Tuesday, December 21, 1999
Arson hits string instrument shop
Fire's effect on CSO, CCM unknown
BY TOM O'NEILL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A fire that damaged a well-known string instrument repair shop in Over-the-Rhine was deliberately set, a Cincinnati arson investigator said Monday.
Damage to the three-story brick building at 1400 Elm St. was $25,000, officials said.
However, estimating damage to the instruments in the Bass Viol repair shop is impossible because it is not known how many instruments were there and what each is worth, arson investigator John Heltman said.
The fire broke out at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, he said.
Many musicians with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music take their instruments to the store, which enjoys national renown.
The owner of the building and the ground-level shop is Dennis Knight. A man who identified himself as the owner declined to comment when he answered the door at Bass Viol on Monday.
“It's an arson fire,” Mr. Heltman said. “We took some samples for chemical lab analysis. We eliminated all other possibilities.”
Mr. Knight and another resident of an upstairs apartment were displaced by the fire, Mr. Heltman said.
The symphony concluded a five-show weekend Sunday night at the Taft Theatre and won't play again until New Year's Eve at Music Hall, CSO Director of Public Relations Rosemary Weathers said Monday.
“He (Knight) said some violins were worth $4,500,” Mr. Heltman said.
Players typically bring their instru ments in for repairs during holiday breaks, but Ms. Weathers said that most players own more than one instrument and the fire's impact wasn't immediately known.
“It's probably going to be a tragic loss,” Ms. Weathers said.
The shop specializes in the repair of basses, violins, violas and cellos, and has been around nearly half a century.
The shop also was the scene of a Nov. 4, 1993, fire that caused more than $200,000 damage, which was covered by insurance.
Mr. Heltman said Sunday's fire also was covered by insurance.
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