Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and its aftermath

On March 25, 1911, a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in the Asch Building (now the Brown Building) killed 146 garment workers, many of them young immigrant women, after exits were locked and fire escapes failed. The disaster provoked public outrage and led to major reforms in factory safety regulations and labor law in New York State. The building at 23–29 Washington Place remains a documented landmark in accounts of workplace safety reform and urban tragedy.