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m 'Theater' -> 'Theatre'. Forgive me for being pedantic, but there was discussion about this and while both forms are prevalent in American English, consensus tended to (1) keep it either one way or another in the article; don't mix spellings (2) Favor '-tre', as Wikipedia itself seems to prefer Theatre. See also that article, in particular the first footnote.
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The '''Brooklyn Theatre fire''' was a catastrophic theatre fire that broke out on the evening of December 5, 1876 in the city of [[Brooklyn]] (now a [[Borough (New York City)|borough]] of [[New York City]]). The fire took place at the Brooklyn TheaterTheatre, near the corner of Washington and Johnson streets, on a busy night when over a thousand guests were attending. The [[conflagration]] killed at least 278 individuals, with some accounts reporting more than 300 dead. One hundred and three unidentified victims were interred in a [[common grave]] at [[Green-Wood Cemetery]]. An obelisk marks the burial site near the main entrance at Fifth Avenue and 25th Street. More than two dozen identified victims were interred individually in separate sections at the [[Cemetery of the Evergreens]] in Brooklyn.
 
The Brooklyn Theatre fire ranks third in fatalities among fires occurring in theaterstheatres and other public assembly buildings in the United States, falling behind the 1942 [[Cocoanut Grove fire]] and the 1903 [[Iroquois Theatre fire]].<ref name="Howbad">See National Fire Protection Association, ''Public assembly and nightclub fires.</ref>
 
Fatalities mainly arose in the family circle, typically the highest tier of seats in a theatre and offering the least expensive seating. Only one stairway served this gallery, which sustained extreme temperatures and dense, suffocating smoke early in the conflagration. The stairway jammed with people, cutting off the escape of more than half of the gallery's occupants, who quickly succumbed to smoke inhalation.<ref name="ParliamentaryPapers">"Verdict of Inquest" ''British House of Commons'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=D0ATAAAAYAAJ&lr&as_brr=1&pg=RA1-PA159#v=onepage&q&f=false page 159]</ref><ref name="Fundamentals">{{cite book| last = Cote| first = Arthur E.| title = Fundamentals of Fire Protection| publisher = Jones & Bartlett Publishers| year = 2004| location = New York City| pages = 18–19| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=U3ZkdZvzA-0C&lpg=PP1&ots=ME-lagjFiZ&dq=Fundamentals%20of%20Fire%20Prevention&pg=PA18#v=onepage&q=Fundamentals%20of%20Fire%20Prevention&f=false| isbn = 978-0-87765-595-4}}</ref>
 
== Brooklyn Theatre ==
[[File:Brooklyn Theatre.jpeg|thumb|250px|Washington Street entrance before the fire, looking north toward Johnson Street. The theatertheatre is distinguished by its [[mansard roof]]; its L-shaped lot wrapped around the Dieter Hotel, here partially obscured by trees.]]
[[File:Brooklyn Theatre After Fire Washington Street.jpg|thumb|250px|right|The Washington Street entrance shortly after the fire. A crowd has congregated in front of the First Precinct station house, one door south, possibly to inquire after missing people or to file reports]]
[[File:Brooklyn Theatre Conflaguration Leslies Illustrated.jpg|thumb|250px|Relics of victiums laid out for identification in NYPD Station]]
The Brooklyn Theatre opened on October 2, 1871, and stood near the southeast corner of Washington and Johnson streets,<ref name="MadeMattersWorse"/> one block north of Brooklyn's City Hall.<ref name="OpeningDay">"New Theater", ''[[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]] 1871-09-06'', [http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Layout/Includes/BEagle/ArtWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=BEagle&BaseHref=BEG%2F1871%2F10%2F03&ViewMode=GIF&GZ=T&PageLabelPrint=&EntityId=Ar00200&AppName=2 page 2, column 3] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612122209/http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Layout/Includes/BEagle/ArtWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=BEagle&BaseHref=BEG%2F1871%2F10%2F03&ViewMode=GIF&GZ=T&PageLabelPrint=&EntityId=Ar00200&AppName=2 |date=June 12, 2011 }}</ref> It was owned by The Brooklyn Building Association, a partnership of affluent Brooklyn residents including Abner C. Keeney, William Kingsley, and Judge [[Alexander McCue]].<ref name="BDE_Opening">"Brooklyn Theatre" ''[[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]] 1871-10-03'', [http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Layout/Includes/BEagle/ArtWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=BEagle&BaseHref=BEG%2F1871%2F09%2F06&ViewMode=GIF&GZ=T&PageLabelPrint=&EntityId=Ar00208&AppName=2 page 2 column 8] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612122141/http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Layout/Includes/BEagle/ArtWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=BEagle&BaseHref=BEG%2F1871%2F09%2F06&ViewMode=GIF&GZ=T&PageLabelPrint=&EntityId=Ar00208&AppName=2 |date=June 12, 2011 }}</ref> After its destruction, the ''[[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]]'' called it Brooklyn's "principal theatre."<ref name="PrincipalTheater">'Resume of the Chief Features' "The Fire" ''[[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]] 1876-12-07'' [http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Layout/Includes/BEagle/ArtWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=BEagle&BaseHref=BEG%2F1876%2F12%2F07&ViewMode=GIF&GZ=T&PageLabelPrint=&EntityId=Ar00209&DataChunk=Ar00232&AppName=2 page 2, column 6] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612124543/http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Layout/Includes/BEagle/ArtWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=BEagle&BaseHref=BEG%2F1876%2F12%2F07&ViewMode=GIF&GZ=T&PageLabelPrint=&EntityId=Ar00209&DataChunk=Ar00232&AppName=2 |date=June 12, 2011 }}</ref> The theatertheatre had been managed by [[Sarah Crocker Conway|Sara]] and [[Frederick B. Conway]] until the last 20 months of its existence; they were a couple long involved in New York and Brooklyn theatertheatre who had managed Brooklyn's [[Park Theatre (Brooklyn)|Park Theatre]] from 1864 to 1871.<ref name="fourteenyears" /> Sara Conway died in April 1875,<ref name="MrsConwayObit">"Death of Mrs. F. B. Conway Last Night ''[[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]] 1875-04-29'' [https://www.newspapers.com/image/50419486/ page 2 column 3]</ref> about six months after her husband. Their children Minnie, Lillian, and Frederick Jr. then managed the theatertheatre for a short time, but without success.<ref name="MrsConwayObit" /> [[Albert Marshman Palmer]]<ref name="AMPalmer">See Wayne S. Turney's biographical sketch ''A. M. Palmer''</ref> and Sheridan Shook were the manager and proprietor of New York's Union Square Theatre, and they assumed a new lease on the Brooklyn Theatre in August 1875 and managed it until the catastrophe took place.{{Citation needed|date = December 2017}}
 
The Brooklyn Theatre stood a block from Fulton Street, the main thoroughfare to the Manhattan ferries and readily accessible to both New York and Brooklyn residents. Its seating capacity was about 1,600.<ref name="MadeMattersWorse">"Special Report of the Fire Marshall" ''British House of Commons'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=D0ATAAAAYAAJ&pg=PT376&lr=&as_brr=1&as_pt=ALLTYPES#PPT385,M1 page 14]</ref> Both Conway and Shook & Palmer sought upscale productions with well-known actors and actresses. The Brooklyn Theatre became a well-respected house in Brooklyn's nascent theatre district, which included the smaller and older Park, Olympic, and Globe theatres.<ref name="OtherTheatres">"Theatres in Brooklyn" ''Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac – 1890 [https://books.google.com/books?id=FtgWAAAAYAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA32,M1 page 34]</ref>
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The Brooklyn Theatre was designed by [[Thomas R. Jackson]] and constructed in 1871 according to Sara Conway's specifications.<ref name="WhoSpeced">"The Inquest: Statement of Thomas B. Jackson, Architect" ''British House of Commons'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=D0ATAAAAYAAJ&lr&as_brr=1&pg=RA1-PA157#v=onepage&q&f=false page 157]</ref> Brooklyn Police Fire Marshall Patrick Keady gathered testimony and constructed a chronology of the disaster, and he said that the structure had better exits than many other public buildings in Brooklyn at that time.<ref name="GoodEntrances">'Well provided with means of exits' "Special Report of the Fire Marshall" ''British House of Commons'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=D0ATAAAAYAAJ&lr&as_brr=1&pg=RA1-PA170#v=onepage&q&f=false page 170]</ref>
 
The theatertheatre occupied an L-shaped lot, with the [[Proscenium]] theatertheatre occupying the {{convert|127|x|70|ft|adj=on}} wing fronting Johnson Street. The stage and scene doors opened onto Johnson Street from this wing. The scene doors were {{convert|20|ft|m|abbr=on|adj=mid|wide}}, large enough to accommodate scenic flats and large props.<ref name="SceneDoorWidth">'The Construction of the Theatre' "Assistance for the Destitute" ''[[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]] 1876-12-08'' [http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Layout/Includes/BEagle/ArtWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=BEagle&Continuation=5&BaseHref=BEG%2F1876%2F12%2F08&ViewMode=GIF&GZ=T&PageLabelPrint=&EntityId=Ar00211&AppName=2 page 2 column 4] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612124041/http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Layout/Includes/BEagle/ArtWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=BEagle&Continuation=5&BaseHref=BEG%2F1876%2F12%2F08&ViewMode=GIF&GZ=T&PageLabelPrint=&EntityId=Ar00211&AppName=2 |date=June 12, 2011 }}</ref> The stage doors were smaller but could accommodate people carrying heavy loads. These Johnson Street doors were utilitarian and little used by the public.<ref name="KeeneyInterview">'Interview with Colonel Abner C. Keeney' "Assistance for the Destitute" ''[[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]] 1876-12-08'' [http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Layout/Includes/BEagle/ArtWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=BEagle&Continuation=4&BaseHref=BEG%2F1876%2F12%2F08&ViewMode=GIF&GZ=T&PageLabelPrint=&EntityId=Ar00211&AppName=2 page 2 column 4] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612124032/http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Layout/Includes/BEagle/ArtWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=BEagle&Continuation=4&BaseHref=BEG%2F1876%2F12%2F08&ViewMode=GIF&GZ=T&PageLabelPrint=&EntityId=Ar00211&AppName=2 |date=June 12, 2011 }}</ref> The shorter {{convert|27|x|40|ft|adj=on}} wing on Washington Street housed the main entrance to the lower floors and a separate staircase to the third floor theatertheatre gallery. They were for public use, and Jackson considered these main entry ways to be large enough to discharge a full house of 1,450 people in less than five minutes.<ref name="EvacuationTiming">"The Inquest: Statement of Thomas B. Jackson, Architect" ''British House of Commons'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=D0ATAAAAYAAJ&pg=PT376&lr=&as_brr=1&as_pt=ALLTYPES#PPT374,M1 page 4]</ref>
 
There were three sets of doors which Jackson designated as special exits. They led onto Flood's Alley, a small street running along the east side of the building that bisected the block from Johnson to Myrtle Avenue.<ref name="BuildingPlan">"The Inquest: Statement of Thomas B. Jackson, Architect" ''British House of Commons'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=D0ATAAAAYAAJ&pg=PT376&lr=&as_brr=1&as_pt=ALLTYPES#PPT374,M1 page 3]</ref><ref name="RochfordOpensDoors">Rocheford opened one set of the three in the vestibule opposite the Washington Street entrance. "An Account of the Fire" in "Holocaust" ''[[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]] 1876-12-06'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20110612122724/http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Layout/Includes/BEagle/ArtWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=BEagle&Continuation=1&BaseHref=BEG%2F1876%2F12%2F06&ViewMode=GIF&GZ=T&PageLabelPrint=&EntityId=Ar00208&AppName=2 page 2, column 6]</ref> Each set was {{convert|6|ft|spell=in}} across. The southern door closest to Myrtle Avenue opened into the eastern end of the lobby, underneath the flight of stairs leading from the lobby to the dress circle. The middle set opened onto a hallway adjoining the parquet, and the northern set opened near the stage and orchestra pit. The middle set served a stairway ascending to the second floor dress circle.<ref name="AccountForPanic">'Means of Egress' "Extracts of Evidence taken by the Fire Marshall" ''British House of Commons'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=D0ATAAAAYAAJ&pg=PT376&lr=&as_brr=1&as_pt=ALLTYPES#PPT388,M1 page 17]</ref> These alley doors were normally locked to discourage gate-crashing.<ref name="RochfordOpensDoors" /> The structure had no fire escapes connecting higher storey windows to the street, but sources from the period often called these alley doors "fire escapes."
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