“An alarm of fire from box 27 at 1 o’clock this morning called the firemen to the home of David Letts on the street commonly termed in the first ward ‘the Rhine.’ The house was one of the largest although perhaps not the most elegant in that neighborhood and the flames from it illuminated the entire western horizon so that many persons uptown thought that one of the factories in that part of the city was afire.
The run made by Companies 2 and 3 down the straight stretch of Seneca street was a fine one but as it was necessary to connect the hose of three companies to reach the fire it had gained considerable headway when the firemen reached the house, so that it was ultimately consumed.
David Letts, the owner of the building, was carried out by one of the firemen, having been left in the house in a feeble condition by the other occupants.
The cause of the fire is unknown but is alleged to have resulted from a revel held in the house last evening.”
“Early Morning Fire: Home of David Letts on the ‘Rhine’ Totally Destroyed,” Ithaca Daily Journal, March 14, 1905,