Georgetown – The Great Fire of 1945
Re- Stabroek News May 7th. 2000
RA&CS building ablaze
As people jumped up in the streets on Mashramani, they probably did not realize that in addition to being the thirtieth anniversary of Guyana’s advent to republican status, the day also marked the fifty-fifth anniversary of possibly the most destructive fire in Georgetown’s history.
On February 23, 1945, the Great Fire, as it came to be known, devastated the commercial heart of the capital, and consumed a host of historical and architectural gems which had given the city its aesthetic flair. In addition, it laid waste the RA&CS building and its unique collection of books and papers pertaining to the past of this country.
Beginning in what was then Bookers Drug Store, the fire raged virtually unimpeded for five hours, incinerating 23 buildings, damaging seven others, and scorching several more. [Read more of The Great Fire of 1945]
— Post # 1820
