108 years ago today, a fire broke out in the John Hurst and Company building on the west side of downtown. It quickly spread from building to building, and within 3 hours a urgent telegraph went out to surrounding cities for any help that could be spared. By the next day crews from Washington DC, Philadelphia, and New York were on the scene doing what they could. When the fire was out, a total of 1,545 buildings had burned in 70 city blocks over some 140 acres. Damage was estimated at $150 Million, but that didn't deter city leaders from putting together a plan to rebuild. Such was the determination and will of the city, that a mere 2 years later the downtown was rebuilt with an eye to averting this type of fire again. Streets were widened, electricity was buried, fire code was standardized, and the city was reborn.
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| Pratt St after the fire |
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| Pratt street in 1906, 2 years after the fire |
