Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2016 All Rights Reserved USGenNet Data Repository Please read USGenNet Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the USGenNet Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ =========================================================================== Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== Burning of the Newhall House Published by Bleyer Bros. Cramer, Aikens & Cramer, Printers - 1883 [55] BURNING OF THE NEWHALL HOUSE HISTORY OF THE NEWHALL HOUSE The Newhall House was built by Daniel Newhall and others in 1857, and was opened to the public with a grand banquet on the 26th of August of that year. The building, which was of Milwaukee brick, occupied a frontage of 180 feet on Broadway and 120 feet --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [56] BURNING OF THE NEWHALL HOUSE on Michigan street. It was six stories high, contained three hundred rooms, and at the time of its construction was considered the largest and finest hotel in the West. The cost of the building was $155,000, the lot on which it was erected was valued at $50,000, and the first lessees furnished it at a cost of $70,000. The house, finished and furnished, therefore represented an investment of $275,000. The structure was originally surmounted by a shapely wooden cupola, as is represented in the illustration on the title page of this book, but shortly after the Chicago fire this was re- moved in order to reduce the fire risk. On the 14th of February, 1863, the hotel had a narrow escape from destruction by fire. The blaze originated in a room occupied by a newly-married couple, and before it was extinguished about nine apartments were burned out. In August, 1865, Daniel Wells, Jr., S. S. Sherman and C. D. Nash bought the property. In 1866 the rooms in the upper part of the stone bank building, on the corner of East Water and Michigan streets, were fitted up for hotel purposes, and the two buildings were connected by a covered passage of wood, which bridged the alley on a level with the third floor of the Newhall House. At the same time, or probably a little later, with a view to facilitating escape in case of fire, the fourth, fifth and sixth floors of the hotel were connected with the bank building. The passage from the fifth floor of the hotel was nearly on a level with the bank roof, and consisted of a bridge with a hand-rail on each side. A short ladder connected this bridge with the sixth story In May, 1869, Messrs. Wells, Sherman and Nash leased the hotel to John Plankinton for a term of years, giving him the privilege of closing it if he deemed best. The public objected to having the house closed and sought a purchaser for the property. Finally S. N. Small became the owner of the hotel, several prominent citizens advancing him $100,000, taking 100 bonds of $1,000 each as security. The public-spirited Mr. Plankinton kindly relinquished his lease in the interest of the movement. In November, 1873, Mr. Small having defaulted in the payment of the interest on the bonds, the bondholders arranged with him for the conveyance of the property to them. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [57] BURNING OF THE NEWHALL HOUSE Soon thereafter the Newhall House Stock Company was formed and the bondholders became stockholders in the association, C. D. Nash being the president and managing officer. In 1874 the Broadway water-main was connected with standpipes on the north and south end of the building, extending to the sixth floor. Fire-plugs and hose were attached to these standpipes on every floor. In 1874 the elevator was put in. The building was provided with two fire escapes, one on the north end of the Broad- way front, and the other near the corner on the Michigan street side, the corridors of the hotel extending to each. On the morning of January 9, 1880, the structure had another close call. A spark from the cooking range ignited a wooden ventilating shaft, and four apartments on the third and fourth floors, on the north end of the building, were destroyed. Instead of replacing the burned rooms, which had always been considered dangerous, an open court was substituted for them, reaching down to the office floor, where there was a skylight. The court was enclosed by brick walls on its east, north and west sides, and by an iron-sheathed wall on the south. The corridor running east and Avest on the north side of the sixth floor was also provided with a door as a means of exit to the roof of the rear part of the building, which was only five stories in height. The history of the Newhall House covers a period of over a quarter of a century. During that time it was managed by the follow- ing named firms and individuals, in their order, as near as can be ascertained: Kean & Rice, Rice & Andrews, A. Kingsbury & Son, Kingsbury & Johnson, Bentley & Son, Groff & Hamlin, Charles Andrews, Lansing Bonnell and John F. Antisdel. The hotel was never a paying field for landlords. Many of those who attempted its management met with heavy loss. The Bentleys, who had made a success of the Walker (now Kirby) House, lost $16,000 in one year in the Newhall. John F. Antisdel, the lessee of the hotel at the time of the fire, had the common losing experience. He assumed the management in May, 1874, and from that time until the fatal 10th of January, 1883, fought hard, but unsuccessfully, against the financial difficulties which seemed always to beset the house. =========================================================================== If you've reached this file through a SEARCH, you can access more of our growing collection of FREE online information by going to the following URL: http://www.us-data.org/ ===========================================================================