Built at a cost of $1.1 million to host theatrical extravaganzas produced by Klaw & Erlanger. Site of the deadliest theater fire and single-building fire in U.S. history. Death toll: at least 605. To put the scope of the disaster in perspective consider that there were forty deaths from fire in Chicago that year not related to the Iroquois Theater.
On Dec 30, 1903, in addition to these 1606 seated and 119 standing were 8 allowed in for free (2 ushers from the Illinois Theater, 2 employees from Powers Theater, 3 from an unspecified theater and 1 from "The Billionaire" cast) and 80 who had passes. Also in the house, in addition to stage workers, were 30 Iroquois employees (ushers, restroom / coat check attendants and ticket clerks). In performance was Mr. Bluebeard, a musical play based on a children's fairytale. One of the major Chicago daily newspapers the day after the fire would mistakenly identify the play as Mr. Bluebeard Jr., a different production that had appeared in Chicago fourteen years earlier, in 1889, and that inaccuracy would sometimes be picked up and repeated for over a century.
Website Administrator/author/chief Cooke and bottle washer: Judy Cooke, Elkhart, IN.
In 2005 I enjoyed the challenge of helping liquidate the estate of Iroquois Theatre manager, Will J. Davis. The project involved a year researching his souvenirs and correspondence from his friends and business associates. In the process I learned a great deal about his life but, since I did not have letters written by him, he remained a mystery.
For a living I sell antiques and fridge magnets online. As hobbies I enjoy reading and history. In 2012, while researching an antique stage lamp, I came across a new bit of information about the lamp that started the Iroquois Theater fire. The discovery inspired further research that was first shared on an Iroquois Theater Facebook page. As the project grew, this website was added.
Will J. Davis remains an interesting puzzle but my interest in him, six years into the project, is matched by curiosity about the impact of sudden, unexpected mass tragedy in people's lives, and the role the Iroquois disaster had on the history of Chicago. Having lived for nearly seventy years within a few hours of the city, excursions to it's museums, baseball parks, convention and concert halls are interwoven with a lifetime of memories. Not once during those events did I recognize or appreciate the price paid by people in 1903 that resulted in fire and building codes that kept us safe.
Won't be one. Past mixing of hobbies and money turned passion into toil.
What are your academic credentials? Are you qualified?
None and nope. Prior career experiences give me a collection of relevant near-skills but the project is driven by curiosity and the time of a semi-retired person with a touch of OCD.
Why are many of your images of poor quality?
Oftentimes nothing better is available but I've grown to like them, warts and all. An authenticity thing.
Some of the stories are uninteresting.
True that. Were I able to interview victims and other participants, their stories could be made more entertaining, as would more information or a willingness on my part to speculate about how they felt, the circumstances of their lives, etc. I sometimes go down the Guessing Path a short distance but try to limit such excursions and flag them accordingly. Iroquois Theater victims and their families were subjected to inaccuracy and misrepresentation in 1903/4 and for over a century thereafter. One goal of this project is to create a foundation of information about these folks that corrects some of those errors. A kind of respectful reset.
Couldn't you eulogize and pay tribute more? My heart breaks for my great great uncle's family.
Tears were shed and Iroquois Theater victims were memorialized and eulogized in 1904 and remain for perusal in period obituary captures on such online websites as Find-A-Grave and Ancestry. In the course of working on this project I've read thousands of eulogies. Many are flowery boilerplate, the same flattering characteristics applied to everyone: "A harder working or more honest man never lived than <insert name here>. He was a pillar of his community, beloved by all who knew him." That was in keeping with eulogies of the period and fitting in the years immediately following the disaster when family members reeled with sudden loss. There is no one alive today, however, who knew an Iroquois victim or survivor so while I strive to pay tribute on this site with information about victims and participants, memorializing is not my objective.
Where did the victim work or play? If he immigrated to America in 1880 and by 1903 owned a home, I'm interested. Did his occupation or religion give the disaster especial meaning? Did she continue teaching school after marriage? That'd be rare for the time so I want to explore it. As to grandpa beating his wife and kids, I'm apt to omit that bit of ugly unless grandpa survived the fire while his grandchildren died, at which point his attitude towards his family becomes part of his story. Ask me tomorrow and my answer might change but for this moment in time, that's it.
I don't like your story about my ancestors.
In seven years I've heard that complaint only once but it deserves to be addressed. Talk to me and I'll listen. I've worked with many descendants to produce a story that reflects history and family sentiment. The fire and its circumstances take precedence and sometimes that means victims share the focus with other matters as I see fit. This is not a memorial or tribute site and I reserve the right to make all decisions regarding story format, theme, focus, etc. You can tell your story your way, however, by creating a blog. There are many free blogging sites that make it easy. Describe your family's Iroquois experience and send me a link to your blog page.