Fire at Faulkner’s Drugs (1964)

Duration: 0:03:22

Year Published: 1964

Format: 16mm

Sound: silent

Description: Footage from an Austin based network news affiliate shows firemen struggling with a conflagration at Faulkner's Drugs. On the afternoon of October 23, 1964, a canister of cleaning solvent exploded in the back room of the University Typing Exchange. Fire quickly spread from its roof to Faulkner’s Drug Store, where the roof eventually collapsed and covered the entire foundation in smoke and fire. Fire fighters were on the scene from 3 p.m. until 10 p.m.Faulkner’s, located at 2552 Guadalupe, was often frequented by University of Texas students cash checks. The crowd in the film was reported to be an unruly group of students who dented a fire truck by standing on it. The fire cost sizable damages, upwards of $200,000, but no lives were lost.In its present-day location at 2552 Guadalupe stands a bar called Hole-in-the-Wall and a Jack-in-the-Box restaurant.