Exhibit Details Devastation of Years Past by Oliver E. Allen Even centuries ago Lower Manhattan knew calamity. In fact, at least twice in the past, much of the town was destroyed by horrendous fires. The two great fires, in 1776 and in 1835, are memorialized in an intriguing exhibit on view at India House, 1 Hanover Square (between Stone and Pearl streets), through Jan. 5, 2003. It is called “Forged by Fire,” and indeed the land that India House sits on figured in both events.   The first of the fires, a massive blaze that broke out on Sept. 21, 1776, just a few days after British troops ousted the colonial forces from New York, is portrayed in a fantastical drawing that depicts flames licking at firefighters. The cause of the fire, which destroyed 493 houses plus Trinity Church, has never been determined, although arson by colonial sympathizers was suspected both then and now. When he was informed of the blaze, General George Washington—still smarting from the loss of America’s principal city—remarked wryly, “Providence, or some good honest fellow, has done more for us than we were disposed to do.” The 1835 fire started on the evening of Dec. 16 in a warehouse near Hanover Square and rapidly spread until it was a 13-acre inferno stretching from Coenties Slip to Maiden Lane and from William Street all the way to the East River. With sub-zero temperatures severely hampering firefighters, the conflagration raged for three days; the light in the sky could be seen from as far away as Philadelphia. Although only two lives were lost, a total of 674 buildings went up in flames. In the show, the fire’s intensity can be glimpsed in a marvelous watercolor by Nicolino Calyo of burning buildings along Wall Street. But the most telling objects in the exhibit are items later found to have survived the blaze: charred documents, blackened metal strips, and, most surprisingly, a bunch of carbonized grapes found in the ashes of the warehouse where it started. The exhibit also includes models of ships that burned in New York’s harbor and, in a nod to recent history, the flag that flew on the fireboat John J. Harvey during its well-publicized rescue efforts on Sept. 11. Also on display, although not really part of “Forged by Fire,” is an 11-foot anchor that was retrieved from the Hudson during the construction of the World Trade Center in the 1960s; it is thought to have come loose from a ship wracked by a storm some time in the early 19th century. In addition to all this there is a distinct bonus for visitors: the chance to see the interior of India House, a graceful three-story Italianate brownstone that dates from the 1850s and serves otherwise as a private club catering to persons involved in international trade. It’s one of the finest buildings in Lower Manhattan. Go see it. “Forged by Fire” at India House, 1 Hanover Sq. Mon. - Fri., 3 - 6 p.m. Entry is free. Through Jan. 5, 2003.