Archival Photo
A2011-001.1002 : Volunteers caring for dead bodies from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
Saturday, March 25, 1911
A2011-001
AP/86674
The sidewalks around the building was made of small glass sidewalk vault lights. These small glass bubbles were used to provide sky light to the basement of the factory buildings. They were used before electricity was invented, and are inlaid onto a metal frame on the ground. When the victims hit the sidewalk the vault lights and their frames were not strong enough to support the weight of a falling body. In many cases when the bodies hit, the light frames broke and the victims continued to fall to the basement of the factory.
