Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1908-12-25
Wednesdays Fire.


that ever visited our town was
that originating Wednesday morn
ing, about Z o'clock in the old
"Olympic" building, lately owned
and occupied by the Knights of
Pythias lodge and mercantile es-
Establishments. The fire is said to
have originated in the rear of the
Bolster & Barnes establishment, oc
cupied by the Chinese cook, and
spread with such rapidity that Mrs.
Barnes and Mrs. Harder, escaped
with difficulty from the upper story
windows.
The fire spread to the warehouse
of Bolster 4 Barnes, stored with
feed, and thence to the fire-hOuse,
still further south on Columbia street,
and to Cameron market on the
west on Fourth street; and for q
time it looked rs if the whole corner
would be destroyed. In the mean
time as many people as could work
expeditiously were engaged in carry
ing the merchandise from the stores.
Nearly everything was taken from
the Bolster & Barnes stand with little
real damage, and Cameron succeeded
in getting his entire stock across
Fourth street, into room of the
Wright building, with telephone con-
nectiOn and was serving steaks for
early breakfast before the fire was
under control. The stock of the gro
Gerry firm was placed on the opposite
sidewalks, until the corner salesrOOm
of the Wright block, on Fourth and
Water, was secured, fOi 1T least tenn
pOrary quarters.
Much of the furniture of the X. OF
p. hall was lowered from the fire
escape platform and was saved, but
their building is q wreck and it is a
question whether it will be repaired
or supplanted by q new building. 1t
was erected in the early COS by a
couple of wagon makers for q shop
and sold by them to Charles f. Will
liams in an unfinished condition. He
transformed the upper story into q
neat and spacious public hall, known
as the Olympic. where for several
years about all public meetings were
held. A few years afterwards it was
bought by Capt. d. b. Finch. of the
steamer Eliza Anderson, Costing him
~, 500 and presented to Tacoma
Lodge l. o. G. T., on condition that
it should maintain a public library
and reading room, which it did for
many years, in the back part of the
lOwer-stOry, the front being occupied
several years by Randall II. Hewitt,
as a print-shop, and afterwards by
Charles Prosch 4 Sons as Office of pub
LEGATION for the Pacific Tribune, then
by f.. 7. Gum as the home of the Tran
script, and afterwards by ]. N. Gale
with a short-lived paper called the
New Transcript. Then it was occupied
by Van Eaton & Aldrich as fruit
store.
During the hard times and high
taxes of the COS, the county "confis-
Gated" the Olympic for taxes, the
erection of Columbia hall in 1870,
having wiped out to large extent
the Good Templars' source of profit
from rentals for public entertain
mentS.
| A few years ago the late occu-
pants became tenants, one of whom,
Mr.. Cameron, has already moved
back without waiting to ascertain
whether the decision will be to repair
or rebuild. The losses, estimated by
the sufferers themselves, are stated
as follows:
Bolster & Barnes-Loss $4,000; in.
surance, $500.
Knights of Pythias-loss $1,000; in.
surance. 81 800.
r. G. Cameron-$300; fully covered
by insurance.
A. Alvord-Shoe-shop, about s75; nc
Insurance.
Eugene Allen-Barber, about $50; nc
insurance.
Total loss-About $l2,950; total in.
surance SO. 400.