Hotel Gayoso Fire of 1899
By Dennis Wolf
A Little About Goldsmith’s Department Store
Before we discuss the fire, a little digression about Goldsmith’s, as it has a relationship to the Gayoso Hotel. Many people may remember the Goldsmith’s Department store in downtown Memphis. It was a premier department store for a long time, and a cornerstone of downtown shopping before the advent of suburban shopping centers and malls.
The forerunner of Goldsmith’s was a store opened in the 1860s by Louis Ottenheimer. In 1881, the Goldsmith brothers bought their Uncle Louis’ store and renamed it I. Goldsmith and Brother. In 1895, the brothers opened a larger store at Main and Gayoso.
The business thrived, and was a leader in customer service. Some examples, the store established a Christmas parade decades before Macy’s did. In 1960, the store opened the “Enchanted Forest” for children, a holiday tradition for many families. In 1902, Goldsmith’s was one of the first stores in the South to arrange merchandise by departments. It was the first store in Memphis to have air-conditioning, a bargain basement, and a mechanical credit system called Charga-Plate. It was the second store in Memphis to have escalators, as Gerber’s escalators opened 6 months before Goldsmith’s.[i] In 1948, Goldsmiths bought the Gayoso Hotel and expanded the business into that building.[ii] In 1959, Goldsmiths was bought by Federated Department Stores.
The Original Gayoso House – A Grand Hotel
The original Gayoso House was established by three men: Robertson Topp, Archibald Walker, and William L. Vance. In 1842, they commissioned architect James Dakin to design a hotel that would be known all along the Mississippi River for the elegance of its design and the comfort of its rooms and amenities. The hotel opened in the fall of 1843 and offered excellent views of the Mississippi, its own wharf for receiving visitors by riverboat, a red carpeted entryway, and expansive gardens. The hotel had its own gasworks, waterworks, sewerage system, bakery, and wine cellar. Bathrooms had marble tubs, silver faucets, and flush toilets.[iii] The cost for the hotel was $144,000 ($5,540,365 in 2025 dollars).[iv] The Illinois Central Railroad depot was one block away at the foot of McCall Street, offering easy access to transcontinental transportation. The Nashville stagecoach stopped at the hotel.[v] The men named the hotel for Manuel Luis Gayoso de Lemos, the Spanish governor of the Natchez district, a man known for gracious hospitality and appreciation of beauty. The Gayoso House was Memphis’ first luxury hotel, and was outside the city limits when it was built.
Figure 1 is an 1867 illustration of the original Gayoso House. The front of the hotel faced Front Street.[vi] Figure 2 is a section from the 1907 Sanborn Fire Insurance map of Memphis that shows the location and layout of the original Gayoso House (shaded building). The building at the upper right of the illustration is the J. S. Minken Company, which would later become Goldsmiths.[vii]
Figure 1 – Gayoso House, 1867
Figure 2 – Sanborn Fire Insurance Map 1897
As with many businesses, the hotel eventually experienced hard times. An article in the June, 23, 1876 edition of the Commercial Appeal, stated the hotel was “partly inhabited by a low class of people, and the stench that pervades the halls and rooms is perfectly horrible; indeed, it is a pestilential breeding spot.”[viii]
In 1879, a fire occurred in the hotel, which gave the owners the opportunity to return the Gayoso House to its former status. A grand piano was ordered in 1885 at a cost of $1,450 ($47,162 in 2025 dollars) as part of the effort to restore the hotel’s prestigious reputation. Despite their efforts, the hotel still struggled, and there was talk of tearing it down. Then came the fire that occurred on July 4, 1899.
The July 4th, 1899 Fire[ix]
Memphians were celebrating the Independence Day holiday. The city had many visitors, who were attending a ballgame and enjoying activities in the city’s numerous parks. Many people were shooting off fireworks. Most stores were closed, and the south end of Front Street was mostly empty of people. The day was hot, and the Commercial Appeal reported that “all buildings were dry as tender.” It was late in the afternoon, and the sun was beginning to settle low on the horizon.
At exactly 4:00 p.m., the fire department received two alarm notifications for a fire on Front Street. The A.D.T. watchman at the American Biscuit Company sent the alarm via the alarm system, and the bookkeeper at Bluthenthal & Heilbronner phoned in the alarm. Shortly after that, someone pulled Box 13 in front of fire headquarters at South Front and Union Avenue. The fire department responded immediately, and was on the scene at 4:03 p.m. The fire area is shown in Figure 3. Dark highlighted buildings were destroyed, and the light-yellow building was damaged.
Figure 3 – The Fire Area
The fire originated in the rear of the basement (west side) of the Memphis Paper Company at 383 South Front Street, at the corner with Hotel Avenue. The building was four stories with a basement. It was made of brink, had a metal cornice, and a composition roof. The building stocked a large supply of paper products and other combustible materials. The company was closed for the holiday and vacant of employees. The fire had considerable headway before it was discovered.
The Bluthenthal & Hellbronner Company was closed for business, but two employees were in the building working. The company occupied the north half (381 S. Front) of the building on the northwest corner of South Front Street and Hotel Avenue, and the Memphis Paper Company occupied the south half (383 S. Front) of the building. It was of the same construction as describe for the Memphis Paper Company, and the two occupancies were separated by a fire wall that extended from between 12 and 20 inches above the roof. The company was a wholesale liquor distributor, and had a large inventory of whiskey and other distilled spirits.
Shortly before 4:00 p.m., Mr. Bluthenthal smelled something burning and went to investigate. He discovered smoke coming through the joists and cracks in the rear wall. He opened one of the iron shutters (iron shutters were used on windows to restrict the spread of fire between buildings) and saw a large amount of smoke coming from the basement of the paper company. He closed the shutter, went back to the front, and notified the bookkeeper, who phoned the fire department. Mr. Bluthenthal went to the upper floors and closed the windows, and also yelled to those on the street that the Memphis Paper Company was on fire.
Since the fire was in the rear of the building, there was no indication to those who happened to be on Front Street that there was a fire. The sun was shining directly on the rear of the building’s windows, and those on the levee did not see the fire. There was a five-foot wide alley between the American Biscuit Company building and the Memphis Paper Company/Bluthenthal & Heilbronner building. There were windows in the walls of both buildings that were equipped with iron shutters.
When the first engine arrived at 4:03 p.m., firefighters began to lay lines. There was hydrant on the corner of South Front and Gayoso, and a hydrant on the corner of South Front and McCall. There was a cistern in the middle of the intersection of South Front and Gayoso. Even though hydrants were close by, low water pressure became an immediate problem. It took ten minutes to develop sufficient water pressure for a stream to reach the second floor. Then flames appeared from the top floor of the Memphis Paper Company building, and shortly thereafter fire came from every window in building.
The wind was from the west, it was strong, and the paper company was well involved. Witnesses said that while the firefighters were struggling to get sufficient water pressure, a “tongue of flame” crossed the sixty-foot width of Front Street and lapped the stucco and wood cornice of the Gayoso Hotel. This was all it took to ignite the wood, and the hotel was now on fire. The hotel engineer activated the hotel’s fire pump and was supplying several hundred gallons per minute to the hotel’s internal firefighting system, but it had little effect.
The entire first alarm assignment was on the scene, along with two special called engines. The John Jospeh Williams was pumping a stream to the roof of the hotel, when the pressure dropped. The Water Tower was set up in front of the paper company, but there was no water to supply it. Chief William F. Carroll called for more pressure. A firefighter was sent to telephone the water company, and the pressure was increased. The delay, however, had proved to be disastrous. Even though the firefighters now had one stream to the roof of the hotel and six streams on the burning building across the street, the fire had taken control.
Because of the holiday, there were a lot of Memphians and visitors in town, and they were drawn to the fire. The large crowd posed a life exposure hazard as well as a hinderance to the firefighting activities. The Memphis Police Department kept several hundred feet of rope near the back door of the police station. When there was a fire, they loaded up all the ropes, and every policeman they could find, responded to the fire, and set up a perimeter. If a civilian crossed the perimeter, they were arrested and taken to jail.
As firefighters fought bravely, the already stiff wind picked up. The Commercial Appeal referred to the wind off the Mississippi River as “a diminutive cyclone,” which pushed more fire across the street and onto the hotel. It was now 4:15 p.m., and the firefighters knew that there was no way to save the Memphis Paper Company/Bluthenthal & Heilbronner building. The heat was so intense that firefighters and onlookers had to pull the Water Tower out of danger, as the team of horses brought to remove the tower tried to break away and run into the fire. Fortunately, the horses were prevented from doing that. Shortly after this, the front walls collapsed. Flaming paper bags came from the building, spreading sparks and fire when they landed.
Many firefighters suffered minor injuries that were not reported, and some suffered serious injuries. Assistant Chief James V. Ryan suffered a broken leg when he was directing operations to relocate the Water Tower as the walls started to collapse. A falling stone bruised the leg of Dan Ryan, the Tillerman on Hook and Ladder Company No. 1. Inspector James E. Clary, a former chief of the department, was carried semi-conscious from the scene. Clary was helping to advance a hand line up a ladder, and was pulling hose behind two pipemen. The hose had caught, and he bent to loosen it. At that point, a four-inch by four-inch stone fell from the hotel’s coping and struck him in his back. Engineer Phil Doyle from Engine Company No. 5 had three of his fingers cut off while working his engine. Dense smoke made it difficult to breathe, and Chief Carroll suffered smoke inhalation.
Now, the roof of the American Biscuit Company at 371-377 South Front was on fire. This was a large three-story brick building with a basement, measuring 80-feet by 145-feet. Two men who were inside the building, John Lovell, a porter, and J. E. Robinson, the building’s engineer, escaped the fire through a lower window, suffering from smoke inhalation. They said that they tried to rescue another employee, Isaiah Johnson who worked in the packing department, but could not get to him. Mr. Johnson was able to escape on his own.[x] It was at this time that the wall of the American Biscuit Company fell.
The wind had shifted and was coming from the southwest, and it had started to rain. While fighting the fires, the fire department also had to protect exposures, as the fires were threatening other buildings, too. The Frost Building at 367-369 South Front, which was occupied by J. T. Fargason & Company, and Brooks, Neely, and Company, was just 40-feet away across Gayoso. The occupants began to remove their important business papers as a precaution. Across Front Street, the Norfleet-Thompson Company at 372-374 South Front, the A. B. Treadwell and Company at 376-378 South Front, and the W. B. Mallory, Sons, and Company at 380 South Front, were also threatened. All three occupancies were in the same physical building, and just a ten-foot alley separated them from the Gayoso Hotel. To the south, the fire had spread to the Lee Gin & Machine Company at 385-399 South Front between Hotel Avenue and McCall.
Chief Carroll sent firefighters with hose lines into the Fargason store. From there, they directed six streams across Gayoso onto the American Biscuit Company. Shortly thereafter, the five-story wall fell, but it fell inward. This was a fortunate occurrence for the firefighters, as the falling wall smothered a great deal of fire. The actions of the firefighters and the collapse of the wall meant that the businesses to the north were now out of danger.
With the spread of the fire to the north stopped, the fire department shifted its efforts to the Gayoso Hotel, repositioning several engines. Up to this point, the major goal was to prevent the spread of the fire to the north, and a limited force was fighting the Gayoso fire during these efforts. The fire had gotten into the hotel building and steadily burned its way through the structure. The top floor became fully involved, and the fire ate its way into the floor below. The fire continued to move down through the building and to the south to the unburned portions. At 6:00 p.m., a portion of the hotel’s roof collapsed. The collapse forced the firefighters to abandon the roof and back out of portions of the building. The fire found the elevator shaft and made its way down to the basement. Chief Carrol then had his firefighters surround the building on all sides, and from the roof of an adjoining building, and direct hose steams on the fire. Despite the effort, the fire continued to consume the building.
Around 8:00 p.m., a section of the hotel’s wall in the alley collapsed. The falling bricks rained down on the firefighters, but none were struck. The collapsed released the contained flames, and they rose in the air, along with burning embers that landed on other structures in the vicinity. Chief Carroll ordered a change in tactics to protect the building directly to the north and the stores on Main Street. Despite the collapse, the crew of Engine Co. No. 4 remained in the building fighting the fire.
At 8:30 p.m., a large section of the alley wall fell, and the crew of Engine Co. No. 4 had to evacuate. Those on the hose line were Captain John McMahon, Ed Murphy, Mike Fitzmorris, Captain Neely Sullivan, and William Peake. The did not see the wall fall, but heard the crash. They dropped the hose and ran, and the whipping hose knocked several of them down. They got out just in time without injury, but the brass nozzle was bent and rendered useless.
The firefighters had been battling the fires in the different buildings for more than 4 hours, and many lines were in use, both as hand lines and supply lines to the Water Tower. Mayor Williams, in consultation with Chief Carroll, ordered that all of the fire department’s hose that could be found be brought to the scene. He also had the wharf master send the 500-feet of hose on the wharf boat to the scene. By this time, the strong west wind had calmed down, and the other adjoining buildings were now out of danger.
The fire department had struggled with low water pressure, but Mr. L. Berry Edwards, Secretary of the Memphis Artesian Water Company, said that “the water supply was all that the department desired.” Mr. Edwards said the company furnished the highest pressure it had ever furnished for a large fire such as this one. The water supply had been scheduled to cut off at noon on July 4, because of the holiday, but Chief Carroll obtained an order from Judge Latham to wait until July 5 to do so.
While the large fire on South Front was in progress, the city still experienced fires elsewhere. The chemical engines responded to most of those fires, as these engines would have been of little use at the conflagration. The chemical engines would make a response, then return to headquarters to refill the chemical tank so they could respond to the next fire.
The department responded to a tree at Madison and DeSoto that had been set on fire by fireworks. One fire was in the rear of the Memphis National Bank. Another fire occurred at Quinby and Robeson Streets (as best I can determine, this is where the I-40 off ramp to go north on Danny Thomas at Exit 1B is today), and this fire required that one of the steam engines at the South Front fire leave that scene and respond. Another fire was at the Hart Manufacturing Company at Union and Second Streets. Flaming embers also set fire to the Boshwitz Brothers store at 346-348 Main Street. Switchmen at the Southern Railroad yards reported that a large amount of burning paper and cinders fell in the area.
The prompt response of two chemical engines to the Van Vleet-Mansfield Drug Company saved the building. The drug company’s building was about a half-mile from the Gayoso Hotel. The fire was started when burning embers from the Gayoso conflagration entered a third-floor window and set the oils stored there on fire. The diligent work of the firefighters averted another major fire. After the rain started to fall, the danger from flaming brands was lessened.
Around midnight, some eight hours after the fire was reported, Chief Carroll was able to relieve about three-quarters of the firefighters on the scene. They were able to get some rest and some food. An insurance company representative, Mr. S. M. Williamson, provided the food at the Waldorf Café at 352 Main Street. Three engine companies and their crews remained engaged, directing streams on what was left of the Gayoso Hotel.[xi]
While several buildings were lost, firefighters did an excellent job of protecting nearby exposures. The occupancies in the building addressed as 381-401 South Main were spared even though they were just 22 feet from the Gayoso Hotel. The buildings south of the fire across McCall were also saved. The Lee Gin & Machine Company building addressed as 385-399 South Front was damaged but not destroyed. In a sad twist of fate, the Lee Gin building would be destroyed by fire on September 16, just 165 days after the July 4th fire. On September 16, the fire department arrived to find the Lee building well involved. The loss was $118,500 ($4,450,705 in 2925 dollars), and the cause was never determined.[xii]
The total loss from the fire was $244,100 ($9,278,536 in 2025 dollars).[xiii] As part of the aggregate total, the loss on the Gayoso Hotel was $95,000 ($3,611,065 in 2025 dollars), and another $4,950 ($188,156 in 2025 dollars) on private property in the hotel. The loss on the Frost Building was $19,000 ($722,213 in 2025 dollars). The loss on the Memphis Paper Company was $31,500 ($1,197,352 in 2025 dollars). The loss on Bluthenthal & Heilbronner was $30,000 ($1,140,336 in 2025 dollars). The True-Tag Paint Company suffered a loss of $1,000 ($38,012 in 2025 dollars). This loss figure does not include smaller losses incurred by property owners from flying embers, which set awnings, windowsills, and other objects on fire. For example, the J. T. Fargason & Company suffered a loss of $1,125 ($42,763 in 2025 dollars).[xiv]
Though an exact cause was never determined, one theory proposed for the origin of the fire was fireworks. Mr. Otto Metzger of the paper company said he was the last person to leave the building at noon, four hours before the fire was discovered. He said it was his custom to make rounds of the building, which included the basement, before he left. He said that he saw nothing unusual in the building. His theory was that fireworks fell through the grating and into the basement, setting a fire that smoldered for some time before it burst into flame.
After the fire, Chief Carroll stated that the outcome would have been different if the city had more fire resources. He said that more property could have been saved and the fire would have been extinguished sooner. He said that Memphis needed two additional fire stations, each with an engine company and a hook and ladder company, and 5,000 feet of hose (the city council approved the purchase of 5,000 feet of hose at $1 per foot on July 6, 1899[xv]). The department had six engines pumping at the fire, and could have used more if the city had them.
Chief Carroll said that the strong wind help fuel the fire. The large amount of paper products and liquor in the four-story Memphis Paper/Bluthenthal building created an extremely hot fire. The low water pressure hindered the initial development of adequate fire streams. Lack of water and the heat of the fire rendered the Water Tower useless. The firemen could not work the tower because of the intense heat and the tower had to be relocated. This delayed getting water on the hotel, which allowed the fire to grow considerably. Operation of the Water Tower and a ladder truck became impractical when the walls started to fall, as the apparatus was too close to the collapse zone. He also said that 2,500 feet of hose was damaged during the fire, and not all of it could be repaired.
During operations to recover any valuables, the hotel’s corner stone was discovered intact. When it was opened, there was a parchment inside that said, “GAYOSO HOTEL, Founded July 4, 1842.”[xvi] The hotel had burned on its fifty-seventh birthday. When it burned, it was the oldest building in Memphis.[xvii] In August, salvagers began clearing the debris and selling bricks and other items salvaged from the hotel.[xviii]
New Fire Stations to be Built
It is said that every cloud has a silver lining, and the huge monetary loss, along with the associated loss of business for the companies involved, did encourage the city council to consider Chief Carroll’s recommendation for more resources. Plans were drawn for three additional engines houses, and it was anticipated that the council would approve the request for additional resources when Chief Carroll approached them.
The first station would be known as No. 6 and would be at the corner of Third and Looney Streets. It would be two-story with no basement and constructed of red brick. The ground floor was to be of brick, and the sleeping quarters and day room would be on the second floor. The estimated cost was $4,000 ($152,945 in 2025 dollars). The department would assign a recently refurbished light steam engine to the station. The suburban stations were equipped with light engines because of the long runs made by the horses. This building still stands today at 652 North Third Street.
The city was accepting bids on the second engine house, to be known as No. 7. It would be built on the corner of Madison and Dunlap Streets. Its construction would be similar to that of Station 6, at a cost of between $4,000 and $5,000. It would be equipped with a chemical engine to protect the Idlewild and other suburban sections of the area that lacked fire hydrants. Later on, a steam engine would be added. This building was eventually torn down, and Engine 7 moved ½ mile east to a station at 1017 Jefferson Avenue.
The third station would be known as No. 8. It was to be built on the Provine property on Mississippi Avenue, later addressed as 832 Mississippi Boulevard. It would be built of brick or stone, but it was still in the design phase. When it was built, it was built of brick. The city’s newest engine, the John Joseph Williams, was bought for this station. However, the John Joseph Williams was a heavy engine, so a lighter engine would be placed at the station for suburban use, as this area had many hills. The John Joseph Williams, having proved itself at the Gayoso fire, would be assigned to a downtown station. On July 11, 1955, when Memphis hired the first African-American firefighters, they were assigned to Station 8 with a white officer. Eventually, Engine 8 moved to new quarters at 625 Mississippi Boulevard, and the old station was torn down.[xix]
The New Gayoso Hotel
On July 4, 1900, one year to the day of the fire, with a “vigorous assault upon the ground,” ground was broken for the new Gayoso Hotel.[xx] The new hotel opened on March 28, 1902,[xxi] and featured an elaborate grand piano bearing the Gayoso crest. Artist Alonzo Wells was commissioned to paint a series of murals depicting the cross-country journey and death of Hernando de Soto (Figure 4). In 1953, the Goldsmith family donated the murals to DeSoto County, Mississippi, and they reside in the rotunda of the DeSoto County Courthouse. The murals are considered works of art and valued at $5 million.[xxii] The new hotel was as grand a hotel as its predecessor. Figure 5 is correspondence from 1910 on hotel stationary showing the Main Street entrance. Notice the “absolutely fire proof” statement.
Figure 4 – The Alonzo Williams Murals Hanging in the Gayoso Lobby[xxiii]
Figure 5 – Gayoso Hotel Main Street Entrance 1910[xxiv]
Figure 6 – Gayoso Hotel Postcard from 1947[xxv]
The Gayoso Hotel was sold to the Goldsmith family in 1948. The Goldsmith’s Department store offices and storage moved in first, and eventually the department store opened merchandizing space in the five-story building. The Gayoso Hotel continued to occupy approximately 105,000 square feet and operate 150 rooms in the building.[xxvi] The last of the hotel space in the building closed on December 31, 1962.[xxvii] Today, the Gayoso Hotel building is home to the Gayoso House at Peabody Place apartments.
The Frost Building was also rebuilt. The new building was four stories and of the “slow combustion type,” made with brick and heavy timber. It faced Front Street and measured 153 feet by 136 feet. The cost was $60,000 ($2,253,522 in 2025 dollars). The National Biscuit Company occupied the building for manufacturing purposes.[xxviii]
This was one of the most destructive fires in Memphis’ history, and the Memphis Fire Department did an excellent job with the limited resources they had. Their efforts prevented the conflagration from spreading further than it did and causing more destruction.
[i] https://historic-memphis.com/memphis-historic/departmentstores/goldsmithstory.html
[ii] https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/goldsmiths/
[iii] https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/gayoso-hotel/
[iv] https://www.wknofm.org/news-and-features/2012-07-03/the-gayoso-house
[v] Twyman City Directory, 1849, page 57
[vi] Memphis Public Library, Gayoso House and the Gayoso Hotel Collection
[vii] Library of Congress, Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Memphis, 1897 Vol. 2, Map 102
[viii] https://memphislibrary.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p13039coll1/id/51
[ix] The Commercial Appeal, July 5, 1899, page 1
[x] The Commercial Appeal, July 6, 1899, page 6
[xi] The Commercial Appeal, July 5, 1899
[xii] The Commercial Appeal, September 17, 1899, page 6
[xiii] The Commercial Appeal, July 15, 1899, page 7
[xiv] The Commercial Appeal, July 6, 1899, page 6
[xv] The Commercial Appeal, July 7, 1899, page 7
[xvi] The Commercial Appeal, July 30, 1899, page 6
[xvii] The Commercial Appeal, July 5, 1899, page 6
[xviii] The Commercial Appeal, August 27, 1899, page 7
[xix] The Commercial Appeal, July 31, 1899, page 4
[xx] The Commercial Appeal, July 5, 1900, page 7
[xxi] The Commercial Appeal, November 9, 1980, page G7
[xxii] http://msdeltatop40.com/desoto-county-courthouse
[xxiii] https://www.hmdb.org/Photos5/578/Photo578381o.jpeg?49202140200PM
[xxiv] https://historic-memphis.com/memphis-historic/billheads/gayoso-1910-hm.jpg
[xxv] https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/speccoll-mss-mccarver1/46/
[xxvi] The Commercial Appeal, November 29,1962, page 1
[xxvii] The Commercial Appeal, November 9, 1980, page G7
[xxviii] The Commercial Appeal, August 31, 1899, page 6