The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1913-05-21
FIRE IN BARNEY HOME
RUINS ART WORKS
Fittings Collected by Stanford
White Are Scorchcd and
Blackcncd.
MRS. BARNEY SAVES GEMS
House on Park Avenue RcmOd-
clled by Barney at a Cost
Of $3.50. 900.
MRS. BARNEY SAVES GEMS

Several paintings and rugs wero de-
stroycd and three rooms full of treasures
gathered in Italy by Stanford White
were scorched and blackoned by fire in
the home Of Mrs Charles T. Barney at
Park avenue and Thirty-eighth street
yesterday afternoon--the house i'll which
MIR. Barney killed himself three weeks
after resigning the Knickerbocker Trust
Company presidency in the panic of 1907
Flame swept up the carved marble
stairway. which il one of the most beau
tiful in tho city. and was tapping the cell
ing OF the second floor when six streams
Of water from three quickly arriving
engines stopped it short. Tho green
ROOM at the right Of the irs on the
main floor, was ruined. The fire started
| there. The ballroom. which occupies "A
wing Of the house on Thirty-eighth street,
and the walls and ceiling Of which once
part Of an latlian palace. were brought
here by Mr.. White for Mr.. Barney. was
only touched by flame but sooty smoke
| filled it and water drenched it. and when
the flremen got through i, was sorry
| sight In the passageway between the
green room and the ballroom rest two
Roman sarcophagi Of stone. They too
were blackened and holes were pierced
III the glass roof above them
Virtually all Of the Barney tapestries
were safe. for they We're sent away for
storage yesterday morning Mrs Barney
and her family had arranged to rail for
Europe Tomorrow and the VII ole ho,is.
! was being closed for the summer
When the fire started the family were
| finishing luncheon in the basement dining
! room. There We're Mrs Barney. her two
.ons. Ashbe and James " Barney: her
daughter. Mrs. Archibald ) Alexander.
and Mrs Aiekanders small son Jones
| the butler snelled smoke and triiled II TO
| the green room. Floor and wall were
| blazing. Jones warned tn" family and
| shot out 10 ring "A fir" alarm Mrs Barney
ran upstairs and got her jewel box before
quitting the house Most Of the thirteen
servants started packing things up. lur
were told TO stop that and hurry into
the street one of the maids went to the
| roof instead and reached Park avenue hv
way of the adjoining house, No 10 Ashbel
| Barney after quitting the house tried to
get back and rescue an Egyptian cape
! from the green room. but fire drove him
away
The Deputy Chief who came with the
| fireman was Smoky Joe Martin Through
| the main entrance OF the house on 1hirty-
eighth street and through the green room
windows he pointed six lines of hose. As
| the iire sullenlv Missed itself out in the
green room the hose had to be dragged into
the house across floors ankle deep under
water, for the blaze had clear path UP
! the stairs Ia the second floor
! 4 few minutes ended the fire. hut for
more than an hour iiremen were pitching
! into tho street charred pieces of what had
, been the green room = antique furniture
A pair Of half burned tapestry portieres
| CLEANED with gold in this pile of black
| sticks. and a sixteenth century chair,
| with all its upholstery burned away,
sprawled upside down near thc,top Of the
heap.
Mrs. Barney. her sons and daughter
reentered their home and directed the
servants in collecting the valua bles on
the unharmed three upper floors for
removal TO storage warehouse and
deposit vaults. Chief Martin found
several gold watches and chains scattered
III an upper room and turned them over
10 Mrs. Barney.
Ashbel Barney said he couldn't esti-
| mate the loss and that everything was
| adequately insured. He thought that
the burned pictures were ~ no great
| value and that the most seriou, loss was
| that of "A cabinet in the green room which
had contained Greek and Italian terra
, Gotta statuett"s. An armcsS lfesize
Venus that stood in the centre Of the
green room lis fashioned Of white marble,
| but she was a very d,lsky maiden after
the fire,
Stanford White had charge Of furnish
ing Mr.. Barneys house with old Italian
,, furniture. frescoes. tapestries and carved
, marble door cases and ballstrade. The
ballroom watch he built into the wing
was the scene of many brilliant fetes
In an appraisal Of the Barney estate in
1900 the rugs in the green room were
said to be worth $4,000, a door s.. 500 a
, small two panel screen $4,000. a mant el
SIS. ON and marble relief of the Madonna
and Child $4,000. A tapestry representing
the Crucifixion, which was not damaged
Yesterday. was appraised at s37. 500
Altogether MIR. Barney was unofficially
said to have spent $3.50, 600 in remodelling
his home, The house and lot were ap-