Maria Luisa Figueroa
The Modesto Bee
(TNS)
Jul. 28—”The Hotel Modesto in 1944, The Strand Theatre in 1984, the former Carmen’s Restaurant in McHenry Village in 1994 and the Franklin and Downs fire just recently, it’s just odd that these memorable fires all happened in years ending in 4.”
Likely just a coincidence, but that strange pattern was revealed by David Seymour, the executive director of the McHenry Museum and Historical Society.
With the recent loss of the historical Franklin and Downs Funeral Home, we looked into the archives for some other notable blazes in our town’s history.
The Hotel Modesto, H and 11th streets, burned on May 4, 1944
For many of Modesto’s most important people and prominent visitors, The Hotel Modesto was the social center of the community. Sitting on the corner of H and 11th Streets, the four-story hotel was opened in June of 1914 by Henry T. Crow and Oscar Hogin.
Crow later bought out Hogin’s interest and became the sole proprietor in 1920 and subsequently added another floor and wing of apartments for permanent residents. In total, the hotel had about 180 rooms at its peak.
On the night of May 4, 1944, a small fire started in the basement storage of the Dutch Boy Paint store which had a storefront at the base of the hotel. Crow discovered the blaze and described it as “no bigger than a footstool.” He attempted to put out the fire with a hose and the help of bellboy Billy Watts but it exploded and grew in size. Crow quickly ran upstairs and sounded the alarm.
The location of the fire was unfortunate, as the smoke and flames quickly blocked the main interior stairways and elevator shaft rendering that escape impossible. One of the residents of the apartment section was James Roach, a reporter for The Modesto Bee and he wrote a first-hand account of the fire that evening.
Roach described the rescue efforts of the 100 or so occupants of the building, some of which, including Roach, took refuge on the roof of The Modesto Bee building adjacent to the hotel.
Fire Chief George Wallace responded with the aid of other rural fire departments including Riverbank and Empire and was assisted by military personnel, police officers, and civilians.
Wallace deployed ladders for the residents on the higher floors and safety nets to catch those leaping from the lower levels. All but two occupants survived.
Andrew E. Slaughter, an officer’s cook at the Crows Landing Auxiliary Naval Air Station, leaped onto a rung of the rescue ladder and slipped, falling five stories to his death. His wife and young child almost fell as they followed behind Slaughter but were grabbed by a fireman at the last moment. A few days after the blaze, the remains of Los Angeles salesman Gerald R. Gage, 62, were discovered in the rubble.
Historian David Seymour recounts this tragedy as possibly Modesto’s most infamous fire. “It’s been 80 years and people still talk about it, they still write about it,” he said.
The Merry Garden Roller Rink, 6th and I streets, burned on Sept. 23, 1978
First opened at The Auditorium in 1912 this venue had 1,800 seats and was used for productions and community events. In 1922 it was converted into a movie theater and then became the Merry Garden Ballroom and Skating Rink in 1936.
Archives reported that it was the most popular entertainment center in the 30s, drawing musical acts and offering recreation. The rink closed around 1960 and sat as a dilapidated and abandoned building when it went up in flames in 1978.
Firefighters at the time noted that the blaze was likely set by transients that occupied the space. The building was made almost entirely of wood which led to its total collapse.
The Strand Theatre, 1021 10th Street, burned on July 28, 1984
Built in 1920 and opened in 1921, The Strand was Modesto’s finest movie house. At its opening, it boasted the valley’s “best cooling and ventilation system” and the largest orchestra section of any California venue.
It operated until the late 60s when it was declared a fire hazard by the Modesto Fire Department and finally closed in 1971. From that time until the fire, it sat in disrepair and became a popular spot for teen transients.
The news report from the day after the fire noted the doors had been open and unlocked and that the fire was likely set from the inside as no electrical systems were in service.
Despite many community efforts to rehabilitate the venue before the fire and to salvage the ruins after, The Strand was forever lost.
The Olympic Gold Ice Skating Arena, 250 Tully Road, burned on March 5, 1976
Built in 1942 and opened as Polarink, the venue was a popular year-round skating spot. In 1950 it was converted into a roller skating rink and operated as such until 1962.
In 1972, Jerry Schweitzer bought the venue and turned it back into an ice skating rink. His youngest daughter, Daria had her hopes on making the 1978 Olympic ice skating team and he named the rink Olympic Gold as a tribute to her ambition.
To further increase attendance, Schweitzer outfitted a stage for concerts and entertainment events. Notable acts that played the venue before they were rock legends included Iron Butterfly and Fleetwood Mac.
It was after one concert that a fire began in the office area, and the building was destroyed.
Schweitzer tried to rebuild, but issues with the insurance left him with little funds to proceed. In December of that year, the property and land were sold to Modesto Junior College, and has been a student parking lot since.
Smitty’s Diner, 612 9th Street, burned on Oct. 13, 1995
In 1925, a Kentuckian named Rudy Smith packed up his Model T and followed the train tracks west until he arrived and settled in Modesto.
In 1936, he opened Smitty’s Coffee Shop. It was family owned until 1986 when it was purchased by Frances Chang.
Chang ran the restaurant and saw the tragedy unfold on Friday the 13th. A small grease fire began in the kitchen and as Chang tried to extinguish the flame with milk, she knocked over a container filled with cooking oil igniting a firestorm.
The coffee shop never reopened and the Old Mill Cafe now operates where Smitty’s once thrived.
McHenry Village, opened in 1953, burned on April 7, 1994
At 1:43 a.m. on the morning of April 7, an arsonist slipped through a window into the Ragamuffin children’s store and doused the store room with gasoline, setting it aflame.
The fire, which raged for over three hours before being contained, destroyed 10 business storefronts, several of which no longer exist today including Kirin Japanese Steakhouse, Erica Evans dress shop, and Ron Simi Flowers.
Most notable is the old Carmen’s Mexican Restaurant which closed the year prior in 1993 and re-opened as El Clavel.
The fire department noted the fire could have been less damaging if the building had been equipped with a fire sprinkler system, but it was built before codes that required it at the time.
Village Baking Company, Ragamuffin, and Togo’s were destroyed but reopened later the same year and still operate today.
John Muir Schoolhouse, 800 E. Morris Ave., burned on Oct. 14, 2007, and was torn down in 2008
Built in 1923, the John Muir Schoolhouse operated as a school until 1950 when it was deemed unsafe in the event of an earthquake. In 1953, the city purchased the building and opened it as a community center that later became the offices of The Girl Scouts, The United Way, and The League of Women Voters before permanently closing to the public in 2003.
The police department used it for several years for training before it became a storage facility for Modesto’s historical artifacts. Half of those items were forever lost to the fire including, “Ball gowns and wedding dresses dating to the 1800s. A championship-winning bow and arrow set from the 1930s. The entire McClure family furniture collection, from bedroom sets to parlor sets. Cane, camera and medical collections. Branding irons, saddles, and paintings. Five pianos, including a nine-foot grand piano that belonged to the Hogan family. A carousel horse. And countless other relics too numerous to list.”
The call came in at 1:23 am and the cause was thought to be related to the break-ins to the boarded-up building. The building sat in ruins and was demolished in February 2008.
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