Perth Amboy evening news. [volume] (Perth Amboy, N.J.) 1903-1959, 1906-04-19

1anEIed. 7n0Se VIC remained indoors
generally escaped with their lives,
though scores were hit by detached
plaster. pictures and articles thrown 70
the floor by the shock. 1t is believed
that more or less loss was sustained BY
nearly every family in the city.
The tall steel frame structures stood
the strain better than brick buildings.
few of them being badly damaged.
The big eleven story Monadnock otties
building in course of construction, adr
Joining the Palace hotel, was an ex-
ception. however. its rear wall col
lapsing and many cracks being made
across its front. Some of the docks
and freight sheds along the water front
slid into the bay. Deep assures opened
in the filled in ground near the shore,
and the Union Ferry depot was in
jured Its high tower still stands, but
| will have to be torn down.
A portion of the new city hall, which
cost over S7000000. collapsed, the roof
| sliding into the courtyard and smaller
towers tumbling down. The great
dome was moved. but did not fall
The new postotfice, one of the finest
in the United States, was badly shat
| tered.
The Valencia hotel, four story
| wooden building sank into the base
ment, pile of splintered timbers, un-
| der which were pinned many dead and
| dying occupants of the house. The
| basement was full Of water, and some
of the helpless victims were drowned.
Scarcely had the earth ceased to
shake when fires broke out sfnuita-
neously in many places. Ths nre de=
partment promptly responded to fhs
frst calls for aid, but 1t was found that
the water mains had been rendered
useless by the underground movement.
Famed by a light breeze, the flames
quickly spread, and soon many blocks
We're seen to be doomed.
Then dynamite was resorted to, and
the sound of frequent explosions added
to the terror of the people. All efforts
to stay the progress of the fire, how
ever proved futile. The south side OF
Market street, from Ninth street to the
bay, was soon ablaZe, the fire covering
belt two blocks wide. On this, the
main thoroughfare of the city, are To-
Gated many of the finest edifices IN the
city, including the Grant, ParroSk,
Flood, Call, Examiner and Monadnock
buildings, the Palace and Grand hotsls
and numerous wholesale houses.
At the same time the commercial es-
adjustments and banks north Of Mar
ket street were burning. The burning
| district in this section of the city ex-
! tended from Sansome street to the
water front and from Market street TO
| Broadway Fires also broke out In tho
Mission, and the entire city seemed to
be in flames.
There was an interval of three hours
| between the first and second shocks,
the latter finishing the destruction OF
| buildings unsettled by the first.
A great loss to the fire brigade was
| Chief sullivan. who was mortaly hurt
early in the fight.
Although water has been secured to
the firemen la many sections, the IRE is
by no means under control. II Is rag
ing around Pine and Montgomery
streets. and the Western Union build
ling has been abandoned to its fate.
Practically all the wholesale district
has been destroyed by the fire. and
the flames are spreading into the
Hayes valley district, residence sec
tion of San Francisco. st. Ignace's
cathedral was among the buildings
which was destroyed. The whole dis
trict in the vicinity of the postoffice
and mint have been destroyed.
The Palace hotel is destroyed. The
Postal Telegraph and the Western Tn
ion buildings and the magnificent new
Union Trust company building, eleven
stories high. have been dynamited.
| The papers in Oakland estimate the
dead at from 500 to 700 and 10000
homeless.
The flames, famed by the rising
breeze. swept down the main streets
until within a few hundred feet of the
ferry depot, the high tower of which
stood at dangerous angle. The big
wholesale grocery establishment OF
Weelman. Peck * Co. was on fire FROM
cellar TO roof, and the heat was 50 OPP
pressive that passengers from the fer
ryboats were obliged TO keep close to
the waters edge in order to get past
the burning structure.
A thousand men from the Presid'
arrived downtown to patrol the Ct
streets. The Thirteenth infantry /,
thousand strong arrived from Angel
Iisland little later and went on patrol
duty at once The soldiers have been
ordered 10 shoot down thieves caught
in the act of robbing the dead and to
guard with their lives the millions OF