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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
The Brooklyn Theatre fire ranks third in fatalities among fires occurring in
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
[[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
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
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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