When dealing with old photos, one of the issues that comes up fairly often is determining when a particular ‘old photo’ was taken. That’s certainly not the case with this one, as someone, using white ink, took the liberty of noting the date that a large section of the former Holbrook-Marshall wholesale grocery warehouse collapsed, apparently under the weight of hundreds of boxes of cereal stored on the third floor. According to a Telegraph account, the timbers supporting the third floor gave way, sometime around dawn on Nov. 30, 1906, which in turn ‘gave a leverage that crackled the outside wall of the building like an egg shell.’ The resulting ‘domino’ effect ‘crumpled the two lower floors like paper,’ the Telegraph reported, and the result was a large portion of the building contents spilling out onto Dearborn Street and the remainder landing in the basement. The building was near East Hollis Street and faced Dearborn Street, according to the Telegraph, meaning it probably stood along the former section of Dearborn Street that has since been reconfigured and renamed Medical Center Drive. Elmer Marshall, an owner of the business, told the Telegraph he had just a week earlier ordered employees not to store anything else in that area of the building, adding that he was confident the building would then be safe. But it was just a week later that, around 5:30 a.m., the timbers gave way, despite Marshall having pronounced it safe. Hundreds of curious Nashuans rushed to the scene upon hearing of the collapse, and ‘many cameras were in evidence, procuring views of one section and another of the building.’

When dealing with old photos, one of the issues that comes up fairly often is determining when a particular ‘old photo’ was taken. That’s certainly not the case with this one, as someone, using white ink, took the liberty of noting the date that a large section of the former Holbrook-Marshall wholesale grocery warehouse collapsed, apparently under the weight of hundreds of boxes of cereal stored on the third floor. According to a Telegraph account, the timbers supporting the third floor gave way, sometime around dawn on Nov. 30, 1906, which in turn ‘gave a leverage that crackled the outside wall of the building like an egg shell.’ The resulting ‘domino’ effect ‘crumpled the two lower floors like paper,’ the Telegraph reported, and the result was a large portion of the building contents spilling out onto Dearborn Street and the remainder landing in the basement. The building was near East Hollis Street and faced Dearborn Street, according to the Telegraph, meaning it probably stood along the former section of Dearborn Street that has since been reconfigured and renamed Medical Center Drive. Elmer Marshall, an owner of the business, told the Telegraph he had just a week earlier ordered employees not to store anything else in that area of the building, adding that he was confident the building would then be safe. But it was just a week later that, around 5:30 a.m., the timbers gave way, despite Marshall having pronounced it safe. Hundreds of curious Nashuans rushed to the scene upon hearing of the collapse, and ‘many cameras were in evidence, procuring views of one section and another of the building.’