Today, exactly a hundred years ago, 146 people, mostly women, were killed in one of the worst industrial disasters in American history, one that helped lay the foundation for working condition standards. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, just a few blocks from me at the heart of the East Village, wasn't necessarily a vacation. Stations were cramped, hours were horrible, pay was pathetic, it was... a sweatshop full of immigrant women trying to keep their families from starving. Mind you, there were no regulations in place, so the factory owners, immigrants themselves who came to the U.S. for the "American Dream", ran their factories in any way they pleased. Efficiency was key, and as much profit as possible was to be made; this meant that every scrap must be used, and months of scraps were lying around. It's said that of the two doors leaving the floors, one was to be kept locked so anyone leaving would have to pass the foreman, showing him that they were not smuggling anything out of the factory in their bags. In case of a fire, there were a couple of water buckets to be consulted, but that's it in the way of safety.
So on 25 March 1911, at around 4:45, when a fire actually did break out in the factory, nothing short of a disaster could have ensued.
The fire began on the eighth floor, which promptly warned the factory owners on tenth floor, through telephone. Neither, however, warned the ninth; the floor was not provided with any means of communication. The women were left to realize the building was burning for themselves, by which time the only unlocked entrance led to a stairwell engulfed in flame (and the foreman with the key to the other door had already escaped). The elevators were still working, so women began to pack into them while they still ran; others threw themselves down the elevator shaft on to the roof of the elevator in an attempt to escape. The heat, however, overcame the rails.
Other women tried to use the fire escape, but it was too poorly constructed to hold such weight and collapsed.
With nothing left, women began to jump from the windows to their deaths on the sidewalks below.
Families were later invited to a makeshift morgue to claim their dead, burned and crushed beyond recognition. All of New York City suddenly mourned for these faceless girls.
The factory building is now NYU's Brown Building of Science.
Sources tell me it's not haunted, but I still think that was a pretentious thing to do.
This weekend is the Indian festival of colors, Holi. We've decided to celebrate Holi this year, and join in on staining each other with colored powder, dancing bhangra, and eating all things masala (and vegetarian ).
Bura na mano, holi hai. Let's celebrate Holi!
And find me a pretty sari to match the bangles and tikka. Mood: Nervous
).