In our April issue — on newsstands NOW — I showed you several great color photographs of the April 17, 1960, fire that destroyed Russwood Park. It's still considered one of the worst fires in our city's history.
Space in the magazine prevented me from including all the photographs that I had discovered at a local estate sale, showing the ruins of the old ballpark the morning after the blaze. So here are a few others, for your viewing pleasure.
The fire was so huge and so intense that it actually cracked windows in Baptist Hospital across the street, forcing the evacuation of patients from that hospital and John Gaston Hospital next door.
The shot of Madison shows the cars filled with people wanting to see whatever was left of the old stadium. If you're thinking, "Where is Russwood in this picture?" well that's the point. Russwood was gone. A gleaming new medical building and parking garage stand on the site today, but for the whole story, turn to pages 124-125 in the April issue.
