Anniversary of The Great Baltimore Fire
From the Sun's print edition:
Baltimore Sun librarian Paul McCardell offers this post:
From the Sun archives: The Great Baltimore Fire started on the morning of Feb. 7, 1904, at John E. Hurst building located near present day 1st Mariner Arena. The first alarm sounded at 10:48 a.m. and the fire quickly spread, eventually destroying 1,500 buildings over 140 acres. Baltimore was experiencing a winter thaw that weekend with temperatures in the 50s and 60s. On the day before the fire, “The beauty of the afternoon caused the shopping streets, markets and other places of public concourse to be thronged,” the Sun reported. After that, Baltimore was hit by a cold spell as city temperatures reached a low of 5 degrees on Feb. 17. The weather caused fatalities and illness among National Guard members, firefighters and other workers who were guarding and clearing debris.
