STRAND ARCADE FIRE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14142, 18 August 1909, Page 7

STRAND ARCADE FIRE.

'':;■..•.•■ S a. SCENE OF DESOLATION. lltel "' '■ " : " ;; ' ''■'■■'■ ' '■■ '■ •'""'. I WORK AMONG THE RUINS. |K"'.'. '■':'-■' •' ' - ' s !;::;■ : : ■['■; j THREE MEN INJURED. ; J MODIFIED ESTIMATE OF LOSS. '-:- I ;, The scene of Monday night's great fire in the Strand Arcade was yesterday ■ a centre of attraction for many hundreds of neople. It was the aftermath of a memorIfc&Jjlo event. All day long the roadway and the opposite footpath were thronged with interested spectators, the crowd being so dense at times, particularly in the lunch and tea. hours, that the tramway -service had to be run at reduced speed past this particular point in Queen-street. ■ ' In Darby and Elliott Streets the same conditions existed, citizens taking a keen interest in examining those portions of tho ' rubs that could be seen at the side and at the rear. ';. " It was a melancholy spectacle—a veri- - table house of desolation. Ugly cracks *■ and fissures were prominent in the brick-

Vr work of the three pediments, and

; •■■ the whole aspect of the front wall ' was threatening. 'That portion left standing on the side overlooking the Thistle .. Hotel also looked dangerous, and many .... were the comments made upon the risks '."' taken by the firemen and others, whose ' business took them in under the towering walls. Momentarily, thoughout

ilia day. many of those who looked on expected to fee great portions of the brick '■> .' frontage fall to earth. One interior fall

~ after another occurred, but only in a single instance did any ill-result follow.

. t lt was a day of bustle and anxiety for the luckless tenants of the destroyed buildSpring- Many of them were to be seen ce-

cijpied in salvage, work, chiefly at the back t" of the premises. Entry was gained by on<!>

■ or two to the first floor, from whence tlure were presently lowered tacks full of re- ' covered articles and documents, etc. Inwe

tenants, too, were busily engaged in fak- - ,ing out fresh quart ere, and making arrangements 'for the carrying on of iheir brsi-

. nesses in the temporary premises.- And, ' all the time, firemen worked silently in 4 ; amongst the hot, black heaps, from -which ~ a constant succession of smoke v.id steam i" clouds ascended through the riven ceilings and. the yawning roof above. Frequent showers of rain fell, each one adding to tne forlornness and the. gloominess of the scene. And so the day passed; and at night 4 he crowds still lingered, gazing at the toppling walls.and the ruins they enclosed. It is pleasing to be able to state that the J;; first estimate of the damage done, formed

by losers through the fire, has been con

sideraV.y modified. As far as could be ascertained yesterday, from careful investigation, the total amount of the damage ~ -done will probably prove to be in • the neighbourhood of £60,000. It must be remembered, moreover, that the.whole of this does not represent tho loss at the seat of the fire, but includes the damage to ad- ', ■ jacent properties. .' .. " '*' gjVThe chief damage done, of, course, was ||||tQ the Strand Arcade H itself. .. This may be put down at.- about £30,000. Other amounts that fairly accurately ...represent "-the, damage done in one way or another are ;'. as." follows:—British, and Continental - Piano Company, £4000 or £5000; Thomas

- Mitchell - (agent, for- Messrs. Bowron /Brothers, Christchurch), £4500; Leonard ||: and Harrison, £2500; Strand Cafe, £1000;-

Albert Hotel, £1000;. Thistle Hotel, £1500; Crouch, £1000;. D. Palmer, '■ £2500; J. Lethaby, £250.