The Artisan Hotel Lost to Flames
A morning blaze leaves a local landmark in ruins, with early-rising travelers suspected of accidental negligence.
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.
Carelessness on the part of roomers is thought to have been responsible for the complete destruction of the Artisan hotel by fire early last Friday morning. The fire started shortly after three o'clock and was not discovered until one end of the second story was ablaze and the flames were creeping down the stairway. The alarm was given and the fire department turned out promptly but it was impossible to save either the building or its contents. The fire originated in one of two second-floor rooms occupied by three strangers who arose before daylight to catch one of the early morning trains. The men were awakened by an alarm clock and Proprietor K. L. McClelland does not know exactly the time they departed. He is of the opinion that a carelessly dropped match or cigarette was the cause of the fire. The building and part of the furniture was owned by T. J. Ennis, who is employed by the N. P. I. company at flume No. 1. He announced the first of the week that he intended to secure figures on a concrete building to replace the old one, but is not yet certain whether he will rebuild this year.
“Proprietor K. L. McClelland does not know exactly the time they departed. He is of the opinion that a carelessly dropped match or cigarette was the cause of the fire.”
Fires were a constant threat to early 20th-century wooden townscapes. While the Artisan Hotel is long gone, the cycle of destruction and reconstruction—and the struggle to insure and replace modest commercial stock—remains a core feature of Kennewick's civic history.
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