I remember the day the Holiday Inn burnt down. It was in the spring 1999 and you could see and smell the smoke for miles. It was a school day and instead of walking home, we walked toward the smoke. The burn in the nostrils said that walking down was probably a bad idea but looking from the park on Riverside toward the bridge, it was clear that something we didn’t want to be close to was happening. We were teenaged boys so not inclined towards solid common sense. By the time we got close enough to see the flames, the police had cordoned off the road. There was fireboats on the water spraying the building. Don’t think I ever saw a fire boat before that. The sidewalk was packed with people talking about who did it and how it happened – lot of conspiracy theories for sure. I don’t think there was ever a cause determined. The fire was just that bad. There was just a shell left. The smoke was in the air for a while after that. Eventually, when they were cleaning up, I walked down to look at the devastation. I’m surprised that you don’t see the scars in the park to this day.
Mike – 38 – Windsor
Picture from SWODA. Click here to see original source.
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