The original convent building was gutted by a fire on December 2, 1923, which collapsed its roof and the two upper floors its annex on Market Street. At the time, the convent was home to 135 sisters, one of whom died in the fire. According to the sister's records, the fire was first noticed at 11:30 a.m. in the dumbwaiter shaft connected to the kitchen. It took the fire department at least 20 minutes to arrive after the alarm had been sounded, by which point the flames had spread. It wasn't until 2 p.m. that the fire was contained, and it was finally extinguished at 6 p.m. Although the convent building was directly adjacent to the Chapel, it was spared from the flames and sisters continued their practice of perpetual prayer while the neighboring building was on fire. The cause of the fire was never determined, though the fire chief suspected there had been a short circuit in the wiring near the roof. At the time, the it caused an estimated $175,000 worth of damage, and rebuilding the convent took two years.