The Causes of the Iroquois Theater Fire, Chicago, IL.
Essay Preview The Iroquois Theater fire This horrible incident took place in a theater where the audience was cast of 2000 women and children. School had been out for Christmas and that gave incentive to many of them to show up to the Wednesday matinee performance of Mr. Blue beard.
The Iroquois Theater in Chicago was dubbed “absolutely fireproof” by the owners of the theater since it was a concrete structure, but it would become the tragic site of a deadly fire, just 37 days after it opened for business, during the busy Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season of 1903.
This definition is mild when placed in the context of the Chicago’s Iroquois Theater Fire of 1903. Like the disaster of the Titanic nine years later, which was considered “unsinkable”, the Iroquois Theater was advertised on it’s playbills as “absolutely fireproof”. This was a mistake.
Iroquois Theater A fire at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago on December 30, 1903, killed 602 people and injured 250 others. It remains the fifth deadliest fire in U.S. history. The investigation showed that the fire was sparked by an arc light which ignited scenery curtains.
Digitized copy of a 1904 publication documenting the Iroquois Theatre Fire from the Digitized Books from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Open Content Alliance. Great Chicago Theater Disaster This book, published in 1904, is a contemporary perspective of the fire and its aftermath. It includes many pictures.
Iroquois theatre fire, Chicago, IL, December 30, 1903 Introduction This refers to the most deadly event involving a theatre fireto have ever occurred in the history of the US.
When the Iroquois Theater opened in Chicago on November 23, 1903, advertisers boasted that the building was completely fire-proof. The building had a total of 27 exits (although the owners publicly claimed that the building had 30) and it was reported that if there was a fire, people would be able to evacuate the building within 5 minutes.
The safety of the theatre was guaranteed because it was located close to the Loop shopping district that was patrolled by police. Upon opening of the Iroquois Theatre, drama critics lauded the theatre terming it as the most beautiful theatre in Chicago. The Iroquois Theatre fire occurred at about 3:15 P.M, on 30th December 1903, in Chicago.
Iroquois Theatre Fire December 30, 1903 - Chicago, IL, USA. The worst and most deadly single building fire in American history and one of the worst single building fires in world history was that of the Iroquois Theatre Fire. The Iroquois Theatre, located on Randolph Street between State Street and Dearborn Avenue in downtown Chicago, was one of the most opulent and modern theatres in the world.
Mr. Blue Beard, Iroquois Theatre, 1903. Source: Historic Programs Digital Collection, Special Collections. Chicago experienced the worst theater fire in U.S. history. The burning of the Iroquois Theater claimed the lives of over 600 patrons, a tragic number that even exceeds the estimated 250 lives lost in the Chicago Fire of 1871.
The Iroquois' owners anticipated opening the new theater in time to cash in on the holiday season in 1903, but the work, already scheduled at a break-neck pace, was behind and the theater still.
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Iroquois Theater Fire Abstract On December 30, 1903 hundreds of adults and children were packed Chicago’s brand new Iroquois Theater to see a holiday showing of the popular comedy Mr. Bluebeard. The theater was the best in town, and was advertised to be completely fireproof by the owners and the architect who designed it.
Topics in Chronicling America - The Iroquois Theater Fire. A fire rages through Chicago’s Iroquois Theatre with over 1,300 patrons inside. The asbestos curtain malfunctions and several doors are barred while others that open inward are quickly blocked.
