History: Out of the ashes

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The Boston Theatre area of Washington Street before fire destroyed the commercial district in 1872.

The Great Boston Fire of 1872 destroyed Boston’s commercial district in a swath running from the Boston Common to the waterfront.

Boston’s commercial district was thriving on Saturday, Nov, 9, 1872. The next day it lay in smoldering ruins after an overnight conflagration. The Great Boston Fire claimed 30 lives and destroyed nearly 1,000 buildings. Damages were estimated at $75 million -- more than $1.3 billion in today’s dollars.

An 1882 drawing shows the Dobson-designed warehouse, which initally housed furniture and, later, carpets.

Private commercial holdings and insurance funded a massive rebuilding effort after the 1872 fire.

Well-respected Boston architects Levi Newcomb & Son designed a warehouse in the era’s High Victorian style at 323 Washington St., an area that also housed theaters. Decades later the warehouse was converted into the Modern Theatre.