Rewind: The City in Flames - The Great Fire of 1835
The Bowery Boys: New York City History
00:00
New York Fire - The Fire of the Whale Oil Store
A warehouse owned by the merchants crocker and warren was filled with a new shipment of saltpetre used for the manufacture of gunpowder. The fire from the whale oil store then wafted into crocker and Warren's through an opening in one of the store's open iron shutters. And the result was a series of cannon like bursts of smoke and fire, almost like a volcano smashing into buildings across the street. It culminated in a terrible final explosion, completely engulfing the block.
Transcript
Play full episode
