"Brown Building, originally the Asch Building. Site of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire, 1975." The Asch Building was built in 1900–01 by architect John Woolley, who designed it in the neo-Renaissance style. Because it was known for "fire-proof" rooms it was attractive to garment factories who were susceptible to fires. The Triangle Shirtwaist factory moved into the top three floors a year after the building was completed. It was on these top three floors (8th, 9th, and 10th) that the Triangle Fire occurred in March of 1911. Despite the fire hoses not being able to reach the floors that were on fire, and the massive loss of life, the building survived intact. In 1916 New York University began to use the 8th floor for a library and classrooms. In 1929 the building was purchased by real estate developer and philanthropist Frederick Brown, donated to the university and renamed the Brown Building. Today the top floors are occupied by science classrooms and labs. There are a number of plaques at the base of the building that memorialize the fire and a larger memorial is currently being planned for the facade of the building.

"On March 25, 1911, a mere three days after the founding of the Wage Earner’s Suffrage League, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire transformed what Americans (especially in rural areas) knew and how they thought about factory work. When the fire broke out on the upper floors of the Asch Building at closing time on Saturday March 25, 1911, panicked workers instinctively ran for the nearest exits only to discover that the doors had been locked ostensibly to prevent employee thefts. Trapped in the inferno on the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors of the building too high up for ladders and hoses to reach, desperate workers jumped to their deaths. The fire claimed the lives of 146 immigrant workers, mostly Jewish and Italian women. Front-page banner headlines in newspapers across the country bore news of the tragedy and immediately heightened public awareness about the dangers of the industrial workplace. The time had come for state intervention. New York convened a factory investigating commission that would eventually pass more than thirty workplace fire, safety, and health laws. In 1914, the Smith Bill went as far as limiting the number of hours that women and children would be allowed to work." For more on how the Fire galvanized New York City's nationally pivotal suffrage movement, check out this article by Karen Pastorello in Gotham: A Blog for Scholars of New York City History.

In its history, New York City has seen its fair share of accidents, disasters, and catastrophes. Some have been man-made, while others were the work of Mother Nature. These events have, over time, altered and shaped the city and its citizens.

In August 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified, giving some women—but not all—the right to vote at the national level. Celebrate the centennial of suffrage with a tour of New York locations that were important in the history of women’s rights.

Triangle Fire, March 25, 1911 When an accidental fire raced through the top three stories of the Triangle Waist Company factory in Greenwich Village, hundreds of blouse makers escaped on elevators and stairs. Others were blocked by a locked exit door or trapped on the fire escape. Firemen’s ladders could not reach them, and dozens of people jumped to their deaths. Twenty-one-year-old pipefitter Victor Joseph Gatto witnessed the fire from Washington Square Park. Over 30 years later, he painted this vivid depiction of the fire from memory. Image Info: Victor Joseph Gatto, 1944-1945, oil on canvas CREDIT: Museum of the City of New York, Gift of Mrs. Henry L. Moses, 54.75

Brown Building ARCHITECT: John Woolley DATE: 1900-11 STYLE: Neo-Renaissance The Brown Building (originally Asch Building), a loft building constructed for Joseph J. Asch in 1900-01 which housed the Triangle shirtwaist factory on its top three stories, is significant for women’s and labor history as the site of the Shirtwaistmaker’s Strike of 1909, the first large-scale strike of women workers in the country, and the Triangle Fire of 1911, one of the worst industrial disasters in American history. On March 25, 1911, when a fire erupted on the eighth floor of the Triangle factory and spread to the floors above, locked doors and inadequate fire escapes contributed to the deaths of 146 workers, many of whom leapt to their deaths. This tragedy stunned the nation and became a catalyst for a broad range of reforms. Over the next few years, New York City and New York State adopted a battery of new laws to protect the public from fires and ensure the health and safety of workers. The new laws were the most advanced and comprehensive in the country and served as models for other state and local ordinances and for the federal labor legislation of the New Deal era. After the fire, the building’s neo-Renaissance facade remained largely intact.

"Asch Building, fire scene. Photograph taken March 30, 1911, five days after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire." On a Saturday afternoon in March 1911, just as the work day was ending a fire began on the 8th floor of the Asch building. The top three floors of this 10-story building housed the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. The fire spread quickly due to the flammable scraps of clothing that filled the factory. The workers (mostly young immigrant women) had little time or means to escape. Some of the doors to the stairs were locked from the outside to prevent theft, but caused a crush of people attempting to use them. The only functioning elevator was only able to make a few trips before breaking down, and the narrow fire escape collapsed under the weight of those trying to flee the flames. More than 50 workers died after jumping out of the windows to the streets below. The disaster was one of the largest industrial disasters in American history. In total 146 people were killed. Following the fire a number of laws were enacted to protect factory workers and to make the factory environment safer. Also a number of local politicians and activists who were in the city at the time of the fire went on to high level government post where they were able to update and advance labor policy (this group included Al Smith, NY Governor 1919-20 and 1923-28 and Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor under FDR).