Early Days in Fort Worth, Much of Which I saw and Part of Which I Was

by B. B. Paddock

TEXAS SPRING PALACE.

This unique and attractive place of amusement came at a date within the memory of thousands now living, but it was such an unusual and beautiful edifice that a few lines in regard to it may not be inappropriate.

It was erected in the Winter and Spring of 1888-9, and was located on the Texas & Pacific reservation north of and opposite the intersection of Railroad and Galveston avenues.

At that time Toronto, Canada, and Saint Paul, Minn. were having Ice Palaces and Sioux City, Iowa, its Corn Palace. General R. A. Cameron who was the Colonization and Immigration Agent of the Fort Worth & Denver, conceived the idea of having such an exhibition of the products of the Field, Forest, Orchard and Garden at Fort Worth and having it in the spring when there were no other places of entertainment and amusement anywhere in the country.

A company was soon organized with a capital of $50,000 of which $38,000 was subscribed when the company commenced business. B. B. Paddock was made President, W. A. Huffman, Treasurer and Willis H. Post, Secretary. W. F. Sommerville was made Director General and Gen. Cameron his assistant.

The contract for the building which was in the shape of a Saint Andrew’s cross and was 225x375 feet in dimensions was let to Thos. J. Hurley and his associates, who were then in the business of constructing buildings. E. D. Allen, of Chicago, was employed to superintend the decorations. There was not an inch of timber in the structure, except the floors, but that was covered with some product of Texas, wrought in the most artistic manner into pictures. It was easily the most beautiful structure ever erected on earth. It was opened May 10th, 1889, with impressive ceremonies and everybody in town was present. Governor Thurston, of Nebraska, made the opening address and the music was furnished by the band of the Elgin Watch Factory, of Elgin, Illinois. The National Band of Mexico and other bands from different sections of the country were in attendance during the season.

No expense or pains were spared in advertising the Palace in all parts of the country. Special committees, travelling in “special cars” were sent to Washington and to the City of Mexico to present invitations to Presidents Harrison and Diaz of the two Republics to attend the Spring Palace. These invitations were the limit of the engraver’s art and were handsomely bound in silver. This is but a sample of the extravagant management that attended the work from start to finish. The result was, that notwithstanding the generous patronage of the home people and the public when the gates were closed on the 10th day of June, there was a deficit of over $23,000. It took President Paddock and the Directors about an hour to raise the money and pay off the bills of the company.

In January, 1900, the Directors for the second year opened subscription lists for the money for the second year. It was soon subscribed and the work inaugurated for the second year. More economical plans were adopted and more system observed in the expenditure of funds. One hundred feet were added to the east and west wings of the building and the decorations were as elaborate and beautiful as for the first year. One hundred of the patriotic women of the city were organized into groups of ten each and they worked eight and ten hours a day for over one hundred days in decorating the building. Such another example of patriotic purpose was never before seen in any community.

The building when completed was as beautiful and more elaborate than the first. Cities and counties from all over the State were assigned space in the building and prizes offered for the most attractive decoration. This enlisted the interest of many towns and counties and the result was very gratifying.

The attendance for the second year exceeded that of the first, as the beauty and attractiveness as well as the utility of the exhibit had been heralded over the State and adjoining States. The season was most profitable and successful from every standpoint.

The last night but one was dedicated to a grand fancy dress ball to be held on the ground floor of the building which had a space for dancing of approximately 16,000 square feet. A most extensive ball room. Special trains were run from near-by cities and towns; that from Dallas bringing over one thousand people in their best “bib and tucker.” But they were destined not to enjoy the occasion. Just as the floor had been cleared and the visitors were entering the gates the cry of “Fire! Fire!! Fire!!!” rang through the building, carrying terror to every inmate of the vast structure. How the fire originated was never determined. It started on the north side, about the center of the Main Building, and in less time than it takes to write these lines, the entire structure was a mass of flames, inside and out. It was estimated that there were 7000 people in the building and why hundreds did not perish is a mystery. The officials of the company, who were present, directed the visitors to the various exits, of which there were sixteen, and no Sunday school in the country was ever dismissed with more decorum and good order. Every person accepted the direction of those in charge as if they were on dress parade on a military plaza. In four minutes the building was a mass of flame, inside and out, and in eleven minutes the building fell to the ground. So rapid was the spread of the fire, that the firemen, who were stationed in different parts of the building with their hose connected to the fire hydrants, did not have time to turn on the water.

That the loss of life was not appalling is one of the wonders of the occasion. About thirty people were injured, more or less seriously, and many were burned. Low necked and short sleeved dresses of the ladies exposed them to the falling cinders and pieces from the decorations which were of the lightest and most inflammable character.

One life only was sacrificed, that of Al Haynes, a civil engineer, who was one of the most active and efficient in directing the moving throngs to the various exits and rendering assistance to the people. He seemed to be as cool and collected as any person in the building. But he seemed to have lost self-control at the last minute and ran and jumped through a window to the ground below, a distance of seventeen feet. The fall broke both ankles and prevented him from getting away from the fire which was raging over that part of the exterior. Some gallant men took the “fly” from a tent that stood in the garden and holding it before them rushed up and threw it over Haynes and then dragged him away from the building. The most conspicuous man in this was a workman, named Mahoney, who was badly burned. Haynes was removed to the hospital and received the best medical treatment that could be obtained, but he succumbed to the injuries received, the following day.

The ladies of the city, under the leadership of Mrs. Drew Pruitt, now of Los Angeles, solicited the funds and erected the monument to his memory that now stands in the triangle at the foot of Main and Houston streets.

The Spring Palace, which was a credit to the public spirit of the people of Fort Worth, went out in a blaze of glory.