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.

Church of the Most Holy Redeemer ca. 1935 In 1883 there was a fire at the school of the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer that led to the deaths of 16 children. The Roman Catholic Church of the Most Holy Redeemer at 173 East 3rd was built in 1851 -1852 by the Redemptorist Fathers. Today, the Church primarily serves a Spanish-speaking population, but like many other sites in the East Village, its history can be traced back to a time when the area was known as Kleindeustchland or Little Germany. With a tower that today reaches into the sky far beyond most of the structures of the East Village, it is hard to believe that Most Holy Redeemer’s original tower soared even higher, to more than 250 feet. Today the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer is a majestic limestone, high Romanesque style building although it was originally designed in the elaborate and highly ornamented baroque style and altered in 1913 by architect Paul Schultz. This remarkable Church was called out for its historic significance in a study of the East Village that was completed as part of the area’s rezoning. The school building, located directly behind the church on East 4th Street, is a four story brick building with a far humbler Romanesque façade. On the afternoon of February 20, 1883 a small fire broke out that led to the deaths of 16 schoolchildren and left 8 more injured. There were 900 children enrolled at the school and when smoke climbed into the second and third story classrooms a panic took hold. The children rushed into a staircase at the western end of the building to flee the fire. The rush of children into the narrow (3 feet wide) staircase became chaos which turned into tragedy when the railings (affixed to the walls only with nails) gave way and children fell from the stair to the floor below. As more children descended the stair pushing and crushing those ahead of them, more children fell off the stair into the pile of children reported to be four deep. An investigation of the fire and the cause of the children’s deaths led to a number of actions. The jury in a court case to determine if any parties – the school, the Bureau of Buildings or the Fire Department – had been negligent in any way found that no parties were negligent and recommended that fire drills should be practiced and that handrails be installed on both sides of the stairway. In his defense, Mr. Esterbrook, the Superintendent of the Bureau of Buildings claimed that it had, “neither men nor money enough to properly carry on (its) work” — a refrain we still often hear today. A month after the fire, the Bureau of Buildings did require changes to the school: the stairways were extended to all floors of the building and an escape ladder was added for access to the roof. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children took on an independent investigation of the fire safety of a number of schools in the city and found that 45 out of 66 were unsafe. They found schools with no fire escapes, locked or inward opening doors, shaky railings, and narrow stairs at schools citywide, including some in the surrounding neighborhood such as St. Brigid’s School (demolished) at 302 East 8th Street, the former St. Ann’s School at 113 East 11th Street, the Hebrew Free School at 624 5th Street (demolished) and St. Anthony’s School at 60 MacDougal Street in the GVSHP proposed South Village Historic District. While it took a great deal of time, the persistence of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, one of the earliest children’s advocates against child abuse and endangerment, led to changes in the fire safety measures at New York City schools.

173 East 3rd Street Building Date : 1852/1913 alt. Original Use : Institutional Original Owner : Catholic Diocese of New York Original Architect : Mr. (Johannas) Walsh, alterations by Paul Schultz Description & Building Alterations This lot is a conglomeration of several old lots that contain the Roman Catholic Church of the Most Holy Redeemer, the rectory, a former Catholic school for girls, a playground and former convent. The church was founded by Redemptorist Fathers and the complex was built in 1852 for the large German immigrant population. When the church was built, its steeple was much taller, only slightly shorter than St. Patrick’s Cathedral even though it predated that building. Archbishop John Hughes and Bishop John Neumann, the only male American citizen canonized as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, were present at the dedication. The architect, according to From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan’s Houses of Worship by David Dunlap was Mr. Walsh. This could have been Johannas Walsh, who was the only architect with the last name ‘Walsh’ in the NYC Directory from 1851-52. Although somewhat eclectic, the overall design of the church is in a mix of the Baroque Romanesque and Byzantine Revival styles. It originally had a 250-foot tower. The building’s ornate facade often led to it being mistaken for a cathedral rather than a parish church. The original 1852 church facade was heavily remodeled in 1913 by Paul Schultz. This work eliminated ornamentation, reduced the Baroque curves, and shortened the steeple. At this same time, a rectory and school were also altered. Due to the size and complexity of alterations done on this complex, it is difficult to give a comprehensive overview.