On December 30, 1903, the Iroquois Theatre was jammed for a musical comedy called "Mr. Bluebeard," starring popular vaudeville comedian Eddie Foy. Because it was a matinee, more than half of the overflow crowd of over 1,900 was women and children. The blaze broke out midway through the second act as a backstage spotlight, which could generate temperatures as high as 4,000 degrees, crackled and sparked a curtain. The Chicago Historical Society owns the now-bent and slightly rusted spotlight that started the fire.On the 100th anniversary of the Iroquois Theatre disaster, a pair of markers were unveiled to remind people of what remains as the worst public assembly inferno in the nation's history. The Fire Museum of Greater Chicago helped to organize a memorial ceremony conducted on West Randolph Street in Chicago, the site of the former Iroquois Theatre. A plain marker that once commemorated the fire at the site (but has been in storage for years) was refurbished and will be reinstalled. A new marker that gives more details of the fire will also be added in the lobby of the building next to the Oriental Theatre.
Click here to watch the special report by CBS 2 Chicago News. (This news feature was produced by Harvey Moshman, who co-wrote and co-produced the Eastland Disaster documentary while he was with WTTW Channel 11.)
A memorial to the victims of the fire was erected in 1908 at the Montrose Cemetery in Chicago.
Please direct questions and comments to the Eastland Disaster Historical Society at info@eastlanddisaster.org.
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