As in past years, volunteers have been taking part in the chalking project (organized by Street Pictures), writing the names and ages of the victims in front of the buildings where they lived on the Lower East Side.
For example, Julia Oberstein lived at 53 Avenue A between Third Street and Fourth Street. (Top photo.) She was 19 years old.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City on March 25, 1911, was the largest industrial disaster in U.S. history ... causing the death of 146 garment workers (mostly young women) who either died from the fire or jumped to their deaths.
The Triangle Waist Company was located on the northwest corner of Greene Street and Washington Place just east of Washington Square Park, where the commemoration ceremonies take place today (3/24). Find more details at The Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition website.
A memorial, expected to be unveiled at the site of the fire, is in the works. Read more about it here.
The Triangle Waist Company was located on the northwest corner of Greene Street and Washington Place just east of Washington Square Park, where the commemoration ceremonies take place today (3/24). Find more details at The Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition website.
Just recently read "Triangle" by David Von Drehle, picked up at EV Books on St. Marks.
ReplyDeleteReally fascinating history of this story.
After reading the book I went over to take a look at the site, not realizing I'd passed it hundreds of times without knowing.
Will try to walk over there tomorrow in between dodging the rain.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, my LL has been instructing the maintenance men for years to thoroughly clean the sidewalk in front of our building every day, so we haven't seen the chalkings for several years now.
ReplyDeleteThe men, who speak no English, are afraid to go against the wishes of the LL, who of course doesn't care about some workers who perished over 100 years ago.
I'm angry about this, and even asked a bilingual neighbor if she could try and reason with them; she got angry at me when I tried to criticize her for not trying hard enough.