Blaze Destroys Rose Garden Tea Room, July 20, 1921

Blaze Destroys Tryon Tea Room. . . Combustion Believed to Have Been Responsible for Rose Garden Fire

Fire which broke out in the Rose Garden Tea Room, 211 North Tryon street, at 1:30 o’clock Wednesday morning, wrecked the interior, entailing a loss of several thousand dollars, partially covered by insurance.

The blaze was confined to the interior of the tea room, failing to burn through the ceiling or spread to the second floor. Woodwork, tables, chairs and other equipment were ruined and wall paper was burned from the walls.

The theory was advanced that the fire was caused by spontaneous combustion in a floor mop. The mop was beneath a stairway leading to a balcony and it was at this point that the fire originated. A clock on the balcony stopped at 1:38 o’clock.

The fire was discovered by a man sleeping on the second floor the Harty building, directly above the tea room. He was awakened by smoke which filled his room. Running to the street he spread an alarm. Policemen notified the fire department.

When the firemen arrived the blaze had spread to the front of the tea room, the heat cracking the plate glass in the windows. Chief Mack Wallace said the heat was so intense in the room that water thrown into the building was hot after the fire had been extinguished.

Hatcher D. Watkins, proprietor of the Tea Room, was unable to estimate the damage. He had a force of workmen at work Wednesday morning clearing away the debris. He was unable to announce if the tea room will be re-opened. Insurnace carried will be inadequate to cover the loss, he said.

Employes in the Tea Room have taken every precaution to guard against fire, an inspection of the room taking place each night before closing. This last person to leave the place departed about 9 o’clock. Mr. Watkins passed the building about 11 o’clock and glanced in the door.

Firemen considered that the blaze probably started 15 or 20 minutes before their arrival, as it had spread from the rear to the front of the building when the front door was broken open. All the windows were closed and air could not reach the store room. This was responsible for the confining of the blaze to the interior.

From The Charlotte News, July 20, 1921