Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Centennial
Friday, March 25 is the 100 anniversary of the Triangle Factory Fire, the infamous fire that took the live of 146 workers, mostly young immigrant women, at the Triangle Factory at Washington Place and Greene Street. The 1911 fire ushered in new building and fire code laws and uplifted the labor movement. The building survived the fire and is an individual New York City Landmark. GVSHP is honored to be a Participating Organization of the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition, a grassroots coalition of over 200 organizations organizing Centennial events.
GVSHP has also contributed to the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition's Open Archive. Check our submission, among many others about the history surrounding the fire.
In 2003, the Brown Building (the current name of the building in which the Triangle Fire took place) was designated a New York City Landmark. GVSHP testified in favor of landmarking for the building, which lies just outside the eastern boundary of the Greenwich Village Historic District.
The Triangle Factory Fire: A Walking Tour through Time
Co-sponsored by the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy
Sunday, March 27
10:30 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
Meeting location available upon registration
Free; reservations required.
Registration Closed - Due to popular demand we are no longer accepting reservations for this program.
Pay tribute to those lost in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire as we mark the Centennial of this infamous event which took the lives of 146 workers and spurred social reform. Join GVSHP and the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy in a walking tour that will highlight some of the sites associated with the disaster by exploring the various ways in which the Fire, and the lives it claimed, have been memorialized over the past 100 years. Sites will include Cooper Union, the NYU Brown Building, and an East Village synagogue.
Factory Factoids
To finance the building of the Asch building, Joseph J. Asch was forced to borrow money against his large holdings on Washington Square North, including Henry James’ birthplace.
The Department of Buildings (DOB) objected to the original building plans because they did not include sufficient fire egresses for such a large building, but eventually backed down after arguing with the contractor.
There had been no fire drills prior to the fire.
The drop ladder at the bottom of the fire escape had never been installed, which led to women piling onto the fire escape, which could not support so much weight. It buckled and collapsed from the weight and heat.
After the fire, people were shocked by how little damage was done to the exterior of the building which, after its original construction, had been dubbed “fire proof.”
Ironically, during WWII, the eighth floor was used to train nurses. |
