Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Memorial — Attraction in New York

Triangle Fire Memorial 📍 Brown Building (formerly the Asch Building), 23-29 Washington Place at Greene Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City

A simple yet powerful memorial at the site of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. A steel ribbon descends the façade and splits into two, inscribed with the names and ages of all 146 victims so the sky shows through the cut-outs. Beneath it, reflective panels display eyewitness quotes in English, Italian, and Yiddish, while a vertical ribbon added in 2024 rises toward the ninth floor, marking the height where many were trapped or jumped.

Unveiled in 2023—112 years after the fire—it finally gives long-overdue recognition to the mostly immigrant women workers who lost their lives. Both moving and restrained, the memorial honors their memory and reminds us of the labor protections that followed, and of the work that...

Had listened to so many podcasts about this story, so I wasn’t expecting to get emotional, but seeing it in person was so impactful- there’s nothing that can prepare you for being there and actually seeing the names (and realizing SO MANY of them were sisters or mother/dghtrs). I came at night and wasn’t able to do a tour, but standing outside reading the memorial was very humbling, and did a great job at being respectful to the victims while not sugar-coating the history. For something so heartbreaking and important to American history, it is such a shame that it took until 2011 to create a memorial. And, if you aren’t able to do a tour, I’d really recommend listening to the episodes of Criminal (free from NPR) that covers the...

In 2011, the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, there was an individual, or individuals, who would go about the West and East Village writing on the sidewalk, in chalk, the names of the victims, in front of the buildings where the victims had lived. Some spaces now are empty lots, and some of the apartment buildings where victims lived still exist. Whomever did that, or was responsible for it, I applaud you and hope that you...