"The old files of the Daily and Ariel, together with the pictures of former boards are of course ruined.”
Main Building (Old Main), 1904
Cover, "Fire Extra!," The Minnesota Daily, September 24, 1904
Article Clipping, "The Fire Extra is Greatest Ever," The Minnesota Daily, September 27, 1904
Issues of The Minnesota Daily published in the opening weeks of the 1904-1905 school year covered the meetings, receptions, and contests held by student organizations, reported on class elections and prospects of the football team, and announced that just over 2,700 students were registered for the upcoming term.
Then, on September 24, 1904, “a stupendous calamity” occurred. In the early morning, a fire broke out in the Main Building. As firefighters fought to extinguish the flames, Daily editors set up a temporary office in the adjacent Library Building (Burton Hall).
By 3 p.m. that afternoon, the “Fire Extra” was printed and distributed on the University campus. The first “extra” edition of the Daily recounted the “Story of the Fire” and included an article on the history of the building. Other articles informed readers on the plan for relocation of classes and offices, reported the estimated losses and damage, and included reactions from faculty, staff, and students.
Insight into how the issue came together, which also included a complimentary review from a city newspaper, was printed in the article, “The Fire Extra is Greatest Ever,” on the front page of the next regular issue.
