Jill Andrews spent 16 years curating a dreamy bridal studio inside a Victorian-style red-brick building in Hampden known as “The Castle.” Racks and shelves of vintage French lace and Chanel fabric. Antique mirrors and family heirlooms to add to the enchantment.
There was no place like it in Baltimore.
Andrews, who has dressed Maryland first lady Dawn Moore and was putting the final touches on a gown for this weekend, had just closed the doors on Monday afternoon and headed to the post office when her phone rang: Black smoke was pouring from the roof of the building. She rushed back.
“All I could do was watch it burn,” she said. “Like watching your life’s work just completely going up.”
A three-alarm fire engulfed the top of the historic former police station, filling the shops and offices inside with smoke and ash, then water from the firehoses that poured down through three floors to pool in the basement.
The fire burned through the attic and roof of the Baltimore landmark — a gut punch to begin fire season.
And it followed Friday’s four-alarm blaze that engulfed a commercial building in Remington and displaced two dozen nearby residents. Melted Barbies and scorched Uno cards and back scratchers were strewn about the alleys over the weekend.
No one was injured in either fire. Investigators believe the Remington fire started outside, but the winds blew in the flames. The cause of the Hampden fire remains under investigation.
In cold weather, residents might turn up their stoves or use indoor kerosene heaters, which are illegal in the city, to keep warm. Or they may place space heaters dangerously close to flammable materials. Some fires are caused by Christmas lights and trees, or by people who break into vacant houses for warmth and shelter.
“We always see an uptick in the winter,” said John Marsh, a spokesman for the Fire Department.
With its red stone and turrets, “The Castle” towers over the block of 34th Street famous for its display of Christmas lights.
The building was constructed in 1899 and used as the Northern District Police Station. The basement still holds the solitary confinement cells.
The city sold it in 2003, and it changed hands again privately. Soon, the building reopened as a space for offices and shops, including Jill Andrews Gowns, therapists and the nonprofit Community Law Center.
Tuesday morning, cleanup crews worked to wash away soot and ash. The roof was burned out, and the smell of smoke filled the halls. Some people who worked in the building milled about in disbelief.
Law center staff tried to salvage what they could from their wrecked office upstairs.
They had treasured the historic building, Executive Director Amy Petkovsek wrote in an email. The center is accepting donations of money and office space.
Councilwoman Odette Ramos said she spoke to a representative of the building’s owner and they plan to repair the damage.
“It’s a sturdy building,” Ramos said. “They don’t make buildings like that anymore.”
The building was also familiar for the pregnancy and parenting classes held by the Womb Room. Instructors announced after the fire that they were moving class to other spaces and online. Inside the Womb Room early Tuesday, a window was shattered and water drenched the floor.
In the front of the building was the wrecked bridal shop, with Andrews picking through the debris.
Andrews studied fashion in New York and worked for 14 years making costumes for Baltimore Center Stage before opening her studio.
She has a devoted following for her skill at altering vintage gowns. Brides seek her out because they want to be married, say, in the same dress as their grandmother. Or because she can perfectly adjust the size of a dress from a luxury fashion house.
Sean Lord worked and studied under her.
“I watched her take a Viktor & Rolf that was a sample size,” Lord said. “She made it to fit a woman who was probably a size 14, and you could not tell. It was beautiful.”
When Andrews reached the studio Monday, fire crews had arrived and flames jumped from the roof. She couldn’t bear to just watch.
“Jill called me and said, ‘The building was on fire. I’m going in to save the dresses,’” said Robert Jones, her husband.
Worried, he hustled to the shop, too. The firefighters kept Andrews out until the fire was extinguished. Later that night, she was allowed a moment inside.
“I grabbed all the gowns that I could,” she said. “The vintage stuff that I knew couldn’t be replaced, the stuff that had sentimental value.”
She hung the rescued dresses in the basement of her nearby home. Messages of support began pouring in from her customers. They started a fundraiser online.
Andrews and her family returned Tuesday to inspect the damage.
The vintage French lace, as expensive as $365 a yard, was stained and drenched. There was muddy water on the antique cutting table she had salvaged from Jos. A. Bank, a Baltimore-born menswear retailer. Her boots splashed through the puddles on the floor.
The first lady called to offer her support. In a statement, Dawn Moore also thanked the firefighters.
“Jill is a talented designer and businesswoman, who has created dresses that made me and many other women feel beautiful and seen,” she said.
Andrews said she felt grateful no one was hurt in the fire. She surveyed the hems of white dresses on the mannequins, stained with dirty water.
In that moment, at least, rebuilding seemed overwhelming. She cried and braced herself to call the brides.
Then her phone rang again. Only this time, she had something small and good to say.
“Your dress is hanging in my basement,” she told the woman. “Yes, it survived.”
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