Lost to Flames
By Margaret Foster | From Online Only | Jan. 6, 2009
Each winter, violent fires claim some of the nation's treasured historic buildings, and this year is no exception.
On New Year's Eve, guests fled from the 60-year-old Cheeca Lodge & Spa in Islamorada, Fla., during what firefighters called the biggest fire in the Florida Keys in two decades. ''We grabbed our kids and ran out,'' Mike Hughes of Naples told the Miami Herald. "Embers were falling on our heads, and I was worried our clothing would catch on fire. It was terrifying.'' No one was hurt in the fire, but the 27-acre resort is now closed.
That same night, hundreds of miles to the north, firefighters battled a six-alarm blaze that eventually claimed two historic buildings in Denton, Md. The Caroline County Historical Society had moved the buildings five years ago to rescue them from demolition.
This week, a fire damaged the historic Sarah Jordan Boarding House on the grounds of Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Mich. Built in 1870 in Menlo Park, N.J., and relocated to Michigan in 1928, the boarding house was one of the first in the nation wired for electric lighting in 1879. Officials at the Henry Ford Museum, which operates Greenfield Village, said the extent of damage has not been determined, but "it's not a total loss."
Experts at the U.S. Fire Administration say that residential fires are more prevalent in the fall and winter than at other times of the year. They advise homeowners to take extra precautions, and make certain that furnaces and chimneys are in good repair. To learn more, visit the U.S.F.A. website.
According to a new booklet published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the greatest risk of fire in historic buildings occurs during renovations or restorations. Read more in "Fire Safety in Historic Buildings," available at Preservationbooks.org.
Other fires across the country:
- Pulaski, Va.: In southwest Virginia, a November fire damaged a National Register-listed train station built in the late 1800s. This month, the town council of Pulaski voted to restore the beloved train station.
- Tucson, Ariz.: An arson fire destroyed part of the 1941 Ghost Ranch Lodge, built by philanthropist Arthur Pack. The facility has been under renovation as a senior citizens home for the past several years.
- Roslyn, N.Y.: Two historic buildings—a restaurant and café—in the middle of Roslyn, N.Y., burned down on Dec. 15.
- Eustis, Maine: On Dec. 28, fire struck a beloved 1908 farmhouse-turned-restaurant near the Sugarloaf ski resort. Brian and Susan Anderson, the owners of the Porter House Restaurant, promise to rebuild and reopen. "Just like the Phoenix, watch as we rise from the ashes back to the restaurant you all knew and loved," they said in an online statement.
- Corbett, Ore.: The View Point Inn, which starred in the vampire movie "Twilight," damaged in fire Sunday Dec. 14. The National Register-listed structure is still open, however.
- Norco, Calif.: One of the town's oldest houses burned down on Nov. 22. Abandoned for years, the 1910 bungalow known as the Palmer-Moreno burned down the day before the local historic preservation group planned to salvage some elements from the house.
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