Crowd Watching Fire At Virginian Restaurant, April 1955

Published In
Ann Arbor News, April 20, 1955
Caption
Fire Draws Crowd: A noon-hour fire yesterday at the Virginian restaurant, 313 S. State St., brought firefighting equipment and a large crowd to the scene, as shown in top photo [this photo]. Though the blaze was confined to the basement, damage is expected to total several thousand dollars. In the picture at lower left, employes and University students are busy moving stock from Wild & Co., next door to the restaurant, to avoid smoke damage. Dense smoke hampered firemen in their attempts to bring the fire under control. At lower right, Fred Schmid retreats gasping from the interior of the restaurant. Chief Ernest Heller, who was breathing with difficulty this morning, said the fire was probably caused by defective wiring in the ceiling of the basement.