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The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in the
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neighborhood of
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,
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, on Saturday, March 25, 1911, was the deadliest
industrial disaster This article lists notable industrial disasters, which are disasters caused by industrial companies, either by accident, negligence or incompetence. They are a form of industrial accident where great damage, injury or loss of life are caused. O ...
in the history of the city, and one of the deadliest in U.S. history. The fire caused the deaths of 146
garment worker Clothing industry or garment industry summarizes the types of trade and industry along the production and value chain of clothing and garments, starting with the textile industry (producers of cotton, wool, fur, and synthetic fibre), embellishment ...
s – 123 women and girls and 23 men – who died from the fire, smoke inhalation, or falling or jumping to their deaths. Most of the victims were recent Italian or
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
immigrant women and girls aged 14 to 23; of the victims whose ages are known, the oldest victim was 43-year-old Providenza Panno, and the youngest were 14-year-olds Kate Leone and Rosaria "Sara" Maltese. The factory was located on the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors of the Asch Building, which had been built in 1901. Later renamed the " Brown Building", it still stands at 23–29 Washington Place near Washington Square Park, on the
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
(NYU) campus. The building has been designated a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...
and a New York City landmark. Because the doors to the stairwells and exits were locked – a common practice at the time to prevent workers from taking unauthorized breaks and to reduce theft – many of the workers could not escape from the burning building and jumped from the high windows. The fire led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), which fought for better working conditions for sweatshop workers.


Background

The Triangle Waist Company factory occupied the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors of the 10-story Asch Building on the northwest corner of Greene Street and Washington Place, just east of Washington Square Park, in the
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
neighborhood of New York City. Under the ownership of Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, the factory produced women's blouses, known as "
shirtwaist From the early 19th century through the Edwardian period, the word ''waist'' was a term common in the United States for the bodice of a dress or for a blouse or woman's shirt. A shirtwaist was originally a separate blouse constructed like a shirt; ...
s". The factory normally employed about 500 workers, mostly young Italian and Jewish immigrant women and girls, who worked nine hours a day on weekdays plus seven hours on Saturdays,von Drehle, p. 105 earning for their 52 hours of work between $7 and $12 a week, the equivalent of $191 to $327 a week in 2018 currency, or $3.67 to $6.29 per hour.


Fire

At approximately 4:40 pm on Saturday, March 25, 1911, as the workday was ending, a fire flared up in a scrap bin under one of the cutter's tables at the northeast corner of the 8th floor. The first fire alarm was sent at 4:45 pm by a passerby on Washington Place who saw smoke coming from the 8th floor. Both owners of the factory were in attendance and had invited their children to the factory on that afternoon. The Fire Marshal concluded that the likely cause of the fire was the disposal of an unextinguished match or cigarette butt in a scrap bin containing two months' worth of accumulated cuttings. Beneath the table in the wooden bin were hundreds of pounds of scraps left over from the several thousand shirtwaists that had been cut at that table. The scraps piled up from the last time the bin was emptied, coupled with the hanging fabrics that surrounded it; the steel trim was the only thing that was not highly flammable.von Drehle, p. 118 Although smoking was banned in the factory, cutters were known to sneak cigarettes, exhaling the smoke through their lapels to avoid detection. A ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' article suggested that the fire may have been started by the engines running the sewing machines. A series of articles in ''
Collier's ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Coll ...
'' noted a pattern of arson among certain sectors of the garment industry whenever their particular product fell out of fashion or had excess inventory in order to collect insurance. ''
The Insurance Monitor ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', a leading industry journal, observed that shirtwaists had recently fallen out of fashion, and that insurance for manufacturers of them was "fairly saturated with moral hazard". Although Blanck and Harris were known for having had four previous suspicious fires at their companies, arson was not suspected in this case.von Drehle, pp. 162–63 A bookkeeper on the 8th floor was able to warn employees on the 10th floor via telephone, but there was no audible alarm and no way to contact staff on the 9th floor. According to survivor Yetta Lubitz, the first warning of the fire on the 9th floor arrived at the same time as the fire itself. Although the floor had a number of exits, including two freight elevators, a fire escape, and stairways down to Greene Street and Washington Place, flames prevented workers from descending the Greene Street stairway, and the door to the Washington Place stairway was locked to prevent theft by the workers; the locked doors allowed managers to check the women's purses. Various historians have also ascribed the exit doors being locked to management's wanting to keep out union organizers due to management's anti-union bias. The foreman who held the stairway door key had already escaped by another route. Dozens of employees escaped the fire by going up the Greene Street stairway to the roof. Other survivors were able to jam themselves into the elevators while they continued to operate. Within three minutes, the Greene Street stairway became unusable in both directions. Terrified employees crowded onto the single exterior fire escape – which city officials had allowed Asch to erect instead of the required third staircase – a flimsy and poorly anchored iron structure that may have been broken before the fire. It soon twisted and collapsed from the heat and overload, spilling about 20 victims nearly to their deaths on the concrete pavement below. The remainder waited until smoke and fire overcame them. The
fire department A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...
arrived quickly but was unable to stop the flames, as their ladders were only long enough to reach as high as the 7th floor. The fallen bodies and falling victims also made it difficult for the fire department to approach the building. Elevator operators Joseph Zito and Gaspar Mortillaro saved many lives by traveling three times up to the 9th floor for passengers, but Mortillaro was eventually forced to give up when the rails of his elevator buckled under the heat. Some victims pried the elevator doors open and jumped into the empty shaft, trying to slide down the cables or to land on top of the car. The weight and impacts of these bodies warped the elevator car and made it impossible for Zito to make another attempt. William Gunn Shepard, a reporter at the tragedy, would say that "I learned a new sound that day, a sound more horrible than description can picture – the thud of a speeding living body on a stone sidewalk". A large crowd of bystanders gathered on the street, witnessing 62 people jumping or falling to their deaths from the burning building.
Louis Waldman Louis Waldman (January 5, 1892 – September 12, 1982) was a leading figure in the Socialist Party of America from the late 1910s and through the middle 1930s, a founding member of the Social Democratic Federation, and a prominent New York la ...
, later a New York Socialist state assemblyman, described the scene years later: File:A newspaper photograph of an internal staircase in the Asch Building after the Triangle fire (5279144863).jpg, An internal staircase in the Asch building File:Negative print showing the street in front of the Asch Building, where the Triangle Waist Company fire burned (5279683220).jpg, Street in front of the Asch Building File:Police officers and fire fighters check for signs of life and collect personal items from victims of the Triangle fire. (5279681736).jpg, Police officers and fire fighters check for signs of life and collect personal items from victims of the Triangle fire. File:Illustration depicting a wrapped corpse being lowered by rope from the Asch Building following the Triangle fire (5279145839).jpg, A wrapped corpse being lowered by rope from the Asch Building following the Triangle fire


Aftermath

Although early references of the death toll ranged from 141 to 148, almost all modern references agree that 146 people died as a result of the fire: 123 women and girls and 23 men.von Drehle, passim Most victims died of burns, asphyxiation, blunt impact injuries, or a combination of the three. The first person to jump was a man, and another man was seen kissing a young woman at the window before they both jumped to their deaths. Bodies of the victims were taken to Charities Pier (also called Misery Lane), located at 26th street and the East River, for identification by friends and relatives. Victims were interred in 16 different cemeteries. 22 victims of the fire were buried by the
Hebrew Free Burial Association The Hebrew Free Burial Association (HFBA) was established in 1888 as a free burial society serving the residents of Manhattan's Lower East Side. It was incorporated as a non-profit organization with the name of Chebra Agudas Achim Chesed Shel Emet ...
in a special section at Mount Richmond Cemetery. In some instances, their tombstones refer to the fire. Six victims remained unidentified until Michael Hirsch, a historian, completed four years of researching newspaper articles and other sources for missing persons and was able to identify each of them by name. Those six victims were buried together in the Cemetery of the Evergreens in Brooklyn. Originally interred elsewhere on the grounds, their remains now lie beneath a monument to the tragedy, a large marble slab featuring a kneeling woman. Evergreens Cemetery reports that there were originally eight burials, one male and six females, along with some unidentified remains. One of the female victims was later identified and her body removed to another cemetery. Other accounts do not mention the unidentified remains at all. Rose Freedman was the last living survivor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. (1893–2001)


Consequences and legacy

The company's owners, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris – both Jewish immigrants – who survived the fire by fleeing to the building's roof when it began, were indicted on charges of first- and second-degree
manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...
in mid-April; the pair's trial began on December 4, 1911. Max Steuer, counsel for the defendants, managed to destroy the credibility of one of the survivors, Kate Alterman, by asking her to repeat her testimony a number of times, which she did without altering key phrases. Steuer argued to the jury that Alterman and possibly other witnesses had memorized their statements, and might even have been told what to say by the prosecutors. The prosecution charged that the owners knew the exit doors were locked at the time in question. The investigation found that the locks were intended to be locked during working hours based on the findings from the fire, but the defense stressed that the prosecution failed to prove that the owners knew that. The jury acquitted the two men of first- and second-degree manslaughter, but they were found liable of wrongful death during a subsequent civil suit in 1913 in which plaintiffs were awarded compensation in the amount of $75 per deceased victim. The insurance company paid Blanck and Harris about $60,000 more than the reported losses, or about $400 per casualty. In 1913, Blanck was once again arrested for locking the door in his factory during working hours. He was fined $20 which was the minimum amount the fine could be.Hoenig, John M
"The Triangle Fire of 1911"
''History Magazine'', April/May 2005.
Rose Schneiderman Rose Schneiderman (April 6, 1882 – August 11, 1972) was a Polish-born American socialist and feminist, and one of the most prominent female labor union leaders. As a member of the New York Women's Trade Union League, she drew attention to ...
, a prominent
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
and union activist, gave a speech at the memorial meeting held in the Metropolitan Opera House on April 2, 1911, to an audience largely made up of the members of the Women's Trade Union League. She used the fire as an argument for factory workers to organize: Others in the community, and in particular in the ILGWU, believed that political reform could help. In New York City, a Committee on Public Safety was formed, headed by eyewitness
Frances Perkins Frances Perkins (born Fannie Coralie Perkins; April 10, 1880 – May 14, 1965) was an American workers-rights advocate who served as the 4th United States secretary of labor from 1933 to 1945, the longest serving in that position. A member of th ...
– who 22 years later would be appointed United States Secretary of Labor – to identify specific problems and lobby for new legislation, such as the bill to grant workers shorter hours in a work week, known as the "54-hour Bill". The committee's representatives in Albany obtained the backing of
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's
Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a Ci ...
, the Majority Leader of the Assembly, and
Robert F. Wagner Robert Ferdinand Wagner I (June 8, 1877May 4, 1953) was an American politician. He was a Democratic U.S. Senator from New York from 1927 to 1949. Born in Prussia, Wagner migrated with his family to the United States in 1885. After graduating ...
, the Majority Leader of the Senate, and this collaboration of machine politicians and reformers – also known as "do-gooders" or " goo-goos" – got results, especially since Tammany's chief, Charles F. Murphy, realized the goodwill to be had as champion of the downtrodden. The
New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an officia ...
then created the Factory Investigating Commission to "investigate factory conditions in this and other cities and to report remedial measures of legislation to prevent hazard or loss of life among employees through fire, unsanitary conditions, and occupational diseases." The Commission was chaired by Wagner and co-chaired by Al Smith. They held a series of widely publicized investigations around the state, interviewing 222 witnesses and taking 3,500 pages of testimony. They hired field agents to do on-site inspections of factories. They started with the issue of fire safety and moved on to broader issues of the risks of injury in the factory environment. Their findings led to thirty-eight new laws regulating labor in New York state, and gave them a reputation as leading progressive reformers working on behalf of the working class. In the process, they changed Tammany's reputation from mere corruption to progressive endeavors to help the workers. New York City's Fire Chief John Kenlon told the investigators that his department had identified more than 200 factories where conditions made a fire like that at the Triangle Factory possible. The State Commissions's reports helped modernize the state's labor laws, making New York State "one of the most progressive states in terms of labor reform." New laws mandated better building access and egress, fireproofing requirements, the availability of fire extinguishers, the installation of alarm systems and automatic sprinklers, better eating and toilet facilities for workers, and limited the number of hours that women and children could work."At the State Archives: Online Exhibit Remembers the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire" ''New York Archives'' (Summer 2011) In the years from 1911 to 1913, 60 of the 64 new laws recommended by the Commission were legislated with the support of Governor William Sulzer. As a result of the fire, the
American Society of Safety Professionals American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), formerly known as American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) until June 2018, is a global organization of more than 37,000 occupational safety and health (OSH) professional members who manage, ...
was founded in New York City on October 14, 1911. The last living survivor of the fire was Rose Freedman, née Rosenfeld, who died in
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, on February 15, 2001, at the age of 107. She was two days away from her 18th birthday at the time of the fire, which she survived by following the company's executives and being rescued from the roof of the building. As a result of her experience, she became a lifelong supporter of unions. On September 16, 2019, U.S. Senator
Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as ...
delivered a speech in Washington Square Park supporting her presidential campaign, a few blocks from the location of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Sen. Warren recounted the story of the fire and its legacy before a crowd of supporters, likening activism for workers' rights following the 1911 fire to her own presidential platform.


Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition

The Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition is an alliance of more than 200 organizations and individuals formed in 2008 to encourage and coordinate nationwide activities commemorating the centennial of the fireGreenhouse, Steven
"City Room:In a Tragedy, a Mission to Remember"
''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' (March 19, 2011)
and to create a permanent public art memorial to honor its victims. The founding partners included Workers United, the
New York City Fire Museum The New York City Fire Museum is a museum dedicated to the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is housed in the former quarters of the FDNY's Engine Company No. 30, a renovated ...
,
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(the current owner of the building), Workmen's Circle, Museum at Eldridge Street, the
Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation Village Preservation (formerly the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, or GVSHP) is a non-profit organization which advocates for the preservation of architecture and culture in several neighborhoods of Lower Manhattan, New York. ...
, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, the Gotham Center for New York City History, the Bowery Poetry Club and others. Members of the Coalition include arts organizations, schools, workers’ rights groups, labor unions,
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
and
women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countri ...
groups, ethnic organizations, historical preservation societies, activists, and scholars, as well as families of the victims and survivors. The Coalition grew out of a public art project called "Chalk" created by New York City filmmaker Ruth Sergel. Every year beginning in 2004, Sergel and volunteer artists went across New York City on the anniversary of the fire to inscribe in chalk the names, ages, and causes of death of the victims in front of their former homes, often including drawings of flowers, tombstones or a triangle.


Centennial

From July 2009 through the weeks leading up to the 100th anniversary, the Coalition served as a clearinghouse to organize some 200 activities as varied as
academic conferences An academic conference or scientific conference (also congress, symposium, workshop, or meeting) is an event for researchers (not necessarily academics) to present and discuss their scholarly work. Together with academic or scientific journals an ...
, films, theater performances, art shows, concerts, readings, awareness campaigns,
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, and parades that were held in and around New York City, and in cities across the nation, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, Boston and Washington, D.C. The ceremony, which was held in front of the building where the fire took place, was preceded by a march through
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by thousands of people, some carrying shirtwaists – women's blouses – on poles, with sashes commemorating the names of those who died in the fire. Speakers included the United States Secretary of Labor, Hilda L. Solis, U.S. Senator
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, New York City Mayor
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, the actor
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, and Suzanne Pred Bass, the grandniece of Rosie Weiner, a young woman killed in the blaze. Most of the speakers that day called for the strengthening of workers’ rights and organized labor.Fouhy, Beth
"NYC marks 100th anniversary of Triangle fire"
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(March 25, 2011) on NBC News
At 4:45 pm EST, the moment the first fire alarm was sounded in 1911, hundreds of bells rang out in cities and towns across the nation. For this commemorative act, the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition organized hundreds of churches, schools, fire houses, and private individuals in the New York City region and across the nation. The Coalition maintains on its website a national map denoting each of the bells that rang that afternoon.


Permanent memorial

The Coalition has launched an effort to create a permanent public art
memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of ...
for the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire at the site of the 1911 fire in lower Manhattan. In 2011, the Coalition established that the goal of the permanent memorial would be: * To honor the memory of those who died from the fire; * To affirm the dignity of all workers; * To value women’s work; * To remember the movement for worker safety and social justice stirred by this tragedy; * To inspire future generations of activists In 2012, the Coalition signed an agreement with NYU that granted the organization permission to install a memorial on the Brown Building and, in consultation with the Landmarks Preservation Commission, indicated what elements of the building could be incorporated into the design. Architectural designer Ernesto Martinez directed an international competition for the design. A jury of representatives from fashion, public art, design, architecture, and labor history reviewed 170 entries from more than 30 countries and selected a spare yet powerful design by Richard Joon Yoo and Uri Wegman. On December 22, 2015, New York Governor
Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...
announced that $1.5 million from state economic development funds would be earmarked to build the Triangle Fire Memorial. The design of the memorial consists of a stainless-steel ribbon that cascades vertically down the corner of the Brown Building (23-29 Washington Place) from the window-sill of the 9th floor, marking the location where most of the victims of the Triangle fire died or jumped to their death. The steel ribbon is etched with patterns and textures from a 300-foot long cloth ribbon, formed from individual pieces of fabric, donated and sewed together by hundreds of volunteers. At the cornice above the first floor, the steel ribbon splits into horizontal bands that run perpendicularly along the east and south facades of the building, floating twelve feet above the sidewalk. The names of all 146 workers who died will be laser-cut through these panels, allowing light to pass through. At street level, an angled panel made of stone glass at hip height will reflect the names overhead. Testimonies from survivors and witnesses will be inscribed in this reflective panel juxtaposing the names and history.


Mt. Zion Cemetery Memorial

A memorial "of the Ladies Waist and Dress Makers Union Local No 25" was erected in Mt. Zion Cemetery in Maspeth, Queens (40°44'2" N 73°54'11" W). It is a series of stone columns holding a large cross beam. Much of the writing is no longer legible due to erosion.


In popular culture

Films and television * ''The Crime of Carelessness'' (1912), 14-minute
Thomas A. Edison, Inc. Thomas A. Edison, Incorporated (originally the National Phonograph Company) was the main holding company for the various manufacturing companies established by the inventor and entrepreneur Thomas Edison. It was a successor to Edison Manufacturin ...
, short inspired by the Triangle Factory fire, directed by James Oppenheim * '' With These Hands'' (1950), directed by Jack Arnold * ''
The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal ''The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal'' is a 1979 American made-for-television drama film directed by Mel Stuart and starring David Dukes, Tovah Feldshuh, Lauren Frost, Stacey Nelkin, Tom Bosley and Ted Wass. It premiered on NBC on January 30, 19 ...
'' (1979), directed by Mel Stuart, produced by Mel Brez and Ethel Brez * '' American Pop'' (1981), an adult animated musical drama film written by
Ronni Kern Ronni Kern is an American film and television writer and producer. Kern is best known for writing such films as ''American Pop'' and ''A Change of Seasons'', as well as miniseries and television movies such as ''Helen of Troy'', '' Homeless to ...
and directed by Ralph Bakshi features a scene taking place in the fire. * ''Those Who Know Don't Tell: The Ongoing Battle for Workers' Health'' (1990), produced by Abby Ginzberg, narrated by Studs Terkel * Episode 4 of Ric Burns' 1999 PBS series '' New York: A Documentary Film'', "The Power and the People (1898–1918)", extensively covered the fire. * ''
The Living Century ''The Living Century'' is an American biography television series that premiered on PBS on December 3, 2000. Each episode of the half-hour series documents the life of someone who is over 100 years old. The Living Century was produced and distrib ...
: Three Miracles'' (2001) premiered on PBS, focusing on the life of 107-year-old Rose Freedman (died 2001), who became the last living survivor of the fire. * '' American Experience: Triangle Fire'' (2011), documentary produced and directed by Jamila Wignot, narrated by Michael Murphy * ''Triangle: Remembering the Fire'' (2011) premiered on HBO on March 21, four days short of the 100th anniversary. * In season 3 episode 7 of SyFy Channel TV show '' Warehouse 13'' (2011), characters Claudia Donovan and Steve Jinks recover an artifact from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, a doorknob which burns people. * In season 1 episode 4 of
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TV
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...
''
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'', characters Rebecca Bunch and Greg Serrano are on an awkward first date, but then they start to bond after their shared interest in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, with Greg calling it his "favorite fire". This foreshadows Rebecca's past as an
arsonist Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, water ...
. * ''The Fire of a Movement'' (2019) Episode of PBS series ''The Future of America's Past'' – "... We visit the building and learn how public outcry inspired workplace safety laws that revolutionized industrial work nationwide. Descendants and activists show us how that work reverberates today." Music * "Dos lid fun nokh dem fayer" ("The Song from after the Fire") by
Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
lyricist Charles Simon, 1912. * "My Little Shirtwaist Fire" by Rasputina, from their 1996 album '' Thanks for the Ether''. * "Die Fire Korbunes" (The Fire Victims), music by David Meyerowitz, 1911 * "The Triangle Fire" by
The Brandos The Brandos are an American rock band formed in 1985 in New York City by Dave Kincaid (vocals, guitar), Ernie Mendillo (bass, vocals), Ed Rupprecht (guitar, vocals) and Larry Mason (drums, vocals). The Brandos achieved commercial success in t ...
, from their 2006 album ''Over the Border''. * "Sweatshop Fire" by
Curtis Eller Curtis Paul Eller (born 1970, Detroit, Michigan) is a banjo player, songwriter and rock & roll singer based in Durham, NC. Eller's work draws on an abundance of direct or indirect influences from the first half of the 20th century, combined wit ...
, from his 2008 album ''Wirewalkers and Assassins''. * "Washington Square", by Si Kahn, from his album ''Courage'' * ''
Fire in my mouth ''Fire in my mouth'' is an oratorio for girls' choir, women's choir, and orchestra by the American composer Julia Wolfe. The work was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Jaap van Zweden and was completed in August 2 ...
'' (2018), a 60-minute
oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...
for 146 female voices and orchestra by Julia Wolfe premiered by
The Crossing (choral ensemble) The Crossing is an American professional chamber choir, conducted by Donald Nally and based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It focuses on new music, commission and premiere works, and collaborates with various venues and instrumental ensembles. ...
, The Young People's Chorus of New York City, and The New York Philharmonic under the direction of Jaap van Zweden at David Geffen Hall,
Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...
on January 24, 2019. Theatre and dance * Naomi Wallace's 1996 play '' Slaughter City'' includes a character, the Textile Worker, that was killed in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, and the play itself was inspired by several labor events throughout the 20th century, including the fire. * In
Ain Gordon Ain Gordon is an American playwright, theatrical director and actor based in New York City. His work frequently deals with the interstices of history, focusing on people and events which are often overlooked or marginalized in "official" histori ...
's play ''Birdseed Bundles'' (2000), the Triangle fire is a major dramatic engine of the story. * The musical '' Rags'' – book by Joseph Stein, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and music by Charles Strouse – incorporates the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in the second act. * In March 2012, the modern dance concert ''One Hundred Forty-Six'' by Denise J. Murphy explored the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire through movement, text, video, photography and original music. * ''Scintille'' ("Sparks") is a 2012 Italian political play by Laura Sicignano which centers on the fire and the circumstances surrounding it. * ''Triangle'', a stage musical with music by Curtis Moore, lyrics by Thomas Mizer, and book by Thomas Mizer, Curtis Moore and Joshua Scher, deals with the Shirtwaist Factory fire on the 100th anniversary of the tragedy through the eyes of a scientist whose laboratory is located in the Asch Building. The play was premiered at TheatreWorks in
Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...
in July 2015. * In their 2018 production of ''A Bintel Brief'', a play chronicling the trials of Jewish immigrants to America at the turn of the 20th century
The Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre
in Montreal, Canada, translated the song
"The Ballad of the Triangle Fire"
and
Bread and Roses "Bread and Roses" is a political slogan as well as the name of an associated poem and song. It originated from a speech given by American women's suffrage activist Helen Todd; a line in that speech about "bread for all, and roses too" inspired ...
into Yiddish for the first time. The world premiere of these new translations was released as
video
in March 2020 to commemorate the anniversary of the fire. Literature * ''Triangle: The Fire That Changed America'' by David Von Drehle, 2003 () * ''The Triangle Fire'' by Leon Stein, 1963 () * ''Talking to the Girls: Intimate and Political Essays on the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire'' edited by
Edvige Giunta Edvige Giunta (born 1959) is a Sicilian-American writer, educator, and literary critic. Biography She was born in Gela, Sicily, in 1959, the second of four children of Vincenzo and Cettina Giunta, both schoolteachers. After earning a degree in f ...
and Mary Anne Trasciatti, 2022 (). * ''Fragments from the Fire: The Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire of March 25, 1911'', a book of poetry by
Chris Llewellyn Christopher Mark Llewellyn (born 28 August 1979) is a Welsh football coach and former professional footballer who is currently manager of the Swansea City Ladies. He has made over 350 appearances in the Football League for Norwich City, Bris ...
, 1987 (). * ''Triangle'', a 2006 novel by Katharine Weber (), tells the story of the last living survivor of the fire, whose story hides the truth of her experience on March 25, 1911, raising the questions of who owns history and whose stories prevail. * Margaret Peterson Haddix's 2007 historical novel for young adults, ''
Uprising Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
'' (), deals with immigration, women's rights, and the labor movement, with the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire as a central element. * Esther Friesner's ''Threads and Flames'' () deals with a young girl, named Raisa, who works at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory at the time of the fire. *
Deborah Hopkinson Deborah Hopkinson is an American writer of children's books, primarily historical fiction, nonfiction and picture books. She was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. Selected books *''Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt'' (1993) *''Maria's Comet'' (19 ...
's 2004 historical novel for young adults, ''Hear My Sorrow: The Diary of Angela Denoto'' (). * Mary Jane Auch's 2004 historical novel for young adults, ''Ashes of Roses'' () tells the tale of Margaret Rose Nolan, a young girl who works at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory at the time of the fire, along with her sister and her friends. * The comic book '' The Goon'' issue No. 37 tells the story of a similar fire at a girdle factory that takes the lives of 142 women who worked there. After the fire, the surviving women attempt to unionize and the Goon comes to their aid after union busters try to force them back to work. Author Eric Powell specifically cites the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire as an inspiration for the story. * Vivian Schurfranz's novel ''Rachel'' (), from the ''
Sunfire Fire is a series of server computers introduced in 2001 by Sun Microsystems (since 2010, part of Oracle Corporation). The Sun Fire branding coincided with the introduction of the UltraSPARC III processor, superseding the UltraSPARC II-ba ...
'' series of historical romances for young adults, is about a Polish Jewish immigrant girl who works at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory at the time of the fire. * "Heaven Is Full of Windows", a 2009 short story by
Steve Stern Steve J. Stern (born 1947) is an author from Memphis, Tennessee. Much of his work draws inspiration from Yiddish folklore. Biography Stern was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1947, the son of a grocer. He left Memphis in the 1960s to attend ...
, dramatizes the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire from the perspective of a Polish Jewish immigrant girl. * Robert Pinsky's poem ''Shirt'' describes the fire. * "Mayn Rue Platz" (My Resting Place), a poem written by former Triangle employee Morris Rosenfeld, has been set to music, in
Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
and English, by many artists, including
Geoff Berner Geoff Berner (born 1971) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and musician from Vancouver. Musical career Berner originally studied piano in his youth. At a party, somebody asked him why he did not play the accordion. As a result, he began learni ...
and June Tabor. * In Alice Hoffman's novel ''The Museum of Extraordinary Things'' (), the fire is one of the main elements of the plot. * "
Afterlife The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving es ...
", a 2013 short story by
Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
, centers around Isaac Harris in
Purgatory Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...
talking about the fire. * In a section of
Edward Rutherfurd Edward Rutherfurd is a pen name for Francis Edward Wintle (born in 1948). He is best known as a writer of epic historical novels that span long periods of history but are set in particular places. His debut novel, '' Sarum'', set the pattern fo ...
's novel '' New York'' (), a protagonist's sister, from an Italian immigrant family, dies after jumping from a window to escape the fire. * Sholem Asch's 1946 novel ''East River'' () tells the story of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire through the eyes of an Irish girl who was working at the factory at a time of the fire. * Helene Wecker's 2021 novel ''The Hidden Palace'' () is a historical fantasy that centers around a
golem A golem ( ; he, , gōlem) is an animated, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is entirely created from inanimate matter (usually clay or mud). The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century ...
and a jinni living in New York in the early 20th century. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire occurs as an event that affects multiple characters in the novel.


See also

*
2012 Dhaka garment factory fire The 2012 Dhaka garment factory fire broke out on 24 November 2012, in the Tazreen Fashion factory in the Ashulia district on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh. At least 117 people were confirmed dead in the fire, and over 200 were injured, makin ...
, a similar fire in
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...
*
2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse The 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse (also referred to as the 2013 Savar building collapse or the Collapse of Rana Plaza) was a structural failure that occurred on 24 April 2013 in the Savar Upazila of Dhaka District, Bangladesh, where an ei ...
, the deadliest garment-factory disaster in history *
International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wo ...
* List of disasters in New York City by death toll * List of fires *
Occupational Safety and Health Administration The Occupational Safety and Health Administration'' (OSHA ) is a large regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. Congress established the agen ...
* Rhinelander Waldo, N.Y.C. Fire Commissioner in 1911 *
Women in labor unions Women in labor unions have participated in labor organizing and activity throughout United States history. These workers have organized to address issues within the workplace, such as promoting gender equality, better working conditions, and highe ...


References

Notes Bibliography * Argersinger, Jo Ann E. ed. ''The Triangle Fire: A Brief History with Documents'' (Macmillan, 2009). xviii, 137 pp. * * Further reading * * Chernoff, Alan
"Remembering the Triangle Fire 100 years later"
''CNN/Money'' (March 25, 2011) * * * Sosinsky, Leigh (2011). ''The New York City Triangle Factory Fire''. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing.


External links

General
Chronology of events

"Triangle Factory Fire"
Cornell University Library The Cornell University Library is the library system of Cornell University. As of 2014, it holds over 8 million printed volumes and over a million ebooks. More than 90 percent of its current 120,000 periodical titles are available online. It ...

List of names of victims at Cornell University Library site

Triangle Fire Open Archive

''Booknotes'' interview with David Von Drehle on ''Triangle: The Fire That Changed America''
(October 5, 2003)
Triangle Fire
– An American Experience Documentary Contemporaneous accounts
"Eyewitness at the Triangle"

1911 ''McClure Magazine'' article
''(see pages 455–483)'' Trial
Complete Transcript Of Triangle Trial: People Vs. Isaac Harris and Max Blanck



1912 New York Court record
''(see pp. 48–50)''

Articles

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

"Remembering the Triangle Fire"
'' The Jewish Daily Forward''
"Coming Full Circle on Triangle Factory Fire"
'' The Jewish Daily Forward''
Remembering Triangle
'' Jacobin Magazine'' Memorials and centennial
Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition 1911–2011


* ttp://streetpictures.org/chalk/ CHALK: annual community commemoration
Rosenfeld's Requiem
a poem about the victims of the fire by Morris Rosenfeld first published in '' The Jewish Daily Forward'' on March 29, 1911
Triangle Returns
'' Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights,'' March 22, 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire 1911 disasters in the United States 1911 fires in the United States 1911 in New York City 1911 industrial disasters Building fires in New York City Burials at Mount Zion Cemetery (New York City) Fire disasters involving barricaded escape routes Clothing industry disasters Greenwich Village History of labor relations in the United States Industrial fires Industrial fires and explosions in the United States Factory fires Italian-American culture in New York City Italian-American history Jewish-American history Jews and Judaism in New York City March 1911 events Organizations based in New York City Progressive Era in the United States Fires in New York City International Ladies Garment Workers Union High-rise fires