The Fire That Changed America

From The Peopling of New York City

The Triangle shirtwaist factory fire took place on March 25, 1911 in the Asch building located between Washington Place and Greene Street. The fire was the most horrifying factory fire New Yorkers had ever seen. It cost 146 lives of mostly young Eastern European immigrant women and some men. The owners Max Blanck and Isaac Harris had locked many of the factory doors, in order to prevent the employees from stealing garments from the factory. As a result, many people die because of poor communication among the three floors of the factory and because of poor fire regulation laws of New York City. Once the fire started it spread out within minutes blocking off the only open exits. Thus, many people were trap between lock doors and the blazing fire. After the fire most of the victims were hardly noticeable. After weeks of searching family members found their mothers, sister, brothers, and wives. All but six victims were identified these poor victims were buried after the mayor made the decision to bury them. -ALi

Many books were written about the fire and the social and political reforms it urged the city to procure. However, no author has actually researched the lives of the victims. This web wiki presentation is our attempt to uncover the lives of the forgotten immigrants. We are in the search for the elusive immigrant. Women and Men who improved life in New York City. In this part of the project some history of the lives of Josephine Carlisi, Ida Jakofsky, Clotilde Terdanova, Mary Leventhal and Theodore Rottner will be presented. Initial research began with the list provided by Von Drehle in his book, Triangle.-Majid

Triangle Fire Images

Plaque to remember the fire	This is the old Triangle Shirtwaist Factory building. It is now NYU's Building of Biology and Chemistry.	The fire charred the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors of the factory.	The damage
The elevator that trapped many	Factory Workers	Firefighters trying to put out the fire	The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory

Home -- The Victims -- Triangle Walking Tour

To see what scholars at Cornell University have uncovered about the Triangle:
http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/