Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-25
IRON WORKS
DAMAGED BY
EXPLOSION
LIeWeIIyn Plant Is Damaged by
Terrific Blast at 155 This
Morning
DYNAMITE, ASSERT POLICE
Three Other FoundrieS Sustain
Minor Damage-Man In
jured

An explosion, supposedly of dy-
Mantle, at 1:55 o'clock this morn
ing, wrecked a portion of the
Llewellyn iron works at Redondo
and Main streets, doing damage
roughly estimated at $4,000, and
also damaging to a lesser extent
the adjoining plants of the Lacy
Manufacturing company at 1000
North Main street, the Johnson
foundry and machine works at
1910 North Main street, and the
Stearns gas engine works at 1908
North Main street.
Although the force of the eX-
plosion shook the city and blew
the windows out of buildings for
a block on each side of the Lew
llyn plant, only one person was
injured. The injured man was a
negro watchman employed in the
Llewellyn plant and his injuries
are said to be not serious.
the explosion evidently took place IN
or Wy near the office of the TlcWollyn
plant. which faces on Rcdondo street.
The force of the blast knocked out
portions of the walls of the thrce-
story brick and frame structure on the
Rcdondo street side and caused the
floors to partially collapse on all three
floors on that side of the building. Inc
office was completely wrecked.
at carly hour 1illS
morning were investigating theory
that an attempt to blow the Sale
might have been responsible for the eN-
plosion j. e. Asbury, the negro night
Watchman of the plant, who was IN
iured. declares. however, that he was
seated in tho office when tho explosion
took place an mat there was nothing
10 Indicate that robbers had been in
the place. He says absolute quiet pre-
vaiIcl in the office when suddenly the
explosion took place directly behind
him and onl a. few feet away
The police are also working on the
theory that the explosion was caused
by an Internal machine of the time
clock variety, placed in the office.
At o'clock this morning the exact
cause of the explosion was still in
doubt, although Lieutenant Murray of
the police department said all the in
dcations pointed to it having been
caused by dynamite.
William Vine, night watchman at
the Lacy iron works, was sitting in the
office of that plant when the explosion
took place. He declares that few
minutes before the explosion he saw
two men near the door of the Lacy
plant but did not pay much attention
to them. He states that at 6:10 o'clock
last night a shot was fired at him by
one of three men sllulking i'll the rear
of the Lacy building. The mon dis
disappeared in the darkness without
Vine being able to return their shot.
In the darkness of the early morning
hours il is almost Impossible to ascor-
tain what the damage done TO the
plants really amounts to. The dam
age done the Llewwellyn plant is far
the most serious. 1t is a threc-StorY
brick and frame structure of rambling
proportions. The more valuable por-
ton Of the plant is apparently little
injured, the force of the explosion ap-
parently being upward and confined
to a. comparatively small area. The
windows are all broken in the Lacy,
Johnson and Stearns plants, but other
wise the damage TO those concerns is
slight. They are all tWo-story brick
structures.
Reese Llewellyn, ono of the owners
of the plant. ut 3 o'clock this morning
estimated inc uctHldSt at from @l",uuu
to S15,000 A small fire started in
the plant following the explosion, but
il was quickly eXtinguished by the fire
department..
j. E. Asbury, 1926 Lemon street,
Watchman of the LleWellyn iron works,
was in the office when the explosion
occurred and suffered "A cut on the
right hand and numerous abrasions of
The head and face. He was buried be-
meath a mass of debris, but was
dragged out by O..cer w. NJ. Cahil.
Il had just made my round of the
building. which required fifteen min
utes," said Asbury, land was seated
in the office when a sharp deafeninS
roar and mighty upheaval came from
the side of me. Timbers, plaster and
furniture fell upon me. / was pinned
down near unconscious, when I heard
some one call, Is there any one in the
building"
Il was able to cry for help, and
then was dragged TO the street"
officer Cahill says the explosion came
as he was directly in front of the Of
flee. providing an instantaneous flash
and a whip-crack report.
The Llewellyn iron works is one of
the concerns involved in the metal
workers strike