On March 25, 1911, 146 immigrant garment workers were killed after they were trapped on the upper floors of the Asch Building after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory caught fire. The owners of the factory had chained shut the exit doors, and the workers, who were mostly young women, perished in the fire or died after jumping from the ten story building. A sidewalk cellar's skylight was shattered by the fallen bodies of panic stricken workers. This photo shows the gutted remains of the tenth floor, with only the floors and walls intact.

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

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<p>In the early 20th century, America was flexing its economic and political muscle on the international stage. The era was defined by the temperance movement, Progressive-era activism, the sinking of the Titanic and World War I.</p>


Early 20th Century U.S.

<p>Though the 19th century saw the rise of populism, the labor movement and Jacksonian democracy, it also ushered in the Gilded Age, when men like Cornelius Vanderbilt and J. P. Morgan wielded vast control over politics and business.</p>


Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

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100 Years Ago: The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire