The Phantom Arsonist of Queen Anne Hill
A grand residence on Highland Drive vanishes in a blaze, leaving investigators to wonder if a spurned enemy, a clumsy painter, or a spontaneous chemical reaction fueled the inferno.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
An unknown enemy vented his spite upon the handsome three-story frame residence of R. H. Denney, by setting fire to the property on Highland Drive, not far from the top of Queen Anne Hill road. The building was unoccupied at the time, the family being away on a camping trip. When the alarm was finally given, after much delay, the firemen arrived and discovered, according to the statement of the Chief, that one of the side dining room windows had been broken open and the window shutter removed, indicating that the marauder had entered the house in order to vent his nefarious mission. People living near the Denney residence noticed the flames shooting upward through the roof of the house shortly after 11 in the evening. There was a thick rain falling at the time, but the wind was current, and the structure burned up like a great torch, illuminating the entire northern part of the city. For fully 30 minutes the structure stood as a pyre. When the firemen finally arrived, the entire roof was in flames, which were slowly eating into the heart of the structure. Finding that the chemical stream was of no avail to fight the fire, the engine and the hose house were called up to keep it from spreading. The building is practically ruined, as was the furniture. Owing to the absence of Mr. Denney from the city, no clue could be obtained as to the exact loss, although the building and contents were valued at not less than $5,000.
“The structure burned up like a great torch, illuminating the entire northern part of the city.”
Queen Anne Hill remains a bastion of wealth in Seattle, and property fires in grand homes still spark intense local speculation. While the 'mysterious marauder' motive feels like a ghost from a century ago, the vulnerability of unoccupied homes to urban blight and fire remains a persistent concern for neighborhood stability.
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