Boston Fire destroys Boston Bottle Works

[Newspaper]

Publication: The Milwaukee Sentinel

Milwaukee, WI, United States


A FEARFUL FIRE


The Great Conflagration in Boston Continues Fifteen Hours


Hundreds of the Most Costly Buildings Destroyed


Many of the Largest Warehouses in the City in Ashes


Heavy Sufferers in the Shoe and Leather, Woll and Dry Goods Trades.


Detailed Account of the Origin and Extend of the Calamity.


Estimates of Losses, and Insurance Companies Holding Risks.


A Financial Crisis Anticipated—the Effect in Some of the Principal Cities.


THE FIRE


A Fail Account of its Origin and Progress.

New York, Nov. 10,-- The following is a full and corrected account of the Boston fire from the beginning.

Boston, Nov. 10th,-- 7 A.M.—The fire which commenced at 7:30 last night, continues its devastation and is now working its way through the large block between Devonshire and Congress streets, north of Wales street.

The fire broke out in the rear end of a five-story granite building, Nos. 87, 89 and 91 Summer street, directly on the corner of Kingston street. This building was surmounted with a high Mansard roof , overtopping all other buildings in the immediate vicinity. Directly as the flames begin to spread through the story beneath this roof, and before an engine or hose carriage was on the ground, great volumes of flame suddenly burst out from the rear of the lower stories of the building, and in less than 20 minutes the whole broad façade extending fully one hundred feet along Livingston street was the sheet of flames, as was also at the same time the Summer street front, the heat being so intense as to force the firemen away from that immediate vicinity.

By this time a strong wind had sprung up, the flames began to sweep over Summer and Kingston streets, and despite all the exertions of the firemen in every branch of the department, the fire was communicated to buildings on the opposite corner of Kingston and Summer streets, as well as to the great block on the corner of Summer and Otis streets, and in less than half an hour the flames were bursting out of the roofs and all up and down the broad sides of the immense structures. By this time the wind had increased to nearly a gale, and the flames having entire mastery of everything swept from story to story, from roof to roof, from block to block, and from corner to corner, driving the firemen from every vantage ground they could secure, and rendering all there exertions useless.

Wherever the flames reached they rapidly consumed everything of a combustible character. The large block on the corner of Summer and Kingston, in which the fire first started, was occupied on the first and upper floors by Tibbets, Baldwin & Davis, dry goods jobbers.

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On Water street was the Hide and Leather Bank, the Mercantile Agency, the Boston Car Spring Co., the Boston Post building, the Hope Mutual Life Insurance Co., the Boston Bottle Works, E.M. Smith, the New England Trust Co., Vincent Lafoure.

Miscellaneous

The Western Union Telegraph Company, fearing the destruction of their premises, removed their instruments to the Providence depot.

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Keywords:Boston Bottle Works
Researcher notes: 
Supplemental information: 
Researcher:Bob Stahr
Date completed:October 7, 2009 by: Bob Berry;