Smyrna times., 1948-12-30
FIRE DESTROYS OLD
OPERA HOUSE BUILDING
Firemen Fight Stubborn Blaze
in Cold, Strong Winds
Xmas Night
ERECTED 1870

Opera House on Christmas night,
completely destroying the Town
Clock and third floor of the historic
landmark. All records, old photo
graphs and equipment, some over
hundred years old, belonging to
Harmony Lodge, A. NJ. & F. NJ,
which occupied the third floor
We're destroyed. Wilson Cabinet
Company, occupants of the second
floor, saved most of their records
but suffered damage to office equip
ment, including typewriters, cal
culating machines and furniture,
when the third floor collapsed, and
from water. The Smyrna Library,
American Legion room and Town
Police Headquarters all suffered
water damage. Richard Shapiro, of
Wilmington, a guest of John E.
Wilson LII for the holiday, severely
cut his wrist when his hand went
through a pane of glass while help
ing to remove equipment from the
offices of the Wilson Cabinet Com
pany on the second floor. He cut
an artery, nerve, tendon and suf-
fered from loss of blood. He was
rushed to the Kent General Hospit-
al. The fire was discovered at ap-
proximately 5.45 pm. and immedi-
ately upon seeing the seriousness
of the blaze the Citizens Hose Com
pany called for help from Dover
and surrounding communities. AL
though officially the cause of the
fire is still unknown it is believed
that it started on the inside on the
third floor and not by a short cir
cult in the wiring of Christmas
lights on the. building. According
to firemen, what looked to be Just
"a small fire on the third floor corn
er of Main and South Streets was
misleading because the flames had
eaten its way along the inside walls
of the third floor and then burst
into a sudden blaze. A strong wind
carried sparks for some distance,
showering the home of Raymond
d. Pusey, RothwelTs grain elevator
and other houses in the block. Sew
eral fire trucks We're used to wet
down nearby buildings and the
severe cold aided the firemen some-
what in preventing the fire from
spreading by quickly freezing the
water thrown on the buildings into
a protective coating of ice. Firemen
fighting the blaze came from Dow
er, Clayton, Cheswold, Leipsic,
Camden-Wyoming, Townsend, Mid
dletown and Odessa. Women of the
community made large quantities
of sandwiches and coffee from sup
plies donated by citizens of Smyrna
and George C. Rothwell secured ad-
ditional coffee and sandwiches
from local restaurant which were
served firemen in Rothwell's Office
building near the Town Hall.
Estimated Loss S15O,OOO
The electric current was off for
several hours in the southern Sec
tion of town during the fire. The
main switch was pulled to save
firemen from the hazards of falling
live wires. The towns water sup
ply was supplemented by water
from the State Welfare Home, and
from Lake Como. Police Chief Jac-
obs has announced that police
headquarters have been moved to
the new town hall on Main Street
opposite the Post Office. The tele-
phone number at the new head
quarters is $751;. The Wilson Cab
met Company has set up tempor-
ary offices in the Century Club
building on Commerce Street. May
or G. ]. Prickett has estimated the
damage unof1cially at between
100000 and $150000. Mayor
Prickett and the Town Council are
anxious to receive the expressions
of the will of the citizens of Smyr-
ma about the restoration of the his
toric old Opera House. The town
council plans to hold meeting as
soon as a full report of the loss
and the insurances adjustor's re-
port are received to consider the
problem of whether the building
should be torn down or rebuilt.
Built In 1870
The old Opera House was one of
the most popular entertainment
halls in the state in the late eight
cen hundreds. On April 81, 1869
George H. Raymond, John C. Bail
49,