<p>On Saturday, March 25, 1911, at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in the heart of New York City, a lethal fire broke out on the factory floor, located at the top of the ten-story Asch Building near Washington Square East. Trapping many of the textile workers inside, the fire claimed the lives of one in four employees: more than one hundred women and two dozen men, many of them young, recent immigrants and non-English speakers, perished in the blaze or while jumping from windows to escape. The dangerous working conditions responsible for the fire and its casualties were typical for urban factories, often known as sweatshops, of this period. The largely preventable tragedy and its aftermath helped to galvanize a series of reforms in the working conditions of laborers that continued through the twentieth century.</p><p>The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers &ndash; 123 women and girls and 23 men &ndash; who died from the fire, smoke inhalation, or falling or jumping to their deaths. Most of the victims were recent Italian or Jewish immigrant women and girls aged 14 to 23.</p>

Brown Building (formerly Asch Building), near Washington Square Park

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

 The Brown Building is a ten-story building that is part of the campus of New York University (NYU). It is located at 23-29 Washington Place, between Greene Street and Washington Square East in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was built in 1900&ndash;01, designed by John Woolley in the neo-Renaissance style. It was originally named the Asch Building after its owner, Joseph J. Asch. 

Brown Building

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