Walla Walla's Downtown Blaze
A cluster of local businesses burns to the ground, highlighting the risks of early timber-frame architecture.
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.
Fire at Walla Walla Tuesday morning destroyed a row of frame buildings belonging to Dusenberry & Stencel. The losses include: Dusenberry & Stencel, buildings, loss $2,000, insurance $1,000; John Pierson, Italian restaurant, loss $1,250, insurance $700; A. T. Bede, cigar and candy store, loss $800, insurance $400; J. H. Elliott, barber shop, loss $400, insurance $300; Justice & Poland, saloon, damage by water $1,000, fully insured; Mrs. R. J. Williams, damage to building $300, fully insured.
“Fire at Walla Walla Tuesday morning destroyed a row of frame buildings.”
Small business clusters in the 1890s were highly vulnerable to fire, a fact that defined urban planning and insurance requirements in growing Washington towns like Walla Walla.
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