Fires damage D.C. treasures

Two D.C. landmarks were heavily damaged yesterday in separate fires, saddening longtime residents and historians and leaving merchants and employees uncertain about their future.

The first blaze started at about 1 a.m. at the Eastern Market, destroying the southern section of the 134-year-old building that has become a cultural and economic hub of the Capitol Hill neighborhood. The second fire started at about noon at the D.C. Library System’s Georgetown branch.

“I’m sure it’ll be brought back, but it’s sad,” said 40-year-old John Burst, who often brings his children to the Eastern Market, a popular destination for D.C. residents and visitors, especially on weekends when they shop and mingle among vendors selling fresh vegetables, produce, and arts and crafts.

The fire damaged 75 percent of the building, in the 200 block of Seventh Street Southeast, before firefighters got it under control in about three hours, said Lawrence S. Schultz, a D.C. fire department assistant chief.

The first of about 150 firefighters responded in less than two minutes, he said.

Chief Schultz also said the South Hall, which housed mostly food vendors, was gutted but had no serious structural damage. The northern part of the building that housed an art gallery was not damaged. No injuries were reported.

Faithful customers and others began arriving at the market in the early morning to express their concern and sympathy.

Jose Canales spent much of yesterday saying “thank you” to sympathetic customers of his Canales Delicatessen.

Mr. Canales, 57, of Silver Spring, said he heard about the fire at 5:30 a.m. from his daughter who saw it on the news and called him. He said his first reaction to the smoldering building was “worse than I thought.” He opened the deli 24 years ago after leaving construction work.

“I was getting old,” he said. “I wanted to do something that would last a little longer.”

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty visited the scene and said he would help vendors find a place to operate and expedite the rebuilding.

“Eastern Market is a historic landmark that has been the lifeblood of the Capitol Hill neighborhood and a great source of pride for the entire city for more than a century,” he said.

Quest Skinner, a 29-year-old artist whose sells most of her work at the market, said that other venues will sustain her income for only two months and that she wants the mayor to act quickly.

“Give us more than what we’re losing,” Miss Skinner said. “I voted for you. Let my vote count.”

D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton also promised to help as did D.C. Council member Tommy Wells, the Democrat who represents Ward 6, where the market is located.

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