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Web Exclusives: More
A firsthand account of the fire that destroyed the University
Gymnasium in May 1944, written by Robert C. Clothier, Jr. '50,
in a letter to his parents. The letter was submitted to PAW by his
son Robert Clothier ’83 (robert.clothier@dechert.com).
No. 6 U.S. NAVAL TRAINING SCHOOL
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Princeton, N.J.
Dear Mom and Pops:
I supposed you’ve already heard over the radio or read in the
papers about the Princeton Gymnasium being completely destroyed
by fire early this morning. I guess I shall begin at the very beginning
to say that I hit the sack (Tuesday nite) around nine o’clock,
very early ‘cause I had a watch the night before. The next
thing that happened was the howler blasting at equal intervals off
and on, off and on which signifies a fire drill. I thought it was
6:00 and time for the morning run, and even after I was outside
I still thought it was 6 o’clock in the morning. I was greeted
at the entrance (4th) by a complete fog of dense smoke swirling
by me. I could see only a few feet ahead of me. Fellows were holding
their jackets, wrappers, handkerchiefs, any clothing they could
find, to their nose and mouth, and there was a lot of coughing because
of the smoke. By that time I was more or less awake. We tried to
muster on the walk paralleling Pyne and the Gym, but the smoke was
even denser there, and breathing was impossible. Besides the smoke,
there was that putrid smell of waxed wood (basket ball court) and
burning rubber. The time was 3:00 in the morning, when the howler
was sounded. Finally we mustered on the walk on the southern end
of Pyne; then we were ordered to go to our rooms and put some warm
clothing on, as it was raining, a drizzle and it was cold at that
hour. I went upstairs to get my raincoat and as I passed the window
on my way down, suddenly the air turned a brilliant red, and I heard
a loud crash. I rushed outside and down the steps out into the field
in front of Pyne and there – ay! What a sight! Flames were
shooting skyward thirty and forty feet into the air, and inside
the gym was just a red-hot inferno of flames. Windows were popping
and flames were pouring out of them horizontally for ten ft., then
up. The loud crash I heard before was the entire roof caving in.
All I could hear was the loud crackling of the fire and the sound
of falling beams, timber and steel girders within. It was a magnificent
sight, a very beautiful fire but oh so sad to watch everything go.
The fire began to creep into Little Hall. The fellows there had
to evacuate all of their stuff out of their rooms onto the grass
outside.
At this moment, the fire department arrived. It took ten minutes
to set up the hose and another five minutes to get water flowing.
They finally stopped the fire at Little Hall. It hadn’t really
got started on Little so at least there the flames were checked.
But inside the Gym, Boy – the water did no good at all. It
seemed they played water on the wall separating the regular big
gym from the Open Air Gym and the pool; and kept water on it from
3:30 ‘til 6:00 solid, and that’s what saved the Open Air
Gym and Pool and Power Plant. They’re untouched by flames.
But the rest of the gym was just roaring. As you know, Pyne is less
than 100 ft. from the gym, so you see had the wind changed and blown
from the East - I’m sorry, it was blowing from the East all
the time but had it blown harder it would surely have set Pyne aflame,
which would be bad for Bobby and the rest of the fellows. I stood
and watched the fire for an hour and a half and at around 5:00 they
let us go back to bed for the fire by this time looked as if it
was cooling off somewhat.
Before the firemen arrived, a group of fellows from Little Hall
or somewhere finally opened the door, the front door, with the purpose
of saving the trophies. As they opened up the door, at that very
moment, the roof fell which caused a large volume of air blowing
through that small door way. The fellows were blown right back out
the door followed by a solid sheet of flame.
All the trophies were lost, everything was lost. This morning I
went up the spiral staircase leading to the Open Air Gym, the staircase
just bordered the "big mess" and the untouched part. As
I reached the top, millions of times before the fire I would walk
out onto a beautiful huge basket ball court, I should say, a couple
of courts, it’s that big, but now my eyes met such a confused
tangle of metal girders, charred wood, beams, stone masonry, pipes,
bits of roof, all pointed every direction possible. It really doesn’t
seem possible that that building, so unmovable, strong, domineering,
should be wiped out and almost completely destroyed, except for
the wall, and not much of those were standing, in a matter of a
few hours, it’s really unbelievable. And I had Phy.Ed in it
that afternoon, oh me.
What started the fires? No one knows! Now it’s roped off, and
armed guards (not dummy rifles either) are passing up and down guarding
the precious metals in those trophies wherever they may be in that
debris.
All the army records were COMPLETELY destroyed. A lot of equipment
was ruined, but the loss of those trophies really hurts.
I guess that’s it. I hope I’ve described everything. It
certainly was a spectacular fire. I’ll write again, no I guess
I’ll phone. Our leave begins June 22 to July 2. Not bad, eh!
All my love,
Bobby
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