Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 January 1898 — COLISEUM IN RUINS. [ARTICLE]

COLISEUM IN RUINS.

Chicago’s Vast Structure Quickly Wiped Out by Fire. At Chicago Friday night, fire destroyed the'Coliseum building, in which the Democratic national convention was held last year. The fire was one of the quickest ever seen in Chicago. Within twenty minutes after its origin, which was caused by the crossing of two electric light wires, the Coliseum was a pile of hot bricks and twisted iron. The building hud been rented for a manufacturers’ exposition and Was tilled from end to end with booths, all of which were destroyed, with their contents. The fire originated in a booth which was used for an exhibition of X rays, the booth being managed by M. J. Morley and Wm. Robertson. The two men werfe examining their Roentgen machine when they were startled by a sizzling noise behind them and upon turning saw a part of their exhibit ablaze. Crossed electric light wires which were over the exhibit are thought to have caused the flames. They at first tried to smother the fire, but before they secured water and cloth the fire had spread throughout the entire booth. About 300 people were in the building at the time of the fire, and at the first alarm there was a rush for safety. Fortunately the aisles were wide and owing to the comparatively small number of people in the building there was little difficulty in reaching the doors. Within ten minutes after the fire began the roof was ablaze and in a very short time after the fire had appeared on the top or the building one of the large arches that spanned the building gave way with a tremendous report, and then another, and another, each one going down with a sound like the report of a cannon. The building fell very quickly, aa after the first arch went down the weight was too great for the arch next to it and all collapsed. It took not over twenty minutes to make a complete ruin of the building. The Coliseum cost - $370,000 and was twice as large ns the Mndison Square Garden building of New York. It had a floor space of seven acres, including the ground and gallery floors; was 770 feet long by 300 wide and contained 2,500,000 pounds of steel, 1,200,000 feet of lumber and 3,000,000 bricks. On August 21, 1805, the first Coliseum then in the course of construction, wns wrecked, entailing a loss of $125,000. The cause of the collapse has uever been known, but it was thoqgbt that the last arch was not placed in position correctly. The total loss on building and contents is said to lie $478,000. Of this amount $370,000 wns the value of the building and $128,000 the estimated cost of the exhibits and material in the exposition in progress in the building. Insurance to the amount of $120,000 wns carried on the Coliseum, but of this amount SIOO,000 will go to the holders of outstanding bonds to pay those obligations in full. The owners of the building will act but $20,000 out of their insurance. Frank M. Genin, 38 years old and a son of John R. Genin, the famous hatter, from whom he inherited SIOO,OOO, and Charles W. Plyer, 58 years old, Insurance manager of the National Wall Paper Company, committed suicide in New York by shooting. The case of the United States against the Joint Traffic Association, involving the applicability of the anti-trust law to the agreement between the great trunk lines between New York and Chicago, has been reassigned for argumert on Feb. 21 by the United States Supreme Court.