A fire at Montrose Court in 1928 resulted in what was reported at the time to be $250,000 in damages to the most luxurious apartment building in Johnson City.
That figure would translate to more than $4.3 million in today's dollars.
Built in 1923, the Tudor-styled Montrose Court was already a stylish landmark in the growing south side of the city. On Nov. 14, 1928, the Johnson City Chronicle reported that a late-morning “fire swept Montrose Court, Johnson City’s largest apartment house” located at the corner of Virginia Street, Locust Street and Southwest Avenue.
“The building was destroyed, along with most of the contents,” the newspaper said.
The Chronicle reported the fire “fanned by heavy wind, gained rapid headway while firemen and volunteers were replacing five or six sections of hose, which had burst under the heavy pressure of Johnson City’s only engine.”
Fire engines from Elizabethton and Erwin were later called to the scene to assist the seemingly overwhelmed Johnson City Fire Department.
Only one injury was reported from the fire, which was finally contained after a three-hour battle. The Chronicle said Hazen Redmond, 18, suffered a “painful laceration on his forehead when struck by a large picture which was thrown from one of the upper windows by some unthoughtful person who was making a feeble attempt to save as much equipment as possible.”
The Montrose Court fire, which was believed to have started in the chimney of one of the apartments, came as a blow for many residents of Johnson City. Just days following the blaze, the Chronicle noted that the program for the weekly Rotary Club meeting at the John Sevier Hotel had been canceled “on account of the general excitement” created by the Montrose Court fire.
“… As many prominent Rotarians who were scheduled for parts on the program live at that place and were unable to attend the meeting,” the paper reported.
At that time in 1928, Montrose Court was a happening place for both people and events in the region. Newspaper ads for rentals in “Johnson City’s finest apartment house” stressed the luxury and modern conveniences of “Beautiful Montrose Court.”
While not everyone could afford a four-room apartment in Montrose Court, it was still a place people wanted to visit. The Johnson City Staff-News reported on June 5, 1928, that the American Bemberg Concert Band made its debut at Montrose Court Park.
The band, under the direction Edward Sabarzo, played for officials of the American Bemberg and American Glanzstoff corporations and their invited guests.
That was only fitting since many of the top executives of those German-owned and Elizabethton-based textile companies lived in Montrose Court.
The Staff-News also reported in June 1928 that Dr. And Mrs. Max Fremery of Berlin, Germany, were to be long-term guests of Montrose Court resident, Dr. Arthur Mothwurff.
The newspaper reported Fremery was “one of the leading rayon authorities of Europe and took a leading part in the establishment of Glanzstoff and the rayon-making process used.” He was in the United States to inspect the Glanzstoff plant that was under construction at the time.
As the Staff-News would later report on Nov. 15 of that same year, Dr. Mothwurff was among a number of well-known Montrose Court residents who took up residence in the John Sevier Hotel following the fire.
Repercussions from the Montrose Court fire were felt for weeks to come. The Chronicle reported on Nov. 18, 1928, that a Johnson City commissioner was advocating for a major expansion of the city’s Fire Department as a result of shortcomings identified in its response to the Montrose Court fire.
Hugh F. Anderson, the city’s commissioner of finance, told the Chronicle that a new modern fire station was needed to replace facilities and equipment “that have become worn to such a point they may be broken down at any minute.”
Anderson pointed to the recent fire at Montrose Court as an example of the need for a third fire station in Johnson City.
“What if Engine No. 1, which was incidentally the only machine in service due to the other being damaged in a wreck, had been blocked by a train on Watauga Avenue,” he asked. “The machine would have lost many valuable minutes in going to another crossing to get to the fire.”
A day after the fire, the Staff-News reported Montrose Court, which was owned by the Southwest Apartment Co., was valued at $200,000 and was covered by $150,000 in insurance.
