New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-10-15
BILTMORE HEAD
FALLS TO. DEATH
Gustav Baumann P1unges
Twenty Stories to Root
of the Restaurant.
WANTED TO OBSERVE
DRILL OF WATERS
Coroner Calls Death Accidental
Management First Says
Cause Is ApOplexy.

Desiring to witness drill Of wait
or. which was scheduled to take place
in the Italian Garden, two stories aooVe
the street level. Gustav Baunann'
president Of the Biltmore Hotel Com
pany. leaned over the coping OF the
roof Of the new hotel, at Madison aV'
and 43d st.. shortly after II O'CLOCK
Yesterday morning.
Seized with a sudden attack OF ver''-
90 no nitched forward and fell twenty
stories to the roof of the open air
restaurant and was killed Instantly.
No patrons were in the garden at inc
.;ue Of the accident. and the hrst
knowledge Of the tragedy was conveyed
to the management Of the biI'more
when Fred Ruger, waiter appeared
On the roof garden few minutes later
TO take part in the drill. lie iounu
the body OF the hotel proprietor lying
between one Of the wall tables ano
the orchestra stand. Ruger notified the
hotel officials. and the body WAS re-
moved TO Mr.. Baumsnn's apartments
An air Of mystery was thrown about
the death Of Mr.. Baumann by the an
nouncement made by the hotel man
erement that he had died from an ~
tack of apOpleXy in a chair IN MS rooIn'
Later il was said he had gone 70 the
roof TO make an inspection Oh tne
carpenter shop, with the idea OF utliiz,
inc snare space for the storage OF
baggage. He spoke 10 a porter nameu
O'Connor and then stepped out OF tne
shop and walked TO the coping OF tho
roof. remarking that he wanted 10 op-
serve the walters drill from that VAN
tare point. O'Connor was the last per-
son to see him alive.
About an hour and half after the
death Of Mr.. Baumann, Captain Fatrlck
II. Gildea and Detective McCahh, %
the Second Branch Detective bureau
went TO the hotel in response 10 al
order from Police Headquarters, Where
y telephone message had been received;
The hotel management had not notiheu
the police precinct of the tragedy
Cildea and Mccain were taken TO an
INNER floor of the hotel and renamed
fifteen minutes. When they lett tne
Fillmore they said they had no intor-
nation TO divulge, as they had not re-
ceived anv. They explained that they
had been shown the roof and the spot
in the Italian Garden where the oody
was found, but had no additional facIs
in their possession.
The homicide bureau OF the District
Attorneys Office was notified, and AS
sistant District Attorney Deacon Muir
phy visited the hotel to investigate
His injuries did not throw any tur-
Their light upon the death Of Mr.. bau-
mann.
Coroner Feinberg after an lnvesti-
cation told the reporters he was salts
fled that the hotel mans death was the
result Of an accident. The coroner
added that his inquiries had revealed
that Mr.. Baumann was in good health
and in the best of spirits. The hotel
management assured the coroner that
Mr.. Baumann had no financial worries.
Later in the evening Coroner Fem
berg issued a burial permit, in which
the cause of death was described as an
accidental fall. The watch in Mr.. Bau-
manns vest pocket had stopped at
l1:O5. and this hour was fixed as the
time of his death.
Mr.. Baumann was one OF the best
known hotel men in the United States.
lie was born at St. Gall, Switzerland,
in 1853, and spent his youth in Neuf-
chatel. I'm 1875 he removed to London,
and six years later came to America.
His first important hotel connection IN
the United States was with Kinsley's,
in Chicago. Later he married Miss
Emily G. Kinsley, and was manager and
partner in the business until he re-
moved to New York, where he was
/ known for many years as owner and
manager of the Holland House.
/ On May /, 1911, Mr.. Baumann sur
/ rendered his interest in the Holland
House TO assume charge Of the new
/ s1O.OOO,000 Biltmorc Hotel, as presi-
/ dent Of the company. At that time he
was rated as worth more than ST.
/ 100000.
Mr.. Baumann's only diversion from
business was taken on his farm at
1 Greenwich, Conn. lie was a promi-
nent member Of the Lotos and Swiss
clubs, and president Of the Beau Site
Realty Company and of the New York
/ Hotel Mems Association. He leaves a
widow and two children, son, twenty
one years old, and a daughter, twenty
four.
The executive committee of the Ho-
tel Association last night adopted res
olutions on the death Of Mr.. Baumann.