Publisher's Synopsis
The Great Boston Fire of 1872 was a spectacular conflagration that destroyed Old Boston and allowed a phoenix to arise from the ashes.Few events can be said to have changed the face of Boston forever. Eventually destroying 775 buildings and causing millions of dollars in damage to the commercial section that we now know as Boston's business district. This conflagration ranks among the most destructive fires in American historyThis exciting new pictorial history brings to life the drama that began one Saturday evening in 1872 when a fire started in an empty hoop-skirt factory on the corner of Summer and Kingston Streets. At the time, Boston was in the throes of an epizootic disease that caused all horses in the area to be ill. This caused a virtual shutdown of transportation and city services and delayed the fire department's response to calls for help. By the time the breathless firemen arrived, the fire had already consumed the granite
