Atlanta, GA Block Fire, Apr 1907

FIRE THREATENED AN ATLANTA BLOCK

Considerable Damage by Flames in Business Section.

Atlanta, Ga., April 2. – Fire started in Durand’s restaurant at 11 East Alabama street early this morning, gutted the upstairs portion of the restaurant, and did damage through water or smoke, to the hardware store of Heinz & Sons, at 13 East Alabama street, the wholesale department of Oppenheim’s saloon, and Essig Brothers at 26 Whitehall street.
The blaze burned for fully an hour, and the firemen had hard work to get at it. For a time the whole block, in one of the most congested parts of the business section, seemed in danger.
Manager James Gaines, of Dutrand’s restaurant, said that their damage would be about $10,000, though this was an approximate estimate. He didn’t know exactly how much insurance was carried. He said the fire started as near as could be told, in the elevator shaft. Employes (sic) had been in the storeroom, he said, a few minutes before the blaze started and had noticed nothing wrong. The fire couldn’t have come from the ranges, he said, because they were not injured in any way.
The lunch room is out of business, and the restaurant upstairs was gutted. Bohemia, the cafe, is temporarily out of business, although not as badly burned as the general restaurant across the hall.
Heinz & Sons said that it would take several days to compute their loss. There was no damage to their loss. There was no damage to their place from fire, but considerable from water, especially to the metal.
Oppenheim’s saloon escaped damage, but the wholesale department next door suffered somewhat from smoke and water. Brown & Allen’s drug store at the corner escaped without any damage at all.
While the fire did not touch the establishment of Essig Brothers at 26 Whitehall street, considerable damage was done to their stock of clothes from smoke. Just how much damage was done cannot be estimated at present.
That the fire did not do more injury than it did is considered fortunate. It is not believed that the entire loss will exceed $20,000.

The Columbus Enquirer-Sun, Columbus, GA 3 Apr 1907
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Transcribed by Jenni Lanham.