Grady Hospital Interns Join the Fight

Two Grady Hospital doctors dug deep for courage as they joined the dangerous rescue efforts along the Winecoff Hotel's back side. Doctors Bithel Wall and Joseph Hooper were pictured in this Atlanta Constitution article published two days after the fire. Ladder rescues across the smoky alleyway were treacherous undertakings for these two interns and others like C. E. Burton (photo) who assisted dozens to safety. The interns' story is told beginning on page 113 of The Winecoff Fire.

Children of Bainbridge

The Youth Assembly delegates who perished in the Winecoff fire are remembered in Bainbridge, Georgia. As part of a college assignment, Addie Livingston,17, has written about them. She was asked to present her work to the Rotary Club in Bainbridge and it's been picked up by bainbridgega.com. Livingston deserves an A+ for her poignant and focused remembrance of the tragic event that continues to shape the values of Bainbridge. The article is here.

Reid and Cary Horne

Pictured here shortly before the Winecoff Hotel fire are Reid and Cary Horne. Together they ran a grocery business in Cordele, Georgia. They were frequent visitors to Atlanta. Young and full of life, they enjoyed the excitement of "the big city". This photo shows them walking in front of Davison-Paxon's Department Store, a stone's throw from The Winecoff Hotel and on the same side of Peachtree St.

They were in the hotel on December 7, 1946 - room 1606 - on the Peachtree St. side when the fire began. Their struggle to survive included several acts of high drama acrobatics on the outside of the hotel - fifteen stories up. They were forced by smoke to leave through the window of room 1606, down to 1506, then to make a terrifying, sidestepping journey along a tiny ledge at the fifteenth floor and eventually up by sheet rope to room 1612.

From there the Hornes' survival strategy had to be revised several times, risks re-assessed. New escape plans were implemented and abandoned as other hotel guests perished all around them.

The Hornes' harrowing story is told beginning on page 97 of The Winecoff Fire.

Listen to a brief segment of the authors' original 1986 interview with Reid and Cary Horne. Reid tells about the unusual thing he did, standing at the window of room 1612, when all hope for survival seemed lost. Click here.

Major General Paul Baade

During World War II Winecoff fire survivor Paul Baade was commander of the 35th Infantry Division in Europe. His division saw almost continuous combat action during the eleven months that followed D-Day. His wartime papers are housed at the Truman Library.

A veteran of both World Wars, Paul Baade, 57, was sixty-eight days into retirement when he and wife Margaret were guests at Atlanta's Winecoff Hotel.

"My wife and I were awakened to the screams of, 'help help'. We got up. I smelled a little smoke. I opened the door, found the hall full of smoke and realized we could only be saved out the window," Baade said. They were trapped - six stories up.

The corner room afforded a view of both Ellis Street and the back ally. Slowly the enormity of the event and the urgency of their situation within it became evident. Fire was below them and rising. A grueling period of uncertainty ensued. An areal ladder was fully extended toward room 618.

"When the ladder did arrive, it was only six inches on the window and how Mrs. Baade and myself got on and down is still a miracle," he said.

Baade said of the Winecoff fire, "I have never seen anything worse than this in all of my experience in the war. There you have chance for an escape. You can lie down or you can move. Here you just had to wait."

Nell McDuffie

Nell McDuffie came to work at the Winecoff Hotel in 1928. She was a capable secretary to several general managers during the next eighteen years. She knew the hotel's operation top to bottom. "I was sort of the assistant manager and just general flunky really," she said. During World War II she moved into the hotel.

She survived the Winecoff fire when Atlanta firefighters rescued her by ladder from the window of room 1120, across the ten foot ally way and into the Mortgage Guarantee building. She was still there when Ed Kiker Williams fell - unconscious - from room 1520 and landed miraculously on the ladder still stretched across the ally - a three story plunge. He was injured but survived.

McDuffie later recovered the Gideons bible from her room and claimed it as her own with an inscription. She also typed out some of her special memories of her years at the hotel. Nell McDuffie moved to Raleigh, NC. following the fire but eventually returned to Atlanta.

Listen to a three minute excerpt from The Winecoff Fire authors' 1987 interview with Nell McDuffie. She is asked about co-lessor Robert O'Connell and a disturbance in the hotel's bar on Thursday night December 5th, 1946. Click here.

Awestruck

Atlanta Journal photographer Bill Wilson captured this photo on Sunday December 8th, 1946 - one day after the fire. (Click on photo to enlarge it.)

Dwight Morrison Photo Newly Acquired

This photo of Winecoff fire victim Dwight Morrison, 26, and his wife Hilda was taken in early 1946 shortly after their marriage. They'd met a year earlier while Dwight was stationed at Tyndall Field in Panama City, Florida.

During World War II Dwight Morrison was a B-26 pilot who flew sixty-five bombing missions over Europe. His fellow pilots felt safe when Dwight would lead their group because he was "lucky," one said.

Like several other Winecoff Hotel guests, Morrison was on terminal leave from the service at the time of the fire. He was in room 1026 on the building's back side above the alley. His brother, Wilbur Morrison, went up to Dwight's room the week after the fire and found a rope made of sheets in the room. Two months after the fire Hilda gave birth to the couple's son, Dwight Jr. A few years later Hilda was drawn to room 1026. She told Winecoff Fire co-author Sam Heys, "You think you want to go up there but then you get up there and it's like you don't have any legs."

To honor the memory of her husband, Hilda - along with another of Dwight's brothers, Carlton Morrison - attended a remembrance ceremony in Atlanta in 1993 recognizing the 119 victims of the Winecoff fire.

The Morrisons' story is told on pages 168, 169 and 217 of The Winecoff Fire.

Ethel Stewart - Photo Newly Acquired

From the very home in which she grew up comes this photo of Winecoff fire victim Ethel Stewart. Miss Stewart, 20, and five other young female victims were University of Alabama students. They were in Atlanta working internships at Davison's and Rich's department stores. Ethel Stewart was prepared to work the Christmas rush at Rich's. She had worked at her parents' country store during high school. She was a senior at the university and was engaged to be married.
"She was very outgoing, very lovable, very smart, down to earth and easy-going" said her hotel roommate, survivor Rose Harvey, in an interview with Winecoff Fire co-author Sam Heys.
The photo was submitted by her nephew, Allen Stewart of Ralph, Alabama. He lives in the same house where his Aunt Ethel grew up. Her personal dressing table is still kept in the home. Ethel Stewart's story in told beginning on page 53 of The Winecoff Fire.

Sworn Statement Discovered

An original 1946 copy of a sworn statement given by Winecoff fire survivor Paul Lankford has been discovered. Lankford, 26, of Birmingham, Alabama was an Army Air Force veteran of World War II and was in Atlanta working for the Southern Natural Gas Co. He was asleep in room 324 of the hotel when the fire broke out and was one the first to discover it.
In the weeks that followed, he was one of many asked to give sworn statements to insurance investigators.
His son Wayne recently made the find: his dad's carbon copy of the statement. The statement is here. Paul Lankford's story is told beginning on page 21 of The Winecoff Fire.

Bainbridge High Senior Girls

Pictured here shortly before the Winecoff fire are three who perished: Sue Broome (left), Ruth Powell (center right) and Maxine Willis (right). The three Bainbridge, Georgia high school seniors were Youth Assembly delegates and were registered into room 920 of the hotel. This photograph appeared in The Bainbridge Post-Searchlight in 1993. Also pictured is Mary Francis Barber (center left).

Richard Turk - Newly Acquired Photo

Richard B. Turk, room 1022, used a blanket and a rope to help three other guests escape the fire before escaping himself. His story is told beginning on page 68 of The Winecoff Fire.

Bob & Pauline Bault - Newly Acquired Photo

Few survived The Winecoff fire as narrowly as Bob & Pauline Bault. Fourteen floors above Peachtree St. searchlights found them and spectators gasped as they moved precariously from the window of room 1404 to the window of room 1406. Trapped there, room 1406 became a virtual oven during the fire. It was directly above the middle floors which were roaring flames from their windows during the fire's explosive flashover. Fortunately, eleven month old Sally Bault was safe at home with the family's maid. The Baults' story is told in chapter three of The Winecoff Fire.

Tested And Found Worthy

Atlanta firefighter Richard Ellington, 56, moves across his ladder from the roof of The Mortgage Guarantee Building toward room 1518 of the burning Winecoff Hotel. Even through dense smoke rising in the alleyway, many were rescued using this method. Ellington's son Relford, 26, also fought the blaze.

Margaret & Warren Foster - Newly Acquired Photo!

Margaret and Warren Foster were rescued by ladder from room 508.
It was what Warren overheard happening in the room next door, prior to the fire, that has intrigued arson investigators ever since. He overheard an argument, a fist fight, breaking glass and a threat as a man departed room 510-12, "I'll get even with you before the night's over!"

Connie Foster

One year old, Connie Foster and her parents were recued from room 508 by Atlanta Fire Captain Rick Roberts. He carried little Connie down a ladder to the safety of Peachtree Street. "That baby was smiling all the way down the ladder," said Captain Roberts.
This newly acquired photo shows Connie in the dress her parents bought for her at Davison's Department Store following the fire.
Connie Foster and Rick Roberts were reunited first in 1993 after the publication of The Winecoff Fire and again in 2006. Said Roberts, "I recognized her eyes immediately!"

Water Pitcher Discovered

Winecoff Fire reader Julie Cleaves discovered this hammered copper water pitcher at a Pennsylvania antiques auction. What caught her attention was a mysterious tag attached to it. It reads: "Hand Made Hammer Copper Water Picture From Wine Coft Hotel Atlanta". Julie quickly assumed that the word "picture" was intended to be "pitcher" and that "Wine Coft" should read "Winecoff". Did this pitcher actually come from the Winecoff Hotel? We're posting this photo in hopes the pitcher will look familiar to one of our readers. If so, e-mail Winecoff Fire co-author Allen B. Goodwin: allenbgoodwin@yahoo.com

Ed Kiker Williams - Newly Acquired Photo

Ed Kiker Williams, 15, was excited about going to Atlanta. When he left Cordele, Ga. that Friday he was behind the wheel of his aunt's big blue Buick. His mom, aunt, little sister and three cousins were all on board. The weekend in Atlanta was a shining star ahead for each of them. His sister Clair had her heart set on seeing the Disney film, Song of the South. The ladies were going to Christmas shop for special gifts unavailable in Cordele. Ed was content just to be the driver.
The group took two rooms in the Winecoff Hotel, 1530 for his aunt and cousins, 1520 for him, his mom and little sister.
At 3:42 am Saturday morning life began to change for Ed Kiker Williams. The story of his struggle to live and his miraculous survival is told in Chapter 4 of The Winecoff Fire.
Hear a six minute segment of the authors' original 1986 interview with Mr. Williams: Ed Kiker Williams.mp3

Mildred Johnson - Newly Acquired Photo

Mildred Johnson, room 628, fell into the alley behind the Winecoff Hotel when flames from the window of room 528 severed her sheet rope. She survived with injuries. One hand was permanently disfigured by the fall. This photo, taken before the fire, was one of her favorites because it shows her hands. Her story is told on pages 26 and 166 of The Winecoff Fire.

Vintage Newspaper Discovered!

Winecoff Fire reader Donna Howard Parker has discovered this vintage issue of The Augusta Chronicle. It is dated Sunday December 8th, 1946. Donna reports it was found among the effects of the late Lilly Howard of Augusta, Ga. Lilly saved the issue throughout her life because she was so touched by the tragedy it describes. The earliest news reports inaccurately inflated the number of fatalities. The correct count was 119. One U.P.I. story reported 123. This issue reports 127. It also includes a vivid account of the Muns brothers' miraculous escape from room 1206 via sheetropes.

Winecoff Remembrance Page Debuts

To honor the victims of the Winecoff Hotel fire, winecoff.org debuts a special Remembrance Page. The page will feature photographs we acquire of the fire's victims. Family and friends are invited to submit photos to Winecoff Fire co-author Allen B. Goodwin, 110 Sweetwood Way Roswell, Ga. 30076-2750 or via e-mail: allenbgoodwin@yahoo.com . Your photos will be scanned and returned to you promptly.
The Remembrance Page is here

A Pulitzer Prize Winner Passes

Pulitzer Prize winning amateur photographer Arnold Hardy has died. He was the Georgia Tech student who brought the most memorable image of the Winecoff Hotel fire to the world.
Hardy passed away December 5th from complications following hip surgery. His funeral was held, fittingly, on December 7th, the sixty-first anniversary of the fire that brought him a Pulitzer Prize -- and a sense of consternation that it was earned in the midst of tragedy.

For more than forty years the woman in the famous photo remained unidentified and was presumed to have died from her fall. In 1993 the book The Winecoff Fire revealed that she was a badly injured survivor, Daisy McCumber.

Hardy was a mechanical engineer and founder of Hardy Manufacturing, which still makes medical X-Ray equipment.
He was proud of his photo. He was most proud, however, of the important role it played in shaping public opinion to improve fire safety codes worldwide. He was 85.
Arnold Hardy: A useful life - defined by a moment that mattered.

To read the Associated Press obituary click here

The Luckey Brothers - Newly Discovered Photos

A Winecoff Fire reader has agreed to share these newly discovered photos of her great uncles, King & Frank Luckey. The Luckey brothers are believed to have been among the group of gamblers who occupied room 330 of the Winecoff Hotel at the time of the fire.

She also made this surprising revelation: "I've talked to my aunts and uncles and from things that were said in the family or things they've heard from family members or rumored in the family was that King and Frank started the fire. One uncle heard that they escaped from a third room window and climbed on the roof top of a building next door. He also said that he heard the reason was because they were accused of cheating while gambling that night. Now whether or not this is true we will never know."

In interviews with "The Winecoff Fire" authors Sam Heys and Allen B. Goodwin, two Atlanta newspaper reporters also put credence in the idea that the fire was somehow tied to the poker game in room 330.

In 1993 Atlanta Constitution reporter Keeler McCartney said, "It was the card game. Somebody got thrown out and then came back. But I never could nail it down and neither could the police."

In 1985 Atlanta Journal reporter Aubrey Morris said, "I remember the stories that allegedly someone in the poker game got mad and set fire to the place."

Both of the Luckey brothers are now deceased.

This and other arson theories are examined in Chapter 10 of The Winecoff Fire: The Untold Story of America's Deadliest Hotel Fire.

Survivors & Victims' Families Gather

A special gathering was held on the sixty-first anniversary of the Winecoff fire. Survivors, eyewitnesses and the families of the fire's victims and survivors met in the Carnegie Room in the Ellis Hotel on Friday December 7, 2007. The Ellis is the newly refurbished facility located in the old Winecoff Hotel building at 176 Peachtree St. in Atlanta.

Several reunions and remembrances have been held before and they always provide the attendees with answers to nagging questions and a sense of closure for those still affected by the tragic fire. Read an account of this moving event here.

Winecoff Hotel Stationery

Winecoff Fire reader John Hall submitted this picture of his piece of original Winecoff Hotel stationery. Several versions of the stationery were produced through the years. This piece is believed to be from 1925. One of the many ironies surrounding the tragic Winecoff fire was the long held - but impossible - claim that the hotel was "Absolutely Fireproof". (Click to enlarge the picture.)

Newly Discovered Photos!

Two photos of Winecoff fire victim Laura Miranda have been discovered! Winecoff Fire reader Gail Williams made the find. These photos, taken in 1944 at a cabin near Lake Jackson, have been among her family's effects for all these years.

In 1946 Laura Miranda worked as a beautician in the Loew's Grand Theater Building, across Peachtree Street from the Winecoff Hotel. She was scheduled to report for work early Saturday morning so she elected to take a room in the Winecoff on Friday night rather than take an early trolley into town. She was in room 826. Laura Miranda was thirty six years old at the time of the tragic fire. Gail Williams asks that the descendants of Laura Miranda be made aware of the find.

Winecoff Feature Story Airs

The story of the 1946 Winecoff Hotel fire was featured in the April 28th episode of TBS STORYline, a weekly magazine series which airs on WTBS, channel 17 in Atlanta. The feature story included interviews, newsreel footage and vintage photographs from the disaster often dubbed "Atlanta's Titanic". The piece was broadcast in the Atlanta area only.

It is now viewable on winecoff. org. Click here

Newly Discovered: Unidentified Survivors

If you recognize anyone in these photographs, please email co-author Allen Goodwin at allenbgoodwin@yahoo.com

Newly Discovered: Firestorm

Winecoff Hotel Postcards

Picture Postcards:

• Cozy Room
• Lobby
• Tower
• Dining Areas
• Christmas Card
• Absolutely Fireproof
• Southward View
• Circa 1917

Memorabilia:

• Matchbook
• Hotel Stationery
• Silver Plate
• Silver Plate Insignia
• Match & Candel Holder
• Demitasse Cup
• Luggage Decal
• Brush Holder
• Spittoon
• Table
• Side Dish
• Record Label

The Book

The Winecoff Fire: The Untold Story of America's Deadliest Hotel Fire

Email co-author Allen B. Goodwin: allenbgoodwin@yahoo.com.

Atlanta's Winecoff Hotel had been billed as "fireproof, " but in the predawn hours of December 7, 1946--on the fifth anniversary of Pearl Harbor--280 of its citizens awoke suddenly in a hotel already burning wildly out of control.

This was the worst hotel fire in U.S. history, killing 119 people. The 15-story building still stands. At the time, the building had neither fire escapes, fire doors, nor sprinklers. For two and a half hours, Atlanta fire fighters and others from nearby towns battled valiantly in the cold to save the majority of the 280 guests. Their ladders reached only to the eighth floor and their nets were not strong enough to withstand jumps of more than 70 feet. Numerous guests died on the sidewalks and in the alley behind the building. Thirty of the 119 victims were among Georgia's most promising high school students, who had come to Atlanta to attend the YMCA's Youth Assembly at the Capitol.

The Winecoff fire became the watershed event in fire safety. Within days, cities across America began enacting more stringent safety ordinances. The fact that the Winecoff fire remains the worst hotel fire in U.S. history is testimony to its impact on modern fire safety codes. Here is the story of the catastrophe, and of the investigation that went awry. 30 photographs

Publisher: Longstreet Press (May 1993)

Over 30 pictures throughout the book, including the famous Pulitzer Prize photo and a hotel floor-plan

ISBN is 1-56352-069-9

This book is out of print, but you may wish to contact Allen B. Goodwin of Roswell GA at (770) 992-9515. Allen co-authored the book with Sam Heys and has some extra copies left.