As a kid living here in the early 1940s, I have fond memories of that section of Broadway. Those fond memories stretched forward to my days at the Enterprise, which was then located at 76 Broadway. There was a shoe business below street level on the corner of the Berkeley where a big St. Bernard dog was always sleeping one step down from the sidewalk; WNBZ Radio was located in the Berkeley on the second floor. Then down Broadway (and the ground floor of the Berkeley) there was the Cheeseman Sport Shop, Don Hall’s Cafe and Deli, a four-chair barber shop and the classy Stephen’s Men Shop; The Pontiac Theater, Sarbanes Homemade Candy Store, which one could enter from the theater lobby; (Visitors used to wonder how such a small village had such a magnificent Theater and I guess it had something to do with the family of the William Morris Theatrical Agency, the biggest in the world, owning a multi-million dollar “camp” on Lake Colby); then Edelberg’s Furs Incorporated, Downing and Cane’s (fancy) Restaurant and Wilson’s Clothing Company on the corner of Broadway and Woodruff Street.

Excerpts from the Enterprise fire story by E. J. Conzola II … Headlines …

“FIRE DESTROYS HISTORIC BERKELEY HOTEL — 22 People Left Homeless; 15 Businesses Destroyed”

“Seventy-nine firemen from four companies battled flames and sub-zero temperatures in a vain effort to save the historic Berkeley Hotel Saturday night.

Broadway and The Berkeley — Christmas in the 1920s or early ’30s. (Photo courtesy of the Adirondack Room of the Saranac Lake Free Library)

“The firemen braved temperatures which reached 20 below zero in a futile attempt to save the 104-year-old, mostly wooden structure. The wind chill factor through much of the night was minus 40 or colder.

“Twenty-two residents of the hotel were left homeless by the blaze. Six persons had to be rescued by snorkel truck from the third floor roof and one was removed by ladder from the second floor.

“The fire apparently began in the basement of the building near the main entrance, according to Saranac Lake Fire Chief John Bombard. Flames spread through the walls for several hours, making it difficult for firemen to pinpoint the center of the blaze. Flames broke through the roof around 8 p.m.

“The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, Bombard said. No one had been inside the building as of this morning, but firemen were hopeful that an investigation into the cause of the fire could begin today.

“There were reports that salamanders were being used to heat frozen pipes in the cellar the night of the fire.

“Firemen were called to the scene at 6:14 p.m. Fire Driver Kent Robinson, (I miss my good friend Kentsy) the first to enter the building, began evacuation procedures with the aid of an air pack. Heavy smoke forced firemen to work with the oxygen units most of the night.

“Robinson said that when he first entered the building, there was a thick smell of smoke in the air. He said he noticed scorched areas on the second floor walls, and that the walls were hot to the touch.

“Chief Bombard said that efforts to contain the fire were hampered by its location. Firemen were forced to cut through the walls to get to the fire, and Bombard said that by the time one fire center had been located and dealt with, the flames had spread through the walls to adjoining areas of the building.

“Although the upper two floors were almost completely gutted by the blaze, the first floor suffered little fire damage but was still almost totally destroyed by smoke and water. Bombard said that the internal sprinkler system, which came on immediately, prevented flames from spreading throughout the lower part of the structure.”