The Republican journal., 1908-01-30
PoR1LAND'S CRY HALL BURNED.

Portland was the scene OF q most disas-
trous fire last Friday. EARLY that morning
the City Building was discovered to be on
fire. More than 700 Knights of Pythias were
in the auditorium at the time and were en-
gagged in the ritual when a member being
apprized of the fire notified the assembly
and at his suggestion they marched out by
fours. A few minutes later the lights went
out. Had they gone out sooner there might
have been serious loss of life. The fire is
supposed to have originated from crossed
electric wires in the electricians depart
ment and the fire alarm system was put out
of commission. The upper part OF the
building burned first and When the pig
dome was in flames it was said to have been
the sight of life time The wind was
blowing a gale and the mercury about 10
above zero. While the flames ragged within,
the outer walls of the building were cased
in ice. Many neighboring cities sent aid
and half dozen or more OF steam hre ell
gines were pouring water into the building.
They burned soft coal and made more
smoke than the fire they we're endeavoring
i IL
in ice and the hose froze to the ground.
The loss of the building was bad enough,
but it was feared at one time that all the
county records were lost. The city treas
urer, Sam Gilbert, made his appearance
soon after the alarm was given, carrying a
ladder, and entering his room by a window
he secured the records and carried them to
a place of safety. The fire was not extin-
guished until Saturday, when the last line
of hose was withdrawn and the work of re-
moving the records was begun. The mayors
Office, in the east wing, ground floor, was
merely blackene and parched by the smoke
and heat The city clerks Office, from which
Mr.. Cummings at great risk succeeded in
saving valuable records, was badly DAM
aged, and the aldermanic and council cham
hers are in ruins. Far more of the public
records stored in the building were saved
than was at first supposed. Practically all
of the city records and those in the offices
of the clerks of the courts were saved. An
index system representing four years OF
work was wiped out, and pore than one
fifth of the Greenleaf law library was burn-
ed. s'Portland has come out Of this disas-
ter much better than l had expected, said
Mayor Leighton.
Several of the adjoining buildings caught
fire, but the only serious damage was to
Chestnut street NJ. E. church, which was
saved with difficulty. The loss by fire and
water is thought to exceed $1,000 and is
covered by insurance. The, Union Mu-
tual building was damaged to the extent OF
81, ,OOn, fully covered by insurance.
Among the losers was William J. Ryan
the blind almanac peddler, who had $500
worth of books stored in the city building,
and no insurance.
The building originally cost $3.50, 600, and
the insurance was only $S0,5OO. 1t was hfst
suggested that an office building be erected
on the site, but that found little favor and
new CITY hall will no doubt be built, with
the police department and electrical depart
ment in separate buildings. The building
burned was occupied jointly by the city and
the county of Cumberland, and in it were
held all the sessions of the Supreme, Su
perior and Municipal Courts.
The large auditorium, before the erection
of the Portland Auditorium and the Jeffer-
son Theater, was the scene of all the i'm
portant events, both social and political,
held in Portland.
The City Hail was badly gutted by the
great fire of 1866. 1t was first opened in
1859, and in 1867 was reopened, after altera-
tions and repairs following the fire OF the
wear before The building had frontage
of $50 feet and was $50 feet long. The
center dome which surmounted it rose above
its roof $50 feet. It.was constructedof Nova
Scotia free-stone and contained eighty
rooms.