By Associated Press
Charlotte, Dec. 17—The six-story Trust building on South Tryon street containing the Keith vaudeville theater and a large number of offices was destroyed and two other structures seriously damaged by fire early today with a total loss estimated at approximately $440,000.
The roof was burned off an adjoining three-story building occupied by Brockman’s retail and mail order book and stationery store, and a number of offices and practically all of the contents of the structure were a total loss due to fire and water. The Piedmont building on the south side of the Trust building was water-soaked from roof to cellar. It was headquarters for the Piedmont Fire Insurance company and the Morris Plan bank, and contained numbers of other offices. The fire was believed to have originated in the furnace room of the Trust building and had gained great headway before it was discovered. Save for one or two minor injuries to firemen, there were no casualties in the fire which attracted hundreds of persons. One of the heaviest downpours of rain Charlotte has had this year began to fall about the time the fire was under control.
Rain Is a Blessing
Had it not been for the heavy rains of the last week which left nearby buildings soaked and the aid given by the torrents of rainwater that fell this morning Fire Chief Wallace said the blaze might have proved as disastrous as the recent one at New Bern.
Tons of water were thrown into the smoking ruins throughout the day and South Tryon street was blocked to traffic until the late afternoon as parts of the front wall of the Trust building fell into the street. The scene of the fire was between Third and Fourth streets, on the west side of South Tryon, within a block of where the famous Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is said to have been signed.
In addition to the losses to business men and others whose offices and equipment were destroyed, the lodge rooms of the Dramatic Order Knights of Khorassan, which were in the Piedmont building, were water soaked. The Trust building, which also was known as the Academy of Music, had noting left tonight but tottering walls, the front part of which had partly fallen out. It was erected 18 years ago and was a brick structure. Within recent months it had been purchased by C.W. Johnston at a price said to be $253,000.
Losses Covered by Insurance
Total loss in the building occupied by Brockman’s store and offices was placed at more than $100,000, while thousands of dollars of damage was done by water in the Piedmont building. Other nearby structures escaped with a few panes of broken glass or scorched awnings, from the flames, which were discovered about 4:30 a.m. The losses generally were said to be well covered by insurance, although there were numerous individuals who had no such protection against fire. Mayor Walker announced today that he would turn the city auditorium over to those whose offices were destroyed and would erect temporary partitions in the main hall of the building.
A check-up of injuries tonight showed that Captain al Moody of the fire department suffered panful cuts from falling glass and that R.W. Stokes was knocked down, apparently by contact with an electric wire, but not seriously hurt. Electric light and power was turned off in downtown Charlotte for several hours during the fire.
From the front page of the Greensboro Daily News, Dec. 18, 1922
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