The oldest of the buildings in the Yard, Massachusetts Hall, was threatened with destruction when a fire broke out on the roof yesterday morning. Built in 1720, Massachusetts Hall was used as a barracks during the Revolution and is replete with historical significance.

Flames issuing from the roof of Massachusetts. Hall caused an undergraduate in Matthews to turn in an alarm at 9.15 yesterday morning. Soon after the fire apparatus arrived a crowd of under-graduates and professors, including President Lowell, surrounded the building. Although the conflagation was entirely confined to the rafters, a large part of the building was damaged by water. The total destruction, according to an estimate made by Mr. W. S. Burke, inspector of the grounds and buildings, did not exceed $5,000.

Flames Crept Eastward

The fire was first discovered after it had eaten its way through a portion of the roof on the southern side of the building. For over half an hour the flames crept eastward, practically destroying that end of the roof. The office of the Department of Economics, which is directly beneath the burned portion of the roof, was very badly damaged by water. Fortunately all the valuable documents, including three sole copies of Ph.D. theses, were rescued in time. A good deal of the wall had to be torn down in an endeavor to trace the source of the fire.

The floor of the 47 Workshop was covered with an inch of water. The harm done to the scenery cannot be estimated until it dries out. "If it warps," said Professor G. P. Baker '87 when questioned by a CRIMSON reporter, "it will be destroyed, but I cannot tell yet just what will happen. By the greatest piece of luck all the scenery for our coming play next week was removed yesterday to Agassiz House."

Explanations Abound

Although no definite solution has been reached as to the source of the fire, four theories were suggested by the firemen. The first, that of a defective electric light wire, was investigated, but but quickly rejected. A far more likely explanation lays the cause of the fire to a nest, built by either birds or mice, in which a match might have been used in the process of construction and then accidently ignited. Another fireman suggested that the workmen who had been repairing the southern side of the roof the evening before might have carelessly dropped a match or a cigarette. The chief, however, regarded it unlikely that the fire could have smoldered so long without breaking out.

The theory that appeared the soundest was that some one threw a match out of a window in Matthews Hall late in the night, which was carried across to Massachusetts Hall by the wind. According to Mr. C. R. Apted, Superintendent of CareTakers, this could easily have happened, as the wind was due east all night and might well have carried the cigarette across the 60-foot interval.