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thatcrazycajunToday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports here on yesterday's observance of the 60th anniversary of the burning of the Winecoff Hotel, still described as the deadliest hotel fire in US history. 119 people in all died in that blaze on the night of Saturday, 7 December 1946 in downtown Atlanta, including the hotel's owner, William Winecoff, and his wife...but the other 161 guests and staff survived, thanks in no small part to the valiant efforts of members of the Atlanta Fire Department and of Fort McPherson's Military Police who were summoned in the dead of night to help.
So, on behalf of a family that includes both smoke-eaters (father and younger brother) and ground-pounders (deceased paternal uncle and older brother), a hearty "well done" and a heartfelt "thank you" is herewith proffered to these men. Their courage and skill enabled survivors of the fire to show up yesterday at a local tavern (in the building that once housed a fire company which responded on the night in question) to thank them properly, six decades later. I would also suggest a moment of silence to remember those survivors and their rescuers who have passed on.
The building is currently being renovated and will, sometime next year, return to its original calling as a hostelry when it re-opens as the Ellis Hotel. A plaque commemorating the fire and the lives lost will be restored to its place as part of the renovation. Somehow it seems fitting, in a city continually being rebuilt, redesigned and reimagined over the bones of its history, that one such revamping so recalls its history.
So, on behalf of a family that includes both smoke-eaters (father and younger brother) and ground-pounders (deceased paternal uncle and older brother), a hearty "well done" and a heartfelt "thank you" is herewith proffered to these men. Their courage and skill enabled survivors of the fire to show up yesterday at a local tavern (in the building that once housed a fire company which responded on the night in question) to thank them properly, six decades later. I would also suggest a moment of silence to remember those survivors and their rescuers who have passed on.
The building is currently being renovated and will, sometime next year, return to its original calling as a hostelry when it re-opens as the Ellis Hotel. A plaque commemorating the fire and the lives lost will be restored to its place as part of the renovation. Somehow it seems fitting, in a city continually being rebuilt, redesigned and reimagined over the bones of its history, that one such revamping so recalls its history.