Chicago Death Trap

The Iroquois Theatre Fire of 1903

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Performing Arts, Theatre, History & Criticism, History, Americas, United States, State & Local
Cover of the book Chicago Death Trap by Nat Brandt, Southern Illinois University Press
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Author: Nat Brandt ISBN: 9780809387960
Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press Publication: August 3, 2006
Imprint: Southern Illinois University Press Language: English
Author: Nat Brandt
ISBN: 9780809387960
Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press
Publication: August 3, 2006
Imprint: Southern Illinois University Press
Language: English

On the afternoon of December 30, 1903, during a sold-out matinee performance, a fire broke out in Chicago’ s Iroquois Theatre. In the short span of twenty minutes, more than six hundred people were asphyxiated, burned, or trampled to death in a panicked mob’ s failed attempt to escape. In Chicago Death Trap: The Iroquois Theatre Fire of 1903, Nat Brandt provides a detailed chronicle of this horrific event to assess not only the titanic tragedy of the fire itself but also the municipal corruption and greed that kindled the flames beforehand and the political cover-ups hidden in the smoke and ash afterwards.

Advertised as “ absolutely fireproof,” the Iroquois was Chicago’ s most modern playhouse when it opened in the fall of 1903. With the approval of the city’ s building department, theater developers Harry J. Powers and William J. Davis opened the theater prematurely to take full advantage of the holiday crowds, ignoring flagrant safety violations in the process.

The aftermath of the fire proved to be a study in the miscarriage of justice. Despite overwhelming evidence that the building had not been completed, that fire safety laws were ignored, and that management had deliberately sealed off exits during the performance, no one was ever convicted or otherwise held accountable for the enormous loss of life.

Lavishly illustrated and featuring an introduction by Chicago historians Perry R. Duis and Cathlyn Schallhorn, Chicago Death Trap: The Iroquois Theatre Fire of 1903 is rich with vivid details about this horrific disaster, captivatingly presented in human terms without losing sight of the broader historical context.

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On the afternoon of December 30, 1903, during a sold-out matinee performance, a fire broke out in Chicago’ s Iroquois Theatre. In the short span of twenty minutes, more than six hundred people were asphyxiated, burned, or trampled to death in a panicked mob’ s failed attempt to escape. In Chicago Death Trap: The Iroquois Theatre Fire of 1903, Nat Brandt provides a detailed chronicle of this horrific event to assess not only the titanic tragedy of the fire itself but also the municipal corruption and greed that kindled the flames beforehand and the political cover-ups hidden in the smoke and ash afterwards.

Advertised as “ absolutely fireproof,” the Iroquois was Chicago’ s most modern playhouse when it opened in the fall of 1903. With the approval of the city’ s building department, theater developers Harry J. Powers and William J. Davis opened the theater prematurely to take full advantage of the holiday crowds, ignoring flagrant safety violations in the process.

The aftermath of the fire proved to be a study in the miscarriage of justice. Despite overwhelming evidence that the building had not been completed, that fire safety laws were ignored, and that management had deliberately sealed off exits during the performance, no one was ever convicted or otherwise held accountable for the enormous loss of life.

Lavishly illustrated and featuring an introduction by Chicago historians Perry R. Duis and Cathlyn Schallhorn, Chicago Death Trap: The Iroquois Theatre Fire of 1903 is rich with vivid details about this horrific disaster, captivatingly presented in human terms without losing sight of the broader historical context.

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