--- title: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Anniversary: See Photos description: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire took place 105 years ago, on Mar. 25, 1911 canonical: https://time.com/4259728/triangle-shirtwaist-factory-fire-photos/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-25T15:00:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:50:30.761Z article:section: History og:title: See Photos From the Tragedy That Changed U.S. Labor History og:description: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire took place 105 years ago, on March 25, 1911 og:url: https://time.com/4259728/triangle-shirtwaist-factory-fire-photos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdee40abd6eee4b6e/69888b0abc6cfc11b83dc272/160315-triangle-shirtwaist-fire-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Triangle Shirtwaist Fire og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See Photos From the Tragedy That Changed U.S. Labor History twitter:description: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire took place 105 years ago, on March 25, 1911 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdee40abd6eee4b6e/69888b0abc6cfc11b83dc272/160315-triangle-shirtwaist-fire-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See Photos From the Tragedy That Changed U.S. Labor History > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) Mar 25, 2016 3:00 PM UTC  On March 25, 1911, 146 immigrant garment workers were killed after they were trapped on the upper floors of the Asch Building after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory caught fire. The owners of the factory had chained shut the exit doors, and the workers, who were mostly young women, perished in the fire or died after jumping from the ten-story building. Firemen can be seen as they search for the bodies of those who crashed through the skylights and entrances of cellars in the sidewalk. On March 25, 1911, 146 immigrant garment workers were killed after they were trapped on the upper floors of the Asch Building after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory caught fire. The owners of the factory had chained shut the exit doors, and the workers, who were mostly young women, perished in the fire or died after jumping from the ten-story building. Firemen can be seen as they search for the bodies of those who crashed through the skylights and entrances of cellars in the sidewalk. Bettmann—Getty Images by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) Mar 25, 2016 3:00 PM UTC The 146 people who died 105 years ago when New York City’s Triangle Shirtwaist Factory caught fire were mostly young women from immigrant communities, low-wage workers who made blouses in one of the city’s [many sweatshops](http://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/story/sweatshopsStrikes.html). Individually, they were relatively powerless. Their combined deaths, however, would galvanize the national labor movement and help to forever change the way America treated its workers. As David Von Drehle, author of _Triangle: The Fire That Changed America,_ has [explained](http://time.com/vault/issue/2011-04-04/page/82/), the situation on that day was the perfect storm for tragedy: a clothing factory is inherently full of flammable material—fabric scraps, lint, thread—and the doors to that particular factory were locked. The fire was a [moment that transformed America](http://time.com/3889533/25-moments-changed-america/)—but not because it was the beginning of the movement to protect workers’ rights. In fact, the labor movement was already established in 1911, and the growing drive for reform and unionization is thought to be part of the reason why the workers were locked inside. (Locking workers inside was also an anti-theft measure.) But the terrifying scenes of young women jumping out windows to their death, or their burnt bodies lying on the sidewalk waiting for the authorities, were enough to convince workers that it was worth joining a union and to convince others that the unions’ causes were important ones. One particular witness would not need photographs to tell her how important labor reform would be: On that day in 1911, a woman named Frances Perkins happened to be dining with friends nearby. Hearing the commotion, they rushed outside and witnessed the tragedy firsthand. Perkins was motivated to become a leader in the labor-reform movement—a passion that took her all the way to the White House, where she was [named Secretary of Labor](http://time.com/vault/issue/1933-03-06/page/18/) in 1933 and thus became the first woman to hold a position in the U.S. Cabinet.  On March 25, 1911, 146 immigrant garment workers were killed after they were trapped on the upper floors of the Asch Building after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory caught fire. The owners of the factory had chained shut the exit doors, and the workers, who were mostly young women, perished in the fire or died after jumping from the ten-story building. Firemen can be seen as they search for the bodies of those who crashed through the skylights and entrances of cellars in the sidewalk. Bettmann—Getty Images   Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire escape collapsed during the March 15, 1911 fire. 146 died, either from fire, jumping or falling to the pavement. Courtesy Everett Collection  1911 photo of the charred work room of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in the Asch building in New York City after a fire engulfed the building. AP Photo  Charred remains of elevator in Asch Building. From the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire on March 25, 1911. Bettmann—Getty Images  People line up to identify the bodies of victims after a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in New York, March 25, 1911. Hulton Archive—Getty Images  One of the doors at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory after the fire disaster. It had been locked—as it usually was, until the janitor searched the girls for pieces of stolen goods. Bettmann—Getty Images  The gutted remains of the tenth floor, with only the floors and walls intact from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. March 25, 1911. Bettmann—Corbis  Rooftop view of the Asch building on Washington and Greene Streets after the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire where workers attempted to flee during the fire of New York, N.Y., March 25, 1911. FPG—Getty Images  On March 25, 1911, 146 immigrant garment workers were killed after they were trapped on the upper floors of the Asch Building after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory caught fire. The owners of the factory had chained shut the exit doors, and the workers, who were mostly young women, perished in the fire or died after jumping from the ten story building. A sidewalk cellar's skylight was shattered by the fallen bodies of panic stricken workers. Bettmann—Corbis  A policeman stands in the street, observing charred rubble and corpses of workers following the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in New York City, March 25, 1911. 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