FULTON COUNTY, GA - HISTORY  Winecoff Hotel Fire

Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm

This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb
Archives by: page007655@cs.com Jan Page

http://www.angelfire.com/weird2/georgia/
Gone and Not Forgotten 

Georgia Table of Contents: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm


THE WINECOFF HOTEL FIRE

At around 3:00 AM on December 7, 1946, the deadliest
hotel fire in North American history took place.  It
was at the Winecoff Hotel on the corner of Peachtree
Street and Ellis Street in downtown Atlanta.  The
Winecoff was 15 stories tall and billed as the tallest
hotel in Atlanta.  The Winecoff was also billed as
firepfroof becasue of its brick construction.  The
fire killed 119 of the 280 people staying in the
hotel.  Many were High School students that were there
for some kind of convention.  My Mom told me many
times that there were students from Jordan there.
Some of the girls could only be identified by their
class rings.  The victims were burned to death, died
from smoke inhalation or jumped from the windows.

My Great Aunt Tillie was working for Southern Bell
(Bell South) At the time of the fire.  She was also a
resident of the Winecoff.  It just so happened, that
night an employee did not report to work and my Great
Aunt worked a double shift. If that employee had come
to work, My Aunt Tillie would have been there, asleep,
at the time of the disaster. My Grandmother was
frantic until she heard from her sister.

There were no fire escapes, sprinklers or fire doors
when the fire took place. Because of the Winecoff
disaster Many fire codes were improved or updated. The
fire was at first thought to be an accident.But,there
is a strong possibility it could have been arson .
The Winecoff still stands today.  It has been vacant
for many years.  There has been interest in developing
it into a boutique/hotel.

Last year I nearly broke my neck trying to photograph
the marker that tells about the tragedy. I thought the
marker was on the site of the old hotel, not next to
it!  When I got home and researched  the hotel, and
found out it was not destroyed or demolished, but
right where it had always been, I was sick!  I wish I
could have taken better pictures, but it was not an
easy building to photograph. If you have any personal
or family stories about the Winecoff, I will be glad
to post them here.                        

Photos online
http://www.angelfire.com/weird2/georgia/page4.html