that
when first seen the fire WAS in the
basement Of the building on the side
toward the shoe factory and about
middle way Of the building. The
Waterman at the shoe factory is one
who is authority for this statement.
The building has been unoccuried *
cept i'll the front corner toward rhc
passenger station, or on the opposite
side from which the fire caught aud
there by H. f. Littlefeld, who acted
as ianitor of the building and con-
Quoted a fruit and confectionery bus
mess.
of the building. as the structure rest
ci on piles driven into the bed Of he
JeWttt mill pond. it would not seem
possible that burning cinders from the
Win@ate fire. some SEQ yards away.
could lodge there to start the blaze
From this small beginning the fire
spread rapidly. as would he natural.
on the underneath part Of the building
and it was only a short time before the
flames had eaten along the bottom Of
the building and enVeloping the found
atoms soon made the structure Il mass
of fire working upward and which re-
suited in the total destruction of the
ST.. 900 amusement building.
1t was Il beautiful as well as an awe
inspiring sight to see the big S0xl55
budding succumb to the flames which
We're 50 fierce that it WAS well known
it would be useless to put water on it,
Across the stream fl ON the Coliseum
WAS the Wood building a structure of
wood. occupied on the ground floor by
James T. ellison as a carriage manu-
factory and paint SHOP and i'll the
course of q few minutes and while the
Coliseum, was at its height of destruc-
ton the living cindars and combined
heat had caught this Building and it
Was seen that the only hope of saving
the entire south end of Depot Square
would b to contine the fire to the Wood
building.
Ii Vas here that the remarkably he
ole work of the fire laddies stood in
good stead and saved an almost un-
limited amount of loss. The steamer
Cobhoaeee had been stationed on the
first Canseway bridge with the supply
nipe over the rail and the end resting
in th4 stream and from this piece Of
fire fighting apparatus steady stream
OF water was poured into the ellison
shon from the time the pumps were
started until the fir in the Coliseum
was only sInouldering and the Wood
buiLing was completely gutted-a peri
cd of two hours and a half
The heat from the Coliseum was SO
intense at the time that the 1926 Pull
man train was in the station that the
yarI.ish on the Pullman cars was
blistered during the short time the
train was at a stand-still in the depot.
MI. xo.;fion of tho train was oyacfly
opnosite the Coliseum across the
Causeway and plot of ground some
two rods in width.
So intense was the heat in the vicin-
ity of the steamer that the only way
the frelnen running the steamer could
stick to their posts was by having n
stream of water from another hose
,,,aring on them. In spite of this pro-
tactiou blsters We're raised on the
hands and faces Of several of the fire