Evening star., 1926-04-20
APARTMENT BLAZE
ROUTS2lPERSONS
Historic KeniIWorth StruC'
ture, Once Gambling Center,
Is Seriously Damaged.

TWenty-one residents of a frame
apartment house just across rl1e DIS
trict lire, at 1900 kenilwOrth avenue,
kenilworrh. Md, were forced to fee
to the street SIvathed in overcoatS
and blankets today when tire broke
out in the historic building. Whlch
once housed the well known kenll-
worth Club, a tiourishinS racing pooi-
room OF 20 years ago
The fire became threatening III the
face of a brisk wind, but ARRIVAL OF
District fire apparatus checked the
spread of the flames. Damage Is es-
timated at approximately SS,aoe.
Crossed wires or detective file pipes
are believed to have caused the fire.
Four families reside in the converted
apartment house. The building IS a
landmark of KeniIworta. originally
known as the Mccormick residence
and later the ClavelotiE home.
Was Gambling Resort.
Later. after racing at Benning came
under the ban the house was used as
a poolroopl, in which bets on horses
running at other tracks throughout
the country were taken. During this
period the club was one OF the most
popular local resorts OF the sporting
clientele
The next transition Of the property
was to a Summer garden. and in more
recent years it was converted into a
four-family apartment house.
Residents of the house at present
include the families OF ATr. and Mrs.
J NJ. Rupert, Mr.. and Mrs. II. 4. Con-
rad. Mr.. and Mrs. b. +. Bucklew and
Mr.. and Mrs. Louis Dunn.
While this fire was being eXtin-
~
which threatened for a time to spread
10 a large settlement of frame dwell
ings in the vicinity Of Forty eighth
and Meade streets northeast.
The fire was discovered by S. A..
Wiseman of kenilworth, ID. c., in the
home Of Herbert Johnson, colored, ON
the southwest corner of the street
intersection. Before the fire engines
arrived the house was ingulfed IN
flames. Damage was estimated at
approXimately So 500. Residents of
the neighborhood assisted in rerfov-
ing furniture, including a piano, from
the burning structure to a vacant
lot across the street. None Of the
family was at home at the time.
Shoe Store Loss S2O,0O0.
Several thousand persons watched
fireman fight a stubborn blaze in the
shoe store of William Hahn & Co.
1907 F street, which broke out about
7:30 O'Clock last night in a rear room
of the building and burned through
the second floor TO the roof. The dam
age to the Hahn Building, stock and
fixtures, was estimated by Fire Mar
Shal Seib at $4,000. Water and smoke
damage to the premises of s. 4
Reeves, confeCtioner, 1909 + street
was estimated AT about $390, and
smoke also caused damage in the store
of Goldsmith & Co., jewelers., 1905 +
street.
Destruction of the Hahn Building
was prevented by the prompt turning
In of an alarm by Hugo King, colored
porter in the store When Deputy
Chief p. w. Nicholson reached the
scene in charge of the companies re-
spending to the first alarm he was
able to crawl along the floor and To-
cate the fire, which started in a dumb
waiter in the rear room.
Sounding of a second alarm when
the fire threatened to spread to other
property brought out the water. tower
and more companies, making a
total of II companies on the scene.
Most of the firemen dOnned smoke
masks in fighting the blaze. and sew
eral who went in without masks were
almost overcome by the smoke.
Commissioner Frederick A. Fen
ming and Chief Watson went to the
firee on the second alarm and re-
mained on the scene until the fire
was extinguished.