Today we remember when "The North Wing of the famous Natural Bridge Hotel is a mass of flames." The story of The Natural Bridge Hotel fire was reported exactly 63 years ago, on April 24, 1963. The fire was discovered around 4:15 pm and The News-Gazette contacted the switch board only a half an hour later. The fire destroyed two of the five buildings, which was a major loss but the hotel was still able to function. No one was hurt, luckily.
The front page stories for April 24, 1963 were:
- The Natural Bridge fire details, continued on page7 (third image).
- Story about how the Natural Bridge Hotel manager is handling the aftermath.
- Another fire took place that week, with one fatality.
- A little background on the numerous owners of the Natural Bridge.
- A mobile x-ray unit was in Rockbridge County. During the first five days, 4,321 free x-rays were taken.
All of the photos of the fire and the complete story are included below. The second page with the photos of the Natural Bridge Hotel fire also has the movie ads for that weekend. The story is continued on the third picture, along with the continued story from the front page about a car accident fatality, and a large Kroger ad.
Rounding out this week's flashback are a couple of photos: a class from Lexington High School visited The News-Gazette and learned about the typesetting machine, and four young trumpet players participated in the country band workshop.
