Podcast explores legacy of Triangle fire
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
A new limited-run podcast is taking
a look at the events of the Triangle
Shirtwaist Factory fi re through the
eyes of two young women who survived the
deadly blaze.
On March 25, 1911, a fi re broke out in
a scrap bin under a worker’s table inside
the Asch building in Greenwich Village at
4:40 p.m. The alarm sounded at 4:45 p.m.,
and the fi re began to spread throughout the
building’s 8th, 9th and 10th fl oors. With
only one fi re escape in the factory, several
workers were trapped in the building, while
the owners were able to escape with their
families.
The fi re was brought under control 18
minutes later but the damage had already
been done, with 146 workers — 23 women
and girls and 23 men — who had died in
the fi re, with many of the victims being
young female immigrants between the ages
of 14 and 23 years old. Many of the victims
died of the fi re, smoke inhalation, or falling/
jumping to their deaths.
The building, now called the Brown
building, is a part of NYU’s campus and
has been recognized as a New York City
landmark. The 110th anniversary of the
fire is this year, and historical fiction
(L) The burning Asch building; (R) Striking garment workers in 1909
writer and New Yorker Hope Tarr felt it
was necessary to share the story from a
new perspective.
“I used to live in the Union Square area,
near the Brown Building. I had known
about the fi re in general terms, but I went
in 2011 to a friend who invited me to tag
along to the centennial anniversary service
at Washington Place,” said Tarr. “I was so
PROVIDED
moved — captivated not the right word, but
the workplace justice issues important to
me. I have relatives in the garment industry,
and my aunt was a card-carrying member
of the International Ladies Garment Workers
Union (ILGWU), the union that fought
for reform after the fi re, so it runs deep in
my DNA.”
Tarr had already started researching the
fi re for a book she was writing, but had so
much information that she wanted other
ways to tell this story. Tarr partnered with
Fin Dwyer, of the Irish History Podcasts,
to put together a limited podcast series
centered around the Triangle Shirtwaist
Factory fi re.
“I thought he was sharp and had an interesting
perspective on workplace issues,”
said Tarr. “He is Ireland-based and had
never heard of the fi re, which is unusual
to us in New York. I talked to him about
the research I had done. Three years and
3,000 miles later, we launched just in time
of the 110th anniversary.”
The limited-run podcast looks at the fi re
from the perspective of two young women
who survived the ordeal: Celia Walker,
an immigrant from Poland, and Annie
Doherty, an immigrant from Ireland.
“We chose to look at the lens of two
women workers because we felt like if we
tell the story, we should be elevating the
voices of the people who worked there
rather than us talking about how we feel
about it,” said Tarr.
All three episodes of the podcast are
available for listening, the fi rst on the Irish
History Podcast website and Acast, and the
second and third on Acast. For information
about Tarr, visit www.hopectarr.com.
CELEBRATING WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH
This year we celebrate a step change –
history in the making – in the landscape
of leadership in politics, journalism,
medicine, education, science, technology,
engineering, philanthropy, the arts, and more.
We celebrate the women in film and television
who use their voices and actions to change
the world.
To tell the story, to disrupt the conventional,
to pave the way for future generations to soar.
To the women who have been the first or
the second, and to countless other women
yet to be recognized for their courage
and genius – we celebrate YOU!
12 March 25, 2021 Schneps Media
/www.hopectarr.com
/www.hopectarr.com
