more than north of where it began. In eleven hours, of water were pumped to put out the fire. Additional fire trucks had been sent from nine Georgia towns (as far away as Macon and Augusta), as well as from Chattanooga and Knoxville in Tennessee. 1,938 buildings were destroyed over spanning 73 city blocks. Fires smoldered for the rest of the week. Aftermath Since more than 85% of the destroyed buildings had wood shingles, the city quickly passed an ordinance banning them for new construction. By 1931 all older buildings had replaced the wood shingles. In the history of the city, only Sherman's fire of 1864 did more extensive damage. Rebuilding was sporadic, with large swaths kept open for years. Commercial strips were quickly built on the destroyed portions of Edgewood and Auburn where busy streetcar routes ran: 17 and 3 respectively. Where large estates with spacious front yards had been, along the entire stretch of Boulevard up to Ponce, dozens of two- and three-storey apartment buildings that hugged the sidewalk were built. Large open spaces were left at what is now the King Memorial and at Bedford-Pine Park, now named Central Park (host of Music Midtown in the 2000s). Low-income housing developments were built in the destroyed extreme southern section and the areas south of North Avenue. Some around Boulevard and Highland were eventually developed as the campus for Atlanta Medical Center. Except for where single family homes were quickly rebuilt north of Ponce de Leon, the character of this large area of Atlanta was changed forever. The next U.S. fire of more significance wouldn't occur for more than 70 years: The Oakland Hills firestorm of 1991. References Atlanta Journal, 22 May 1917 Campbell, Steve B., "The Great Fire of Atlanta, May 21, 1917", Atlanta Historical Bulletin, Vol. XIII, No. 2 (June 1968), p. 9-48 Garrett, Franklin, Atlanta and Its Environs, 1954, Vol II, p. 700-706 Pomerantz, Gary, Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn, Scribner, 1996 External links Frank B. Davenport Photographs, 1917 from the Digital Library of Georgia Atlanta metropolitan area disasters Fire Atlanta Atlanta 1917 fires in the United States 1917 in Georgia (U.S. state) 20th century in Atlanta