PHOTOS: Where were you on the night of March 25, 1962?
If you were in the city of Manitowoc on that cold spring morning, you most likely remember what Fire Chief James Danielson called “The biggest and most spectacular fire ever in Manitowoc.”
It was just around midnight when a fireman looked out a window of the old Franklin Street station and saw flames coming from Elevator B, formerly owned by the Northern Grain Company, which was four blocks away.
The elevator was built in 1899 when Manitowoc was a major shipping port for grain. The Northern Grain Company built large elevators west of the Main Street Bridge on the Manitowoc River.
Elevator B was across the river along South Water Street, between 12th and 13th streets. It had a capacity of 800,000 bushels.
An annex, capable of storing 1 million bushels, was added in 1900.