500 Block of Main, West Side

In December 1873 a large fire destroyed the entire 500 Block on the west side inlcuding six buildings. Peter Luhn's building at 6th & Main was the only one to escape the inferno. This probably led to the adoption of the February 1874 Ordinance #69. The ordinance state that any building on Main street between 4th & Broadway had to meet the following qualifications. the outer walls must be brick or stone and no less than one foot in thickness . . . "no building shall be erected . . . without substantial fireproof wall extending one foot and six inches above where the roof conneccts with the walls and shall have a slate, metal or other fire proof roof."

(Kristine Schmucker)