February 13, 1875 - readers of the Chicago Times open their papers and are met with a
rather alarming headline:
"BURNED ALIVE!”
A seeming news bulletin of a horrific and gruesome fire (caused by an overturned gas
burner) that engulfed an unnamed Chicago theater - burning alive some 157 patrons as they fought
desperately to escape the flames. Victims, many trampled to death, were pulled from the
rubble as blackened corpses.
Listed in the paper were the initials of numerous casualties (a custom during that time.)
To the casual reader skimming through the paper, the story is quite real, but a careful
examination of the article’s closing lines reveal that the event was simply hypothetical.
A fictional account presented as reality, meant to enlighten the readership to the very
real fire hazards present in Chicago’s theater district. This piece of shock-mock journalism?
A public service, of sorts.
Chicago Times’ readers are, of course, equal parts disgusted and incensed. A flood of letters
pour in, telling the paper off for such ill-conceived sensationalism. The Time’s rival paper,
the Chicago Tribune, publishes a scathing article in response, reporting that one local
woman had died from the shock of seeing what she believed were her husband’s initials
in the article. Of course, THIS story is ALSO made up, in the Tribune’s half-hearted attempt
to showcase how such articles are in poor taste.
The city’s readers eventually walk away from the episode disgusted at each publication’s
self-imagined hoaxes. Respect is lost - but so, too, is the message The Chicago Time’s
had hoped the readership would walk away with - that Chicago Theaters are in desperate need
of safety improvements.
[music]
November 23, 1903.
The Ribbon Cutting for The Iroquois Theater.
Located at 24–28 West Randolph Street - a location chosen specifically to attract women
on day trips from out of town, who would be more comfortable attending a theater near
the police patrolled shopping district, as opposed to the more dangerous sections of
Chicago under the dark of night.
Thus far, the theater's grand opening has been delayed for a number of reasons - from
labor disputes to architectural roadblocks - still, the venue is illustrious - a capacity
of 1,602 attendees spread throughout three impeccably adorned audience levels. The theater's
single entrance - a broad and beautiful stairway that leads from the foyer to the balcony level,
allows patrons of all shapes and sizes to “see and be seen” regardless of the price
of their ticket.
An ornate, 60-foot high ceiling held up by white marbled walls is awe-inspiring, and
a glass skylight over the stage makes every performance look magical.
Advertisements and playbills for the Iroquois Theater, in an effort to win safety-conscious
customers, claim the building is impervious to fire.
A declaration that certainly ruffles the feathers of one Chicago Fire Department captain, who
made an unofficial tour of the theater days before, finding numerous safety deficiencies.
Exit signs are missing or obscured by thick drapes. There are no sprinklers. No Fire Alarms.
No Water Connections, and no backstage telephones.
An editor of Fireproof Magazine, who toured the building during construction, noted the
absence of an intake, and also expresses concerns about the abundance of wood trim used in the
theater’s aesthetic design.
By the time of the opening, the only firefighting tools on hand consist of six metal canisters
containing a dry chemical product called Kilfyre, meant to be forcibly hurled at the base of
any flames.
Business is business, though. And deadlines, even more so… and with the stage now ready,
Iroquois Theater opens its doors.
It will take only a single month for disaster to strike.
[music]
December 30, 1903.
Wednesday.
The theater is presenting a matinee performance of the popular Drury Lane musical Mr. Blue
Beard. The play, a burlesque of the traditional folk tale, features Dan McAvoy as Bluebeard
and Eddie Foy as Sister Anne.
The show has been playing at the theater since opening night, but the attendance has been
more - many staying home due to poor weather, but on this day, things are looking up. Every
seat in the house has been sold, and the theater owners, eager to make up for lost revenue,
sell hundreds of standing room tickets for areas in the back of the theater - causing
such a crowd that many sit in the theater aisles, blocking the exits.
Many of the estimated 2200 patrons attending the matinee are children.
Shortly after 3pm, as the show is well into the second act, and 16 performers are on stage,
delivering a rendition of the song “Pale Moon Light.” - An electrical short circuit
cause the main spotlight to shoot sparks into the air. One of the stage’s curtains begins
to burn, and wood trimming on the front of the stage catches fire.
A stagehand rushes backstage to fetch the emergency metal canisters, and by the time
he returns, some of the singers start to notice smoke.
Kilfyre is meant to be thrown at the base of flames, but the fire in the theater is
taking place high above the stage, thus, when the stagehand throws the canisters, the chemicals
spill uselessly to the ground.
Embers begin to fall toward the nervous singers below, and in moments, the audience realizes
the emergency.
The patrons panic, and show star Eddie Foy, set to go on stage - rushes out and attempts
to calm the crowd.
Chunks of the burning scenery fall around him as he tries in vain to maintain order
in the room.
There is no telephone backstage. A member of production is ordered to run from the burning
theater on foot and alert the nearest firehouse. The Chicago Fire Department will not arrive
in time.
The fire spreads in seconds, and the audience attempts, in vain, to flee. The design of
the theater, which includes large hung mirrors, disorients many in the crowd. Others arrive
at the exits only to find locked accordion gates, set up to prevent people from sneaking
to better seats after the start of the show.
The audience is locked in.
The broad and beautiful staircase proves to be a deathtrap - there is a REASON, after
all, that Chicago fire ordinances require multiple staircases and exits for the various
balconies and sections.
One single staircase means one single exit - and 2200 disoriented theatergoers, desperate
for air and fighting for their lives do not form an orderly line.
The theater goes black, and hundreds are trampled in the chaos.
In just 20 minutes, 575 people are killed. At least 30 more will die of injuries over
the following weeks.
The Iroquois Theater is destroyed, in what will be the worst single-building fire in
U.S. history - more than doubling the number of fatalities seen during the Great Chicago
Fire of 1871.
And the next day, theaters in New York City and around the country eliminate standing
room seating.
Building and fire codes will soon be reformed; theaters all over the world will close to
be retrofitted - exit signs from this point forward will need to be clearly marked, and
in many cases, installed.
Theaters in Chicago will close for six weeks. Investigations will take place.
In January of the next year, Will Davis, the theater's manager, is arrested, and charged
with criminal neglect.
After a short time, he will be acquitted.
Before too long, newspapers across the country report on the disaster. The victims names
are published, and this time is no hoax. This time, what happened in the paper happened
in Chicago.
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