Chicago, IL Siegel, Cooper & Co Dry Goods Store Fire, Aug 1891

BIG FIRE IN CHICAGO

Lost of Three-Quarters of a Million Early Monday Morning.

Chicago, Ill., Aug.3. --Fire involving a loss estimated to be at least $831,000 broke out at 7:30 o'clock this morning in the large retail dry goods ad notions store of Siegel, Cooper & Co., southeast corner of State and Adams streets. The blaze started in the exchange room on the first floor, and spread through the inflammable stock with the greatest rapidity. It was but a few minutes after the first alarm was given till the entire interior was a mass of flames. Every available piece of fire apparatus was called to the scene. Any attempt to save the building was at once seen to be hopeless, and the fire department devoted its efforts toward preventing the flames from spreading to the adjoining buildings.

In spite of the work of the fire department the flames caught in the rear of James H. Walker's large dry goods store, just back of Siegel, Cooper & Co.'s, and fronting on Wabash Avenue, but they were soon extinguished. The heat broke the plate glass in the Leader, another large dry goods and notion store, on the northeast corner of Adams and State streets, and it looked for a time as if the building was doomed,
but it was saved after a hard struggle.

About twenty-five employees were in the store at the time, but all of them as far as known managed to escape uninjured, except one cash boy who was on the third floor. He started to come down by the fire escape but became confused, lost his footing and fell, receiving sever injuries. There were three watchmen in the building at the time the fire broke out, who have not yet been accounted for.

The building was entirely gutted, and the Adams Street wall fell in after the iron interior framework had been softened by the heat. The firm carried a stock of $500,000 on stock and $40,000 on the building, insurance $500,00; "The Leader," Demberg, Gleck & Harner, loss by smoke and water, $100,000, covered by insurance; James II. Walker, dry goods, loss by smoke and water, $50,000; C Hennecke & Co., crockery and bric-a-brac, $40,000; insurance, $33,000; Costikgan & Redrosin, Turkish rugs, $50,000; John A. Bryant, piano agent, $50,000; I.W. Baird, pictures, $5,000, Woman's Exchange, $3,000, the Bell, dry goods and notions $2,000: other minor losses, $2,000. Most of the smaller losses are covered by insurance. The Walker building is only slightly damaged. The damage to the Woman's Exchange building is $10,000, insured. A number of adjoining stores sustained losses aggregating $15,000, on which there was some insurance.

The cash receipts of Saturday aggregating between $15,000 and $20,000 were in a safe in the building, but whether or not they have been destroyed by the heat is not yet known.

Centralia Enterprise and Tribune, Centralia, WI 9 Aug 1891

Transcribed by Connie Anderson. Thank you, Connie!