jan 10, 1883 - Newhall House Hotel burns to the ground killing at least 75 people

Description:

In 1883 the elegant Newhall House, once Milwaukee's leading hotel, burned to the ground. At least seventy-five people perished, some incinerated in their rooms, others leaping to their deaths from upper-story windows. (Among the rescued was America's shortest celebrity; two-foot-tall Tom Thumb) The Milwaukee Journal, launched barely two months earlier, attacked the Newhall's owners with a vengeance, charging that they had let the hotel become a firetrap with inadequate fire escapes, a defective chimney, and fire hoses so old they cracked when unrolled. No charges were filed, but the Journal's incendiary reporting helped make the new paper's reputation. The Newhall tragedy had the broader effect of making fire safety a much higher priority in the central business district.

Added to timeline:

Date:

Images: