Township Marks 100th Anniversary of 'Cranford's Great Fire'

Nancy Millar slices a loaf of bread for a customer at bakery on North Avenue. Like the other businesses on the block, the bright, well-lit shop where Millar works bustles with shoppers each day. A quick glance at the row of stores gives no indication of the tragedy that took place exactly 100 years ago, destroying a prominent Cranford landmark that once dominated the downtown area. The basement of the building, however, tells a different story.

Beneath the oversized ovens, along the back wall of the lower-level of the building exists some of the last, remaining physical evidence of a fire that tore through the structure, destroying several businesses during a cold, winter morning on Feb. 3, 1912. The brick walls, still charred from the flames that enveloped the building, serve as a reminder of the tragic event.

One hundred years ago today, what has come to be known as "Cranford's Great Fire" nearly leveled the Opera House Block, located on North Avenue from Eastman Street to North Union Avenue.

The disaster, which resulted in losses of more than $125,000 at the time - roughly $2.7 million today - was reported in the New York Times, and in the Cranford Chronicle. Firefighters from Cranford, Westfield and Elizabeth responded to the blaze which is believed to have been caused by a discarded cigarette. The building continued to smolder for several hours as local firefighters worked around the clock to extinguish the blaze and attempt to save the neighoring wood-framed structures on the "Opera House Block," so named because of the 500-seat Opera House Theater located on the third floor of the building.

Among the businesses destroyed were the New York Haberdasher, Berry and Co. Clothing, Marien’s Pharmacy, Lusardi’s Ice Cream Parlor, J. Potts and Son Grocers and Ferguson and Van Name Insurance and Real Estate. Firefighters managed to keep the nearby Miller Building and William Isleib's Plumbing Shop from burning to the ground.

"The building was designed by Frank Lent, the architect of several of the public buildings and mansions owned by Cranford ’s prominent residents," according to Maureen Strazdon, chairwoman of the "It was built in 1892 by J. Walter Thompson and was owned by William Sperry, founder of Sperry & Hutchinson Green Stamps, at the time of the fire."

The building housed a large auditorium that was used for musical programs, operettas, political rallies, school commencements and public meetings. Strazdon said the current Cranford Trust Company building was erected on the site in late 1912.

Kathy Vastola, the owner of The Breadsmith, said some of the old wallpaper and a portion of the building's tin ceiling were uncovered four years ago, when contractors began renovating the storefront to set up the bake shop. Vastola said beneath the new ceiling that was installed when the business opened is a beam labeled "Opera House Block." Vastola said she had no idea that today marked the 100the anniversary of the fire that almost completely destroyed the building that now houses her shop.

Millar, who has lived in Cranford for 65 years, remembers when the building housed a shoe store and a shop that sold "dry goods." The Breadsmith employee said she had heard of the fire but didn't know when it actually took place.

Today, the Opera House Block is home to the ice cream shop, a jewelry store, barber shop, a bank and other businesses. It's your everyday downtown business district - but the blackened walls beneath the local shops are proof that the block's history is anything but typical.

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For more ifnormation about the Cranford Historic Preservation Advisory Board, visit their web site at preservecranford.com.