In 1871 Isaac Stebbins founded the Academy of Music, a four
story brick building built on Winnisimmet Street in Chelsea Square.
Magnificent performances were presented on its stage by the top
performers, musicians and vocalists of the day. Great entertainers
such as Sarah Bernhardt, world famous stage performer, appeared on
the Academy’s great stage. The Academy was one of the finest theaters
in the region with a vast stage that measured thirty-four feet by
sixty feet. The theater’s interior was expertly and exquisitely
furnished with a seating capacity of 1400 persons. Isaac Stebbins was
the tenth mayor of the City of Chelsea, he founded the First National
Bank of Chelsea and served as president for thirty-eight years. Mr.
Stebbins was president of the Chelsea Gas Light Company, served as
Chelsea Selectman and representative to the General Court of
Massachusetts. He built and managed the Academy of Music until his
death in 1888. The Academy carried on as a leading palace of
entertainment for many years after his death.
On a winter’s night in January 1905, the Academy had it’s last
performance. Shortly after midnight January 12, 1905, a raging fire
was discovered in the Academy of Music building. At the time of the
discovery fire had already spread extensively throughout the building.
The central and northern sections of the building, which included
the huge stage and auditorium, were completely gutted. Portions of
the front and back walls collapsed during the fire. One section of
fallen wall trapped and killed a Chelsea firefighter in the line of
duty. These two sections of this massive building had to be
completely demolished as a hazardous building after the fire. The
southern section of the building abutting the Park Hotel, was
preserved. This section was repaired and restored as a three story
building. Fire had damaged the internal portion of this building but
it was considered structurally sound and repairable. William T.
Burnes, occupant at the time of the fire, reopened his furniture
store in the building as soon as repairs were finished. There was no
preservation of the central and northern sections. A new separate
three story building of white granite replaced these sections. The
Odd Fellows occupied the upper floors, of this building, while the U.
S. Post Office occupied the ground floor. Three years later,
calamity struck again in this area. The great Chelsea Fire of April
12, 1908, sweeping through the city had reached Chelsea Square. A
concentrated battle halted the fires advance in the square but not
before it had fed on the two new buildings, the Post Office building
and the Old Academy Building. Both buildings received excessive
damage. The interior of the old Academy Building, was completely
destroyed, all floors had fallen in. The rear wall had totally
collapsed while the front wall partially collapsed.
Immediately after the fire a permit was granted for the
construction of a new three story building on the Old Academy site.
What was left of the rear and front walls was torn down completely
leaving a full side wall abutting the Park Hotel. Demolishing the
front and rear walls eliminated support and thus weakened the
remaining wall. The remaining wall was the original south wall of the
Academy of Music built in 1871 and now had experienced two
disasterous fires. The wall was well built with a good footing and
foundation and standing 65 feet by 110 feet. It was a twelve inch
wall which was up to code when the wall was built. The standard of
code at this period of time, called for sixteen to twenty inches.
When issuing the building permit the Superintendent of Buildings for
the City of Chelsea, required the wall to be faced to a thickness of
twenty inches in the basement and sixteen inches for the first floor.
The building was being erected by a local contracting firm under the
name of Gordon and Seegal, a firm that had done much construction in
the greater Boston area.
The contractor began cutting chases in the wall to fit the
first floor timbers. Instead of cutting separate chases at intervals,
a continuous channel was cut in the wall. This further impaired the
strength of the wall. Instead of removing a few bricks for each
timber, three or four tiers, two rows deep were removed. The wall was
now left supported only on the two outer rows of bricks.
On Tuesday morning, August 25th, the Inspector of Buildings
visited the site. In his inspection he discovered the channel.
Immediately, he ordered a halt to any further cutting in the wall.
The Inspector warned of possible collapse due to the indiscriminate
cutting. He also ordered the channel already cut to be filled
instantly. The Inspector further ordered that the wall be brought up
to the thickness required by the law.
After condemning the work being done at the Academy site,
Inspector of Buildings Frank Weymouth, took leave of the premises.
The Inspector stated he would return to see if his orders were being
complied with. At this time, since the fire of April 1908, there were
two hundred buildings in the process of being constructed. The
Inspector of Buildings, with his assistant, had to continually
inspect, throughout the city, the progress of all construction.
On this Tuesday morning, the ugly hand of fate struck the
Chelsea Square site for the third time in three and one-half years.
Ten minutes after the Inspector left the property there occurred a
loud explosive crash, followed by a great cloud of dust. Just as the
Inspector had forewarned, the remaining side wall collapsed without
any advance notice. It was not known at this time how many men were
working beneath the wall when it toppled. It was later determined
that at the time of collapse there were twenty seven men working in
the cellar around the base of the wall. Two men working at the outer
ends of the wall were able to escape unscathed. The other twenty five
men were not so fortunate. These men were completely buried under
tons of brick, mortar, debris and a thick cloud of dust and dirt that
clogged the throat and lungs.
Before the dust cloud dissipated, an uncounted number of
men rushed into the site and began to dig for victims. They dug
frantically in the debris with bare hands, regardless of personal
danger and injury, in their efforts to free the buried workers.
Within minutes crowds poured into Chelsea Square. The Fire and Police
departments were on the scene instantly. Ambulances responded from
Chelsea, Revere, Everett, and the Naval and Marine Hospitals. The
victims were transported between the Naval and Marine Hospitals as
soon as they were uncovered from the debris. (The Frost Hospital had
been completely destroyed in the fire in April).
There would be a dread silence each time a maimed or mangled
body was uncovered. Some of the bodies were so badly crushed, they
were not easily recognizable.
Many of the rescuers were sickened by the condition of the
victims, but they refused to quit. The rescuers continued the search
for victims, heedless of the fact that the opposite side wall
abutting the Post Office building, was precarious and at any moment
could bury them.
The search went on through the night. The area was lighted
by lanterns, torches and an arc light supplied by the Chelsea Gas
Light Company. The next day, Wednesday, the search was halted during
a heavy rain. This pause was used to shore up the remaining wall.
About five o’clock in the afternoon the search continued even though
it was believed all victims had been recovered. Eight men were killed
instantly. Thirteen men were very seriously injured. One of the
serious injured died two days later at the Marine Hospital.
The wall just folded and collapsed at the channel. That
portion of the wall below the channel remained in tact. The
foundation was found to be totally solid. At 4:00 P.M. on Tuesday
afternoon August 25th, on orders of Chief of Police Shannon, Morris
Gordon of Chelsea one of the contractors, was placed under arrest
charged with manslaughter in eight different counts. At 8:45 P.M.
Morris Seegal was arrested on warrant, at his lawyer’s office, on
eight counts of manslaughter. Both defendants were released on $8000
bail.
The following morning, Wednesday, all litigants were
arraigned before Judge Stearns for a hearing in Chelsea District
Court. Gordon appeared with lawyer Maurice Caro and Seegal with his
lawyer, from the law firm of Lourie and Lourie. The government was
represented by City Solicitor Harry James. Judge Stearns granted a
continuance of two weeks, to September 10th.
A further continuance was then granted. Finally on Friday
September 24, 1909, in Superior Criminal Court, Morris Gordon and
Morris Seegal pleaded guilty on eight complaints for manslaughter.
Each man was fined $500 on one complaint, the seven other complaints
were placed on file. Thus this episode ended there.
Today the “Chelsea House” a three story hotel
stands on that very spot.