place

Brooklyn Theatre fire

1876 fires1876 in New York City19th century in BrooklynBuilding collapses caused by fireBuilding collapses in the United States
Building fires in New York CityCultural history of New York CityDecember 1876 eventsDemolished buildings and structures in BrooklynFormer music venues in New York CityHuman stampedes in the United StatesTheatre firesUse mdy dates from May 2019
BrooklynTheatre From Johnson Street Looking East
BrooklynTheatre From Johnson Street Looking East

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 of New York City). The fire took place at the Brooklyn Theatre, near the corner of Washington and Johnson streets, with over a thousand guests attending. The conflagration killed at least 278 individuals, with some accounts reporting more than 300 dead. 103 unidentified victims were interred in a common grave at Green-Wood Cemetery, marked by an obelisk, while 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 theatres and other public assembly buildings in the United States, falling behind the 1942 Cocoanut Grove fire and the 1903 Iroquois Theatre fire.Fatalities mainly arose in the family circle, the highest tier in the theatre offering the cheapest seats. This gallery sustained extreme temperatures and dense, suffocating smoke early in the conflagration. Only one stairway served it which became jammed with people and cut off escape for more than half the gallery's occupants.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Brooklyn Theatre fire (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Brooklyn Theatre fire
Adams Street, New York Kings County

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Brooklyn Theatre fireContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 40.694722222222 ° E -73.989722222222 °
placeShow on map

Address

NY State Supreme Court 2nd District

Adams Street 360
11201 New York, Kings County
New York, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

BrooklynTheatre From Johnson Street Looking East
BrooklynTheatre From Johnson Street Looking East
Share experience

Nearby Places

Borough Hall/Court Street station
Borough Hall/Court Street station

The Borough Hall/Court Street station is an underground New York City Subway station complex shared by the BMT Fourth Avenue Line, the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and the IRT Eastern Parkway Line. The complex comprises three stations: Borough Hall on the IRT lines and Court Street on the BMT line. Located at the intersection of Court, Joralemon and Montague Streets at the border of Downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights, it is served by the 2, 4 and R trains at all times; the 3 train all times except late nights; the 5 train on weekdays the N train during late nights; and limited rush hour W trains. The Borough Hall station of the Eastern Parkway Line was built for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as part of the city's first subway line. The station opened on January 9, 1908, as part of an extension of the original IRT into Brooklyn. The Borough Hall station of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line opened on April 15, 1919, as part of the Dual Contracts. The Court Street station of the Fourth Avenue Line was built for the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (later the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation, or BMT) as part of the Dual Contracts, and opened on August 1, 1920. Several modifications have been made to both stations over the years, and they were connected within a single fare control area in 1948. The Eastern Parkway Line station under Joralemon Street has two side platforms and two tracks on the same level. The Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line station under Brooklyn Borough Hall also has two side platforms and two tracks, but with the platforms on different levels. The Fourth Avenue Line station has one island platform and two tracks. Part of the complex is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The original portion of the interior of the Eastern Parkway Line's Borough Hall station is a New York City designated landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.