Fire has been a persistent theme of Atlanta's history -- not just fire, but specifically, arson.

 The most famous and devastating of the fires was that ordered by Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman after he captured Atlanta during the Civil War. On the night of Nov. 14, 1864, his Union troops set fire to the entire city, destroying every business and most of the homes. Only 400 of the city's 4,500 buildings survived the fire.

 Atlanta was the scene of the most disastrous hotel fire in American history when the Winecoff Hotel in downtown Atlanta caught fire in December 1946 killing 115 people. Recent research has revealed that fire, too, may have been arson.

 Many of Atlanta's historic treasures have been lost to fire over the years, including the Lowe's Grand Theater, where the movie version of Gone With the Wind had its world premiere.

 But the house at 10th and Peachtree Streets, where Margaret Mitchell wrote her world famous novel had managed to survive. Built in 1899, it was one of the first brick homes in Atlanta. But after the house was abandoned and boarded up in 1977, it had begun to deteriorate.

 A group of preservationists fought unsuccessfully to raise money to restore the house. But it was difficult to interest Atlantans in the project. In September 1994, an artist attached 40,000 inflated surgical gloves to the roof of the house.

 On the night of Sept. 17, 1994, with the artistic exhibit still in place, the building was set afire in what the Atlanta Fire Department described as "sophisticated arson."

 

 In March 1995, German industrial company Daimler-Benz AG announced it would buy and restore the Margaret Mitchell House. Just as those renovations were nearing completion, the house caught fire again in the early morning hours of Sunday, May 12, 1996. Atlanta fire investigators said the fire again appeared to be arson .

 Officials of Daimler-Benz said they would continue to support renovation of the house and work began almost immediately on clearing debris and beginning the task of rebuilding.

 Atlanta's fiery past was on the minds of many in the wake of the second fire: "The phoenix is the symbol of Atlanta, and like the phoenix, we shall rise again, too," Mary Rose Taylor, chairman of Margaret Mitchell House, Inc.

 Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell echoed her thoughts. "It's a despicable act," Campbell told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as he toured the charred house following the fire. "We've been scarred by fire in the past, we've risen from it, and we'll go forward again."