At closing time workers were forced to leave by a single Greene Street exit where their coats and bags were checked for stolen goods. During the fire, desperate workers died trying to escape through exit doors which could not be freed and pulled inward toward the massed, frightened workers. The spiral stairways, mobbed with fleeing workers, narrowed at each landing restricting the number of people who could safely stand on the stair and causing many to lose their footing and fall on those below.
Photographer: unknown, 1911
Kheel Center image identifier: 5780pb39f18k
Image of 11

Users are responsible for copyright compliance. Please contact the Kheel Center for additional information.