The once beautiful Coburn Hotel stands a frozen shell on the morning of March 4, 1918. The blaze started at the top of the building and firemen battled the flames for hours, hampered by a brisk wind and sub-freezing temperatures.

Unlike several previous hotel fires on this site, this time firemen and volunteers were able to save most of the guests' luggage and the contents of four ground level stores below.

When the smoke cleared and the ice melted, the owner was able to salvage the first two floors and re-roof the building for continued use.