Collection:
Juneau—Douglas City Museum
Object ID:
2009.19.015
Accession#:
2009.19
Credit Line:
Donated by the Juneau Volunteer Firefighters Association.
Object Name:
Print, Photographic
Title:
Ruin of Juneau Hotel, 1911
Photographer:
Case, W. H.
Place:
Juneau
Date:
9/4/1911
Description:
Black and White photo of Juneau Hotel ruin, 1911
Photograph of charred, smoldering remnants of Juneau Hotel. Water sprays visible in bottom half of picture, crossing in the middle. At bottom of photo in white writing "RUIN OF JUNEAU HOTEL SEPT 4 1911 W.H. CASE 7"
Photograph of charred, smoldering remnants of Juneau Hotel. Water sprays visible in bottom half of picture, crossing in the middle. At bottom of photo in white writing "RUIN OF JUNEAU HOTEL SEPT 4 1911 W.H. CASE 7"
Notes:
Fire started at the Juneau Hotel at 1:20 a.m. on September 4, 1911. It was the most disastrous fire in the city's history. 7 people died. No cause of the fire was ever determined.
June 16, 1978 Gastineau Bygones article:
SEPTEMBER 6, 1911—Seven lives were lost in the worst hotel fire in Juneau's history at an early hour this morning when the Juneau Hotel on Second Street was totally destroyed. There are conflicting reports on the fire's start. One says it was in the kitchen area; another that an inebriated guest who was celebrating Labor Day, although it is not an official holiday in Alaska, set fire to the curtains in his room. The alarm sounded at 1:20 a.m. and the fire spread so rapidly that many were trapped.
Five people were suffocated or burned to death; two others were killed by falling to the ground when they attempted to jump to the McGrath building next door.
After the alarm was sounded it quickly became obvious that the hotel building was doomed and members of the Juneau Volunteer Fire Department who arrived on the trans—channel ferry with additional hose and equipment.
The hotel, standing on the upper side if Second Street midway between Seward and Franklin, was a threat to the entire block. B. M. Behrends, merchant and banker, broke out all of the blankets of his stock, soaked them in water and draped them over his store building and the adjoining bank. Many of the blankets were scorched but the buildings were saved. The Circle City Hotel, which faces Third Street, was charred. The McGrath Building, corner of Second and Seward, was gutted and its upper floor was burned away entirely. The Mayflower Billiard Hall, to the east of the hotel on Second Street, suffered damage, as did the ice cream and candy store facing Seward Street. Total losses in the fire, in addition to the lives, were placed at $50,000.
The Juneau Hotel, a three story building of frame construction, first opened its doors at the end of Juneau in 1897. It was built by J. J. McGrath, a resident of Juneau since 1882, to replace his Juneau City Hotel which had occupied the same site. McGrath still owned the hotel building but it was operated under lease by Paul Vincent.
June 16, 1978 Gastineau Bygones article:
SEPTEMBER 6, 1911—Seven lives were lost in the worst hotel fire in Juneau's history at an early hour this morning when the Juneau Hotel on Second Street was totally destroyed. There are conflicting reports on the fire's start. One says it was in the kitchen area; another that an inebriated guest who was celebrating Labor Day, although it is not an official holiday in Alaska, set fire to the curtains in his room. The alarm sounded at 1:20 a.m. and the fire spread so rapidly that many were trapped.
Five people were suffocated or burned to death; two others were killed by falling to the ground when they attempted to jump to the McGrath building next door.
After the alarm was sounded it quickly became obvious that the hotel building was doomed and members of the Juneau Volunteer Fire Department who arrived on the trans—channel ferry with additional hose and equipment.
The hotel, standing on the upper side if Second Street midway between Seward and Franklin, was a threat to the entire block. B. M. Behrends, merchant and banker, broke out all of the blankets of his stock, soaked them in water and draped them over his store building and the adjoining bank. Many of the blankets were scorched but the buildings were saved. The Circle City Hotel, which faces Third Street, was charred. The McGrath Building, corner of Second and Seward, was gutted and its upper floor was burned away entirely. The Mayflower Billiard Hall, to the east of the hotel on Second Street, suffered damage, as did the ice cream and candy store facing Seward Street. Total losses in the fire, in addition to the lives, were placed at $50,000.
The Juneau Hotel, a three story building of frame construction, first opened its doors at the end of Juneau in 1897. It was built by J. J. McGrath, a resident of Juneau since 1882, to replace his Juneau City Hotel which had occupied the same site. McGrath still owned the hotel building but it was operated under lease by Paul Vincent.
Search Terms:
Juneau Hotel
Business
Fire
Safety
Business
Fire
Safety
Subjects:
Fire
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Ruin of Juneau Hotel, 1911
Ruin of Juneau Hotel, 1911