Embedded Files
Flames & Gases
In the early 20th century, fires were a common threat to urban structures and caused thousands of dollars of damage across city streets including Atlantic Avenue. The three articles above depict just a small sample of the fires that occurred between plots 549 & 620 on Atlantic Ave in the early 1900s1,2,7. Though most were unintentional and spread accidentally through the buildings due to their flammable structures, some were set with criminal intent. The article below explains the story of a fire set in the Hathaway Building by a young boy in 1891. Louis A. Wright--- the pyromaniac—made big headlines, more than once for his criminal activity, and Atlantic Ave. is where it all started.
Convicted
The article to the left was published in 1893, shortly after Louis A. Wright set fire to the Hathaway Building6. Wright was just 17 when he set the fire and as the headline states, he was "once before convicted". This article along with a corroborating story confirm that Wright worked in the building for Flemming and Co. as an office boy. According to both articles, this was Wright's fifth attempt to burn the building, as the first four were unsuccessful.
Escaped
The article below is from 1894, just a few years after Wright set fire to the Hathaway Building, and tells the story of Louis' escape from Bridgewater, a facility for the criminally
insane3. It also tells of Wright's previous evils, including an instance were he was caught rubbing kerosene into a cat's fur and lighting it on fire (this story is confirmed by another article). His story made multiple headlines in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Atlantic Avenue set the backdrop for Wright's criminal reputation. At just 17, he set fire to his employer's office building, along with the close-by Ames Building, landing himself in an asylum for the criminally insane4. He later escape one of these asylums, and continued a career of crime and incarceration.
Literature Cited
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Boston Globe. “Flames Burst From Window: Several Firemen Hurt at Atlantic-Av. Fire.” Daily Boston Globe. March 17, 1909, ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Boston Globe edition.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Boston Globe. “Firemen Fall in Stifling Gases: Several are Overcome at a Bad Fire in a Building at 556-560 Atlantic-Av.” Daily Boston Globe. March 22, 1904, ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Boston Globe edition.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Boston Globe. “Firebug Free: Louis A. Wright Escapes From Bridgewater.” Daily Boston Globe. July 24, 1894, ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Boston Globe edition.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Boston Globe. “Fire Pomeroy. Awful Confession of Louis A. Wright.” Daily Boston Globe. November 5, 1893, ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Boston Globe edition.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Boston Globe. “L.A. Wright in Hands of Law: Noted Pyromaniac is Held at Hartford.” Daily Boston Globe. July 25, 1905, ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Boston Globe edition.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Boston Globe. “Set the Fires: Caught and Put Behind Iron Bars.” Daily Boston Globe. March 17, 1893, ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Boston Globe edition.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Boston Globe. “Water Loss Heavy: Fire on Fifth Floor of Building 620 Atlantic Av.” Daily Boston Globe. February 24, 1915, ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Boston Globe edition.
Jones, Leslie. "Water tower in action at five alarm fire, Purchase St. and Atlantic Ave." Photograph. 1920. Digital Commonwealth, https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/05742b20h (accessed May 07, 2021).
Jones, Leslie. "$200,000 fire at Atlantic Ave. and Oliver St." Photograph. March 25, 1920. Digital Commonwealth, https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/05742c520 (accessed May 07, 2021).
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