This came over on the Genesee List.  Thought you might be interested.  Reporters had so much color when they wrote bck then!
Cindy
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The Spirit of the Times
Batavia, Genesee Co., NY
Saturday, February 1, 1862

THE BURNING OF ST. JAMES HALL, BUFFALO

   One of the most destructive fires that has occurred in Buffalo for some
years, took place on Monday night last, entirely consuming St. James Hall,
owned by the brothers George and Albert BRISBANE of this village.  We
extract the following stirring description of the conflagration from the
Buffalo Commercial of Tuesday evening:--
   About two o'clock, as three members of Hose Company No. 2 were returning
with their cart from the fire on Genesee street, they were met by a watchman
near the bell tower, between St. James Hall and hotel.  Hurrying to the spot
with Mr. Albert BRISBANE, who had just come out of the Hotel, they
discovered fires in three places in the back end of the alley.  1st, in the
water closet at the corner of the basement; 2d, in the opposite corner of
the alley, and 3d, in a pile of hay or shavings farther up the alley.  Had
they had a few buckets of water, they could then have extinguished the
flames, but having no means of instantly procuring  it, and no engine being
immediately at hand, they were forced to let it burn, and assist in giving
the alarm.
   Very soon the big bell commenced to thunder from the tower, and within a
few minutes the steamers and hose carts were rushing to the scene.  The fire
had by this time attained great headway, having ascended from the
water-closet through a tube of waste pipe, up into the dressing room of the
Hall.  Here, getting more draft, it raged furiously.  The flames clutched
the curtains in their fiery grasp, making ashes of their folds as they swept
upward; leaped to the drapery of the boxes and above the stage, and
illuminated the Hall with a grander light than the red fire tableaux ever
made within it before; and then they slimily twined around the pillars and
galleries, and gnawed through the ceiling and sported from the corners, and
rolled in thick, licking, hungry volumes from the windows, laughing horribly
at the pigmy streams from the engines, which had by this time begun to play.
   No use; Fire had the game and water had to give up at last, dead beat.
The best it could do--and this was noble work--was to fight back the lurid
darts and cinders that kept plunging through the windows into the alley and
threatening the hotel. The iron shutters of the latter were all closed at
the
beginning of the conflagration, but the heat was so intense as to warp them
open and wrench their strong hinges almost out of their sockets.
   Half-past three:  The water thrown from pipes held by strong and willing
arms in the alley and on the roof of the little office that unites the Hall
and Hotel on Eagle street, still continued to do glorious service.   The
building on Washington street, back of the burning pile, was saved by its
agency, and the Hotel was likewise almost intact.   But at last the iron
shutters had become so terribly hot that they began to communicate fire to
the woodwork inside and the little infant flames could be seen writhing
through on the outside.  This would not do; a steamer was despatched to Main
street, and hose taken through the hotel to battle with the fire within.  By
this means the entire building was preserved--but at what sacrifice?
   As soon as the fire raging in the hall became generally known to the
inmates of the Hotel, a scene of wild confusion ensued.  Everybody leaped
out of bed, dressed in haste, and prepared to evacuate the premises. Friends
pressed into the rooms and assisted in packing up goods and carrying them
away.  Policemen, boys, stragglers and strangers made themselves free with
everything, and the manner in which carpets were ripped up, furniture
dragged out, and down the stairways, mirrors broken, chairs smashed, costly
pianos and bookcases scratched, wrenched and generally marred, damask and
lace curtains torn down, soiled and lost, and little delicate bits of
bijouterie destroyed, was pitiful to see.  Even sheets and garments of all
sorts were taken, and their owners to-day are utterly ignorant of their
whereabouts.  Ladies' dresses suffered extensively, and we heard one poor
girl tell a companion, with tears in her eyes, that "she hadn't a chemise to
her back, not one!"
   Mingled with all this confusion were the shouts of firemen, the plash of
water, and the dull distant roar of the steam engines.  The water soon
flooded the house, and dripping from floor to floor--drenched the flying
women until they were chilled and limp.  The sights and sounds were utterly
desolate, but the consciousness that no lives were endangered or lost was an
all-pervading balm.
   The loss by this most unfortunate event is at present of course
inestimable.  Mr. FLINT, the lessee of the hall, presumes that it could not
be rebuilt, even though two of the walls (all are yet standing) should prove
perfectly sound, for less than $30,000.  The cost of simply altering it from
the old Eagle Street Theatre was $15,000.  As regards the insurance, Mr.
Albert BRISBANE, one of the owners, believes that all the policies expired
ten days ago, and that consequently the hall is a total loss.  He cannot
ascertain the certainty of this until communicating with Mr. George
BRISBANE, the remaining owner, who is absent from the city.  The damage in
the hotel, which is ensured for $20,600, is roughly estimated at between
$5,000 and $7,000, the larger portion of which is upon personal property
belonging to the boarders.  Mr. FLINT's personal loss is over $500, and that
of Mrs. Matt. PEEL's Minstrell Troupe $1,200.  The latter lost their entire
wardrobe and all their musical instruments, including a violin valued at
$75.
   We could not ascertain the amount of damage done to the stores beneath
the hotel--occupied by Mr. LYON, jeweller, and Messrs. ANDREWS & GARDNER,
agents--as it is not yet even remotely calculated.  We do not believe that
it was very great, as plenty of time was allowed the propritors to remove
their goods.  What destruction there was, produced by water.
   The total loss may be guessed as in the neighborhood of $48,000.  The
diabolical incendiary who was its author, we pray Heaven may get his
desserts.  We would cheerfully applaud the resurrection of the Spanish
Inquisition, if one of its worst edicts could be issued for his punishment.

(submitted by L.C. Schmidt)


--
Cindy Amrhein
Town of Alabama Historian
in Genesee Co., NY
Experience the Town of Alabama in Genesee County, NY.
http://www2.pcom.net/cinjod/historian/
APHNYS (Association of Public Historians of New York State)
http://www.tier.net/aphnys



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