Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Research Paper

Words: 508
Pages: 3

Our interest in this particular topic began with— a fire drill. Something as simple as a fire drill also has the most complex backgrounds that are left unexplained or overlooked. What started as a simple question, spiraled into a myriad of questions and impelled us into revealing the hidden and complex story of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. A flaming tragedy that killed 146 innocent lives in an industrial accident in Manhattan, New York. Their sacrifices have become a monumental turning point in changing American labor and fire codes and improving women’s rights. Though researching was difficult at first, we managed to find our first reliable source— Cornell University’s “Remembering the 1911 Triangle Factory Fire”. From there, we branched …show more content…
Soon, we began to interview other people and found Mary Anne Trasciatti, granddaughter of a garment worker and president of the Triangle Shirtwaist Memorial. She expounded on the horrific working conditions and sexism workers (who were mostly female) were put through. The Triangle Fire was a turning point that changed these aspects. Furthermore, we visited the site of the fire, now known as the Triangle Shirtwaist Memorial, to deepen our understanding of the past. We decided to create an exhibit as it was the most visually compelling for the audience to understand through a spatial and sensual perspective. Also, we recreated the model of our exhibit after the factory and the Triangle Shirtwaist Memorial. Many of the stylistic and aesthetic elements used in the memorial are used in our exhibit, including the names on the ceiling, the white bricks on the exterior, the rows of polished glass windows, and many others. A major obstacle we were met with when making our project was our