"Lest We Forget": Chicago's Awful Theater HorrorEverett, Marshall
History
"Lest We Forget": Chicago's Awful Theater Horror
Everett, Marshall
Iroquois Theater, Chicago -- Fire, 1903; Theaters -- Fires and fire prevention
"I was watching the stairs, and they were up there thirty seconds, about,
when the fireman came down with the first body, a little girl, about eight
years old. He shouted out to the firemen for God's sake to get up there,
and all the firemen I saw in the lobby dropped everything and went up, and
they weren't up there but a few seconds before they came tumbling down
with bodies, and after I had remained there about three minutes more I saw
dozens of bodies brought down. One fireman slipped with the body of an old
lady about the fourth step and fell down on the marble floor and I helped
put her into the fireman's arms. The smoke was so dense I could not see
much and as I could do nothing to help any one I hurried out of the
foyer."
MUSICAL DIRECTOR'S SWORN STATEMENT.
Antonio Frosolono, 170 Seminary avenue, Chicago, musical director at the
ill-fated theater:
"I was in the Iroquois theater playing at that performance in the
orchestra. I was not directing the performance, as the company has its own
director. I was sitting sideways, facing the east door of the stage. The
stage was to my left. I do not know how the fire started, only I heard a
confusion.
"The 'Pale Moonlight' scene was on and sixteen people, the double octette,
occupied the stage. Some of them did not sing, and some of them went out
of their places. Eddie Foy came out and announced that if everybody would
keep quiet everything would be all right. Then, when I turned around, the
stage fireman had kicked a piece of blazing curtain down in the orchestra.
"Then the bassoon player made a terrible scramble to get out, and I think
he succeeded in getting out. Then after that Mr. Dolere, the musical
director for the company, went out like a shot out of a gun; he went over
the stand and everything. He went under the stage. Then everybody else got
out. I still sat there, because I did not see much danger to myself, as I
thought, or anybody else. I saw the people when they went out, and I heard
the cries, and that is what attracted my attention. I stayed there until
everybody else had gone out of the orchestra. The time when I thought it
was time to get out was when the bass fiddle and the 'cello got to
burning.
"All were excited on the stage. Some tried to put the fire out and others
ran. Some one was trying to lower the curtain, but it would not come down
all the way. Of a sudden it bulged out over my head like a balloon. Then
the flames began to rush out from under the curtain. I saw the people
rushing out, some jumping over, hallooing and screaming; then I turned
around at that instant to my right and saw that the violin and 'cello and
bass fiddle had caught on fire at one of the music stands, and then I went
out."
MRS. PETRY'S ESCAPE.
Mrs. Josephine Petry, 6014 Morgan street:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account