| Marker Number |
4942 |
| Atlas Number |
5485004942 |
| Marker Title |
Site of: The Antlers Hotel Fire of 1929 |
| Index Entry |
Antlers Hotel Fire of 1929, Site of: |
| Address |
10th & Indiana |
| City |
Wichita Falls |
| County |
Wichita |
| UTM Zone |
14 |
| UTM Easting |
547196 |
| UTM Northing |
3752328 |
| Subject Codes |
fire and fire departments; inns, hotels, motels |
| Marker Year |
1981 |
| Recorded Texas Historic Landmark |
No |
| Marker Location |
Inside Wichita Falls activity center Southeast corner of 10th and Indiana |
| Private Property |
No |
| Marker Condition |
In Situ |
| Marker Size |
27" x 42" |
| Marker Text |
A three-story brick hotel building was constructed at this site in 1920 by the firm of Bachman and Goodwin. Originally known as the Argonne, the name was later changed to the Antlers Hotel when the structure was purchased by H. G. Karrenbrock. In the early morning hours of December 12, 1929, a fire broke out in the building. Firemen of the central station were the first to arrive on the scene and were promptly aided by additional units responding to a second alarm. Flames were visible throughout the city and quickly attracted a large crowd. Thirty minutes after the first alarm, the west wall of the structure began to crumble. Although some of the fire fighters escaped, assistant city fire chief Smiley Turner and fireman Guno Anderson were killed by the collapsing wall. One occupant of the hotel, Kenneth (Toby) Brice of Bowie, also died in the fire that morning. As a result of the destructive Antlers Hotel fire, significant changes were made in the Wichita Falls Fire Department. Equipment was updated, new training programs were established, and city officials began strengthening ordinances in an effort to actively enforce the municipal fire code. (1981) |
