When it was seen the courthouse could not be saved the court records were all removed to the northern police station, two miles and half away. The Continental Trust building, a thirteen-story structure, caught at the tenth floor and was totally destroyed after burning like a great torch. The private bank of Alexander Brown, located at Baltimore and Calvert streets, in the very heart of the fire district, a one story stone structure, miraculously escaped annihilation, the surviving building out of a great spread of two square miles of costly structures that caught the early morning sun that fateful day. Sunrise that disclosed naught save ruin, chaos and confusion. Thus raged the warfare of man against a relentless hungry element for 27 hours. It was 11:40 Sunday morning when the fire started. At 2:40 Monday afternoon the joyful news was spread that the allied fire departments had the flames within control. Hotels, banks, business houses, factories--in fact everything in the heart of the city was swept away. All the local newspapers save one were destroyed, the street car systems were without power to operate and the lighting facilities were sadly crippled. Towering ruins loomed up on every hand, swaying in the breeze and jeopardizing life. And still the countless fires in the burned district raged on, illuminating the heavens and clouding the atmosphere with dense smoke against which myriads of sparks twinkled like miniature stars. The last places to go before the fire started to burn itself out, were the icehouse and coal yard of the American Ice company. The coal yard, which spread out about 200 yards south of the icehouse, was the means of staying the march of the flames on the south and Jones falls on the east. The Norfolk wharf of the Baltimore steam-packet company, which was stocked with barrels of resin and other miscellaneous merchandise, was destroyed before the ice company's plant was reached. At 10 o'clock Monday the fire was reported under control, but a little later the flames were sweeping along the harbor and river men began taking their vessels rapidly out into the middle of the stream. There were about seventy-five of these vessels and they were hastily anchored down the bay. The buildings of the Standard Oil company and the Buckman Fruit company along the water front were soon in flames. This renewal of the energy of the fire continued until well along into the afternoon of the second day. Following is a partial list of the principal buildings destroyed in the baptism of fire or by dynamite in an effort to stay the flames: The courthouse, loss, $4,000,000 The postoffice, $1,000,000 Equitable building, twelve stories, $1,135,000 Union Trust Company building, 11 stories, $1,000,000 Continental Trust building, 16 stories, $1,125,000 Baltimore & Ohio general offices, $1,125,000 Calvert building, $1,125,000 Hopkins bank. Holliday Street theater. Guardian Trust building.