Sibley fire

Last updated

The Sibley fire was a 1904 fire in Rochester, New York.

The worst conflagration in the city's history at the time, the fire broke out shortly before 5 o'clock on February 26, 1904, in the basement of the Rochester Dry Goods company's store at 156 Main street. Hampered by bitter cold, the fire burned for 40 hours, engulfing the north side of East Main Street, spanning from St. Paul Street to just short of Clinton Avenue. [1] When finally put out, the fire had leveled between 1.5 and 1.75 acres (0.61 and 0.71 ha) and caused significant damage to the Sibley's department store (hence becoming popularly known as the "Sibley fire"). The estimated loss was about $3,000,000 [2] (equivalent to $102,000,000in 2023 when adjusted for inflation).

The fire was reported to have been started by an uninsulated overloaded electrical fuse at the Rochester Dry Goods Company. [3]

Notes

  1. Ludwig 2015
  2. Governale 2011
  3. Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Feb. 26, 1904, p. 1

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastman School of Music</span> Music school in New York, United States

The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman.

Nick Tahou Hots is a restaurant in Rochester, New York, best known for a dish called the Garbage Plate. The restaurant was founded in 1918 by Alex Tahou, the grandfather of the 21st-century owner, and named for Nick Tahou, the founder's son, who operated the establishment until his death in 1997. While there are other Upstate New York variants, Nick Tahou's is the originator of the trademarked Garbage Plate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rochester Community Sports Complex Stadium</span> Multi-purpose stadium

Rochester Community Sports Complex Stadium, also called the "downtown soccer stadium", is a soccer-specific stadium in Rochester, New York within the Rochester Community Sports Complex. It is home to the Flower City Union of the National Premier Soccer League. Previously to the Flower City Union, the stadium was home in 2018 to the Rochester Lancers and Lady Lancers of the NPSL and UWS, respectively. The stadium originally hosted the Rochester Rhinos of the USL, the Rochester Rattlers of MLL, and the Western New York Flash of the NWSL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genesee Brewing Company</span> Brewery in Rochester, New York, U.S.

Genesee Brewing Company is an American brewery located along the Genesee River in Rochester, New York. From 2000 to 2009, the company was known as the High Falls Brewing Company. In 2009, High Falls was acquired by the capital investment firm KPS Capital. Together with newly acquired Labatt USA, KPS merged the two companies as North American Breweries. Along with this change, High Falls Brewery changed its name back to the original "Genesee Brewing Company" operating under the North American Breweries name. In October 2012, North American Breweries was purchased by FIFCO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hiram Sibley</span> American entrepreneur and philanthropist (1807–1888)

Hiram W. Sibley, was an American industrialist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who was a pioneer of the telegraph in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Associated Dry Goods</span> American department store chain

Associated Dry Goods Corporation (ADG) was a chain of department stores that merged with May Department Stores in 1986. It was founded in 1916 as an association of independent stores called American Dry Goods, based in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastview Mall</span> Shopping mall in Victor, New York

Eastview Mall, located in Victor, New York, is a regional indoor shopping center owned and managed by Wilmorite Properties. The mall features JCPenney, Macy's, Von Maur, and Dick's House of Sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sibley's</span>

Sibley, Lindsay & Curr Company, known informally as Sibley's, was a Rochester, New York–based department store chain with stores located exclusively in the state of New York. Its flagship store, at 228 East Main Street in downtown Rochester, also housed its headquarters and featured an elegant executive dining room on the top floor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McCurdy's</span> Rochester, New York-based department store

McCurdy's was a Rochester, New York–based department store. Founded in 1901, the company was acquired by May Department Stores in 1994, but as a result of an antitrust settlement due to both McCurdy's and May's Kaufmann's stores being the predominant anchors in the area shopping malls, its stores were divested to The Bon-Ton Department store chain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastman Business Park</span> Industrial/manufacturing complex and neighborhood in Rochester, New York

Eastman Business Park, formerly Kodak Park, is a large manufacturing and industrial complex in the city of Rochester, New York, in the United States. The complex is run by Eastman Kodak and is located 3 miles (5 km) north of downtown Rochester and 4 miles (6 km) south of Lake Ontario. The complex runs parallel to New York State Route 104 and Mount Read Boulevard for most of its length. Also part of the complex is the Kodak Center performing arts center and conference facility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sibley Music Library</span>

The Sibley Music Library is the library of the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY. It was founded in 1904 by Hiram Watson Sibley (1845-1932), son of industrialist Hiram Sibley (1807-1888), and is said to be the largest university music library in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Browncroft Historic District</span> Historic district in New York, United States

The Browncroft Historic District is a national historic district located in the Browncroft neighborhood of Rochester, New York. The district contains 518 contributing buildings, two contributing sites, two contributing objects, and two contributing structures over 116 acres. It includes 417 residential properties constructed between 1914 and World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asbury First United Methodist Church</span> Church in NY , United States

Asbury First United Methodist Church is located on East Avenue in Rochester, New York, United States. It traces its heritage to several Rochester congregations dating back to the 1820s. In its current form, it is the result of a 1934 merger of First Church and Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church. With a congregation of 2,300 people, it is the largest United Methodist church in the Rochester area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harts Local Grocers</span> Defunct grocery store in Rochester, NY, USA

Hart's Local Grocers was an independent grocery store managed by Rochester Local Capital LLC. It was located in the East End Neighborhood in Rochester, NY.

Wallington is a hamlet in the Town of Sodus, Wayne County, New York, United States. It is located three miles (5 km) southeast of the Village of Sodus and six miles (10 km) south-southwest of the Village of Sodus Point, at an elevation of 404 feet. The primary cross roads where the hamlet is located are Ridge Road, North Geneva Road and South Geneva Road. N.Y. Route 104 passes just south of Wallington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sibley's, Lindsay and Curr Building</span> Historic high-rise building in Rochester, New York

Sibley's, Lindsay and Curr Building is a historic commercial building located at Rochester in Monroe County, New York. It was designed by noted Rochester architect J. Foster Warner and built for Sibley's in 1904. The original wing of the building was constructed in 1906 as a five-story, Chicago school style skeletal steel building sheathed in brown Roman brick with deeply set Chicago style windows, topped by a clock tower with Baroque and Renaissance style details. Additions were made to the building in 1911 and 1924, including a 12-story tower section.

The Empire Theatre, also known as Wonderland and the Musee, was a theater located at the northeast corner of East Main Street and North Clinton Avenue in Rochester, New York from 1891 to 1904. It was a house of light entertainment, first as an exhibition space for curiosities and sensational presentations, later a vaudeville and burlesque house. Some of the earliest motion pictures shown in Rochester were presented there. The 1900 Plat Map of Rochester shows it as 234 East Main Street ; a building 67 feet wide and 120 feet deep

B. Forman Co. was a retail store in Rochester, New York, specializing primarily in high-end women's clothing. Once the largest store of its kind between New York and Chicago, the company, founded by Benjamin Forman in the first decade of the twentieth century, closed in 1994. B. Forman Co., along with McCurdy & Co., created Rochester's Midtown Plaza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Sibley Watson</span> American philanthropist (1855–1945)

Emily Sibley Watson was a Rochester, New York philanthropist and patron of the arts. Youngest child of Western Union founder Hiram Sibley and Elizabeth Tinker Sibley, she grew up in a family that valued service, faith, and the arts. She is best known as the founder of the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, and patron of Rochester's Hochstein School of Music & Dance. With her mother, she was a major supporter of the Homeopathic Hospital.

Corinthian Hall was a meeting hall in Rochester, New York, that was the site of significant speeches and other events. It was built in 1849 and was destroyed by a fire in 1898.

References

43°09′38″N77°34′16″W / 43.160429°N 77.571096°W / 43.160429; -77.571096