Baltimore, Maryland Fire
February 7-8, 1904
In a desperate but futile effort to prevent
the fire going further to the east building
after building was dynamited in this block, but
it was all of no avail and the fire swept
steadily onward.
The Daily Record building was soon in
flames and not many minutes later the fire had
leaped over St. Paul street and the lofty and
massive Calvert
building began to emit smoke and flame. The
Equitable building, just over a narrow alley,
quickly followed and these two immense buildings
gave forth a glare that lighted the city for
miles around.
It was thought that the fire could be
prevented from crossing to the north side of
Fayette street and here again a desperate stand
was made by the firemen. Again it was useless
and soon the large building of
Hall, Headlington
& Co., on the northwest corner of Charles and
Fayette streets, was blazing brightly. With
scarcely a pause the fire leaped across to the
east side of Charles street and enveloped the
handsome building of the Union Trust company,
while at the same time the large buildings to
the west of Hall,
Headlington & Co., occupied by
Wise Bros. &
Oppenheim, Oberndorf
& Co., were aflame throughout.
Down Fayette street to the east the flames
swept, and soon the new courthouse was ablaze.
The fire area then extended along Liberty street
north to Fayette, east to Charles, north to
Lexington, south on Charles to Baltimore street,
east on Baltimore to Holliday and from there in
spots to Center Market space.
When it was seen the courthouse could not be
saved the court records were all removed to the
northern police station, two miles and half
away. The Continental Trust building, a
thirteen-story structure, caught at the tenth
floor and was totally destroyed after burning
like a great torch. The private bank of
Alexander Brown,
located at Baltimore and Calvert streets, in the
very heart of the fire district, a one story
stone structure, miraculously escaped
annihilation, the surviving building out of a
great spread of two square miles of costly
structures that caught the early morning sun
that fateful day. Sunrise that disclosed naught
save ruin, chaos and confusion.
Thus raged the warfare of man against a
relentless hungry element for 27 hours. It was
11:40 Sunday morning when the fire started. At
2:40 Monday afternoon the joyful news was spread
that the allied fire departments had the flames
within control. Hotels, banks, business houses,
factories — in fact everything in the heart of
the city was swept away. All the local
newspapers save one were destroyed, the street
car systems were without power to operate and
the lighting facilities were sadly crippled.
Towering ruins loomed up on every hand, swaying
in the breeze and jeopardizing life. And still
the countless fires in the burned district raged
on, illuminating the heavens and clouding the
atmosphere with dense smoke against which
myriads of sparks twinkled like miniature stars.
The last places to go before the fire started
to burn itself out, were the icehouse and coal
yard of the American Ice company. The coal yard,
which spread out about 200 yards south of the
icehouse, was the means of staying the march of
the flames on the south and Jones falls on the
east. The Norfolk wharf of the Baltimore
steam-packet company, which was stocked with
barrels of resin and other miscellaneous
merchandise, was destroyed before the ice
company’s plant was reached.
At 10 o’clock Monday the fire was reported
under control, but a little later the flames
were sweeping along the harbor and river men
began taking their vessels rapidly out into the
middle of the stream. There were about
seventy-five of these vessels and they were
hastily anchored down the bay. The buildings of
the Standard Oil company and the
Buckman
Fruit company along the water front were soon in
flames. This renewal of the energy of the fire
continued until well along into the afternoon of
the second day.
Following is a partial list of the principal
buildings destroyed in the baptism of fire or by
dynamite in an effort to stay the flames:
The courthouse, loss $4,000,000
The postoffice 1,000,000
Equitable building, twelve stories 1,135,000
Union Trust Company building, 11 stories
1,000,000
Continental Trust building, 16 stories 1,125,000
Baltimore & Ohio general offices 1,125,000
Calvert
building 1,125,000
Hopkins
bank.
Holliday Street theater.
Guardian Trust building.
Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone company.
Maryland Trust company.
Alexander Brown
Banking company.
Bell Telephone building.
Custom house.
Western Union building.
National Exchange bank.
United States Express office.
Mercantile Trust building.
Baltimore American.
Baltimore Herald.
Baltimore Sun.
Baltimore Evening News.
Baltimore Record.
John E. Hurst,
dry goods, $1,500,000.
William Koch Importing company,
$150,000.
Daniel Miller company, dry goods,
$1,500,000.
Dixon & Bartlett company, shoes,
$175,000.
Joyner, Wilse & Co., hats and caps,
$100,000.
Spragins, Buck & Co., shoes,
$125,000.
Cohen - Adler Shoe company, $125,000.
L. S. Fitman, women’s wrappers;
Jacob R. Seligman,
paper, and Nathan
Rosen, women’s cloaks, $100,000.
Morton, Samuels & Co., boots and
shoes, and Strauss
Bros., storage, $100,000.
Bates Rubber company, $135,000.
Guggenheimer, Wells & Co.,
lithographers and printers, $125,000.
M. Friedman & Sons, clothing, and
F. Schleunes, clothing, $150,000.
Schwarzkopf Toy company, $100,000.
National Exchange bank, building and contents,
$125,000.
S. Lowman & Co.,
clothing, $125,000.
John E. Hurst & Co., storage,
$150,000.
Lawrence & Gould Shoe company and
Bates Hat
company, $125,000.
S. Ginsberg & Co., clothing,
$125,000.
Winkelmann & Brown Drug company,
$125,000.
R. M. Sutton & Co., dry goods,
$1,500,000.
Chesapeake Shoe company, $100,000.
S. F. & A. F. Miller, clothing
manufacturers, $150,000.
S. Halle Sons, boots and shoes,
$100,000.
Strauss Bros., dry goods, $250,000.
A. C. Meyer & Co., patent medicines,
$150,000.
Strauss, Eiseman & Co., shirt
manufacturers, $150,000.
North Bros. & Strauss, $150,000.
McDonald & Fisher, wholesale paper,
$100,000.
Wiley, Bruster & Co., dry goods, and
F. W. & E. Dammam, cloth, $125,000.
Henry Oppenheimer & Co., clothing,
and Van Sant, Jacobs &
Co., shirts, $175,000.
Lewis Lauer & Co., shirts, $100,000.
Champion Shoe Manufacturing company
and Driggs, Currin &
Co., shoes, $100,000.
Mendels Bros., women’s wrappers,
$125,000.
Blankenberg, Gehrmann & Co., notions,
$125,000.
Leo Keene & Co., women’s cloaks, and
Henry Pretzfelder & Co., boots and
shoes, $125,000.
Peter Rohe & Son, harness
manufacturers, $125,000.
James Roberts Manufacturing company,
plumbers’ supplies, $100,000.
R. J. Anderf & Co., boots and shoes,
and James Robertson
Manufacturing company, storage, $100,000.
L. Grief & Bros., clothing, $150,000.
Maas & Kemper, embroidery and laces,
$125,000.
continued
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