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Lessons From The Past Ail Editorial THE FIRE which destroyed the Straight Wharf Theatre several weeks ago was a severe test for the Nantucket Fire Department, and through the efforts of the firemen Nantucket was saved from a con flagration that could have burned out the entire area of the closely built structures. One of the major reasons for the success of the firemen in controlling the blaze and confining it to the Theatre building was the fact that the old brick warehouse next door served as a bulwark against the spread of the flames and enabled the firemen to concentrate on saving the Captain Tobey's Restaurant on the east side of the Theatre. Despite the fact that the entire side of the old warehouse had to have a complete new brick wall the structure stood up against the searing heat and provided the stop against the leaping menace of the flames. Here was a case where a lesson learned from the Great Fire of 1846 had a direct application in preventing what could have been another major disaster. No sooner had the devastation created by the con flagration of 1846 been assessed than the merchants of the town began to plan for the rebuilding of the businesses and wharf areas. On Main Street Square the brick blocks were constructed, which today contribute so much to the atmosphere of the entire area. Richard Mitchell built the brick candle house that was later taken over by Hadwen and Barney and is now the Whaling Museum, and on Straight Wharf another brick warehouse was erected for Thomas Macy. The sons of Thomas, Isaac and Philip Macy, took over the owner ship of the building, and the manager of the firm was Joseph B. Macy who, a few years later, acquired the warehouse. Here he set up the counting house for outfitting the last whaleships to sail from Nantucket, and when the bark Oak cleared from this harbor in 1869 it marked the end to the great industry that had made Nantucket world-famous. Here, also, Joseph B. Macy organized the Nantucket Fishing Company and, with hfs associates, tried to create a fleet of fishing schooners for Nantucket. One of the features of the Macy counting house in the structure was the huge iron safe that had been removed from the ashes of the Manufacturers & Mechanics Bank on the corner of Federal and Main streets, presently "The Hub". The iron doors are now in the Whaling Museum's reception area. In July, 1905, the Macy warehouse was sold to James A. Holmes Jr., and B. Chester Pease, and became a carpenter shop for two decades, subsequently serving as a storage warehouse. Kenneth Taylor,
