Case Main Fire
On October 27, 1886, soon after the beginning of the school year, a devastating fire destroyed the new building. The fire was thought to have started in the chemistry laboratory.
In order to be able to continue classes for the students enrolled, the trustees and President Staley accepted use of space at the neighboring Western Reserve University, specifically the north end of the Adelbert Hall dormitory (later known as PIerce-Cutler Hall) and the basement of the Adelbert Main building (currently known as Adelbert Hall).
Reconstruction of the building started immediately. First two floors were restored by 1888, which allowed for classes to resume in the building. The third floor and the attic were restored in 1890. The attic was later converted into a forth floor and used as gymnasium. The original tall tower was never reconstructed.
For safety reasons, a new frame building started to be built for Chemistry south of Case Main imediately after the fire. The new building was open in February 1887.