Mystery Fire Destroys Drexel Avenue Residence
A valuable home is reduced to ash while the owners are away, leaving behind questions about the cause and the fate of rare art pieces.
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.
The residence of Dr. O. A. Rawson on Drexel Avenue, at the corner of California Street, was destroyed by fire at 9 o'clock yesterday morning, resulting in a loss of upwards of $10,000. The origin remains a mystery as the family had been away for a week and the house was securely locked. Neighbors attempted to break in and salvage furniture, but the smoke was too dense. Firefighters were delayed by a misinterpreted alarm and a lack of hydrants in the neighborhood. The house contained rare paintings by Holbein and Rubens which had been previously exhibited in the city. The building was insured, but the loss of the art and bric-a-brac may exceed the policy coverage.
“The origin of the fire will probably remain a mystery.”
The destruction of a fine private residence in a fire due to lack of local infrastructure—like hydrants—highlights the rapid, often uneven, expansion of turn-of-the-century Seattle. The loss of historic European art in a frontier city is a reminder of how quickly wealth and culture could be extinguished in the era of wood-frame construction.
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