The fire that destroyed the Hotel Windsor in Manhattan began around 3 p.m. on Friday, March 17, 1899. A St. Patrick's Day Parade had filled the streets to capacity so that fire engines had difficulty getting passed. The edifice burned quickly and completely, its huge chimneys lying in rubble. George Gould, son of Wall Street tycoon Jay Gould, considered the burned building a fire trap. He said so on the evening after the fire when he talked with reporters inside the Gould mansion. His sister Helen, had quickly turned over their stately Fifth Avenue home to the rescue effort. Thirty-three persons died in the blaze including several affluent lodgers. Conflicting stories were told regarding the fire's origins.