CHICAGO THEATRE FIRE KILLED NEARLY 600
Deadliest single-building blaze in the U.S. led to overhaul of theatres
On Dec. 30, 1903, just five weeks after opening, a fire ripped through the opulent Iroquois Theater in Chicago. Close to 600 people perished.
An audience of more than 2,000 had packed into the 1,700-seat theatre for a matinee performance of the musical Mr. Blue Beard when sparks from a stage light ignited a muslin curtain and fire spread to scenery flats hanging from the ceiling.
As flames swept through the packed auditorium, terrified audience members — mostly women and children — scrambled for the main entrance and dozens of poorly designed fire exits scattered throughout the building.
Eddie Foy, the show’s star, ran to the stage and called for the audience to remain calm and seated. But as burning scenery rained down upon him and the flames, fed by a draft, shot across the room, the panicked masses clambered over one another as the lights went out. And as they navigated corridors toward confusing, locked exits in the darkness, they were “caught like rats in a trap,” an alderman told the Chicago Daily Tribune.
The theatre had contravened a number of city ordinances and had no automatic sprinklers, fire alarm or telephone. An asbestos curtain meant to contain the fire became stuck.
Many of those who didn’t perish in the smoke and flames were crushed or trampled to death. The ones fortunate enough to reach open fire exits on the north side of the building were forced to jump to their own deaths, although some survived by landing softly on a pile of bodies below.
“FIRE IN THE IROQUOIS THEATER KILLS 571” read the headline for the Dec. 31 edition of the Tribune, but the paper that hit newsstands on New Year’s Day put the total death toll at 582. Another 160 were injured and 336 were reporting missing, most presumed dead, according to the L.A. Times. A few dozen more later died of their injuries.
The Tribune printed a list of the dead on Jan. 1, including those who had not been identified. They were given descriptors such as “33 years, black hair, gray waist, pepper and salt skirt, black stockings, ‘M.E.D.’ on underskirt.”
The paper’s reporters described finding “hundred of bodies piled high” in steep staircases. They helped rescuers carry some of them out of the building and were shocked to find some of the burned still clinging to life.
And on the first balcony where “the upholstery had been burned clean from the rail to the rear wall,” the reporters made a disturbing observation: “Here, the sorry wreck mutely attested to the real horror of the tragedy — the death of women and children. Everywhere beneath the seats and in the aisles were strewn the relics of that feminine and youthful audience,” including hair combs, an embroidered handkerchief and a baby’s hood.
While investigators and coroners combed the theatre for evidence, pickpockets worked in the shadows, “ghouls” pulling rings from the fingers of the dead, most of whom were women.
Warrants were immediately issued for a dozen men linked to the Iroquois, including the stage manager, assistant stage manager, electrician, carpenter, four hands and four actors. They were quickly arrested and charged with manslaughter. Safety inspectors were accused of overlooking the Iroquois’ deficiencies in exchange for free tickets and charges were brought against many public officials, including Chicago’s mayor, but only the city’s building commissioner was convicted, of misfeasance.
Theatres across Chicago were closed for six weeks, building and fire codes were updated and auditoriums across the country were retrofitted to have their emergency exits clearly marked and openable from inside. It remains the single deadliest theatre fire and single-building fire in the U.S.