On Wednesday night, January 15, the old home of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES, in Oakland, Cal., burned. The building passed out of our hands a year ago, and we had no financial interest in it. But it is of interest, after all, to us and many of our readers.
The two lower floors were occupied by a printing establishment; the two upper floors were used as a furniture warehouse. The fire started in the basement, and the interior was soon a mass of flame. But the fire company controlled matters so well that on a large dwelling-house twelve feet away on the west side, and the old Press building, about the same distance on the north, the paint was scarcely blistered, yet against both buildings the broken timbers of the building were piled. It looks as tho a gigantic weight fell upon it from above, and crushed it like an egg-shell to the ground. The old building is on the left of the picture. The high part in the rear is a portion of the back wall which still stands. The loss is about $80,000, divided among the owner and the businesses within the structure. While we are glad we were not there, we sympathize with the losers.
