Lexicon Club in GR ravaged by fire

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - A spectacular fire spewed flames and smoke high above the skies near downtown Grand Rapids Friday, bringing at least six fire trucks to douse the flames of a club on the northwest side of the city.

The fire at the Lexicon Club, 209 Lexington NW, broke out around noon and quickly spread. A house behind the club and a nearby garage also were damaged by the fire.

No one was in the club or the house at the time the fire began. The people who live in the house will not be able to stay there for an undetermined length of time.

No one was injured.

The crowd of people who gathered to watch the fire weren't merely gawkers. Some, like Anne Hathaway, have a long connection to the club.

She began going there as with her father when she was a little girl. She later became a member and now works there as a bartender.

"I'm in shock, just shock," she told 24 Hour News 8. "I could see it from my house. I thought someone was joking. It's like history, it's like my family, it's like we are all gone."

Built in the 1800s, the Lexicon Club has been a West Side staple for decades, and has long been one of the hosts for a Pulaski Days celebration.

Gary Wilkinson has been a member for more than 30 years and was at the club Thursday night. He never thought the next time he saw the club it would be ravaged by fire.

"It's just sad to see," he told 24 Hour News 8.

 There is no known cause of the fire at this time.

On the Net:

Lexicon Club - Facebook page