Downtown Disasters - A Chicago Stories Documentary 

Seeing an old man cry is moving. So sorry for all those affected. And those perished.

...and as always the rich walk away untouched....it makes me want to cry...600 soul's for money, SMH, rip to victims and their families and friends, Eddie Foy was a true hero, he's sadly almost forgotten now. Maybe this film will help us remember Eddie and the fire.....

My wedding reception was at The Beverly Hills Country Club in June, 1976. The following year it burned to the ground. John Davidson was a hero that night. Another case of blocked exits and unnecessary deaths. Tragic.

Even with the improvements in fire safety, horrific examples still happen. Remember the MGM in Las Vegas, the Station Nightclub in Rhode Island, and more. I admit to being one of those people who looks around when I go into a building, wondering what sort of things could go wrong.

The Eastland disaster of 1915 claimed 844 lives, (or a similar number). The Eastland capsizing in the Chicago River was by far the worst disaster in Chicago history. No one is saying the lives lost in these other fires weren't important. It is just the Eastland needs to be remembered. So many Westinghouse Electric employees and their families died in this horrendous calamity. I think a future city official named Cermak rose to prominence by helping families with funerals. Cermak later became a popular well liked mayor of Chicago. He was assassinated from bullets meant for FDR in 1933 in Florida.

I love this series. I was born in Chicago and raised in the suburb, North Chicago. I never heard of most of these stories! I now live in Vegas but I'm getting educated about Chicago! Love it!!!!

My sister-in-law worked downtown.Her building was one of those that got flooded. She got stuck downtown for a while, then wound up being off work for a few days.

I've read "Chicagos Awful Theatre Horror" By The Survivors And Rescuers With Introduction By Bishop Fallows. I can say after reading this Book, I had to at times take long breaks (weeks, sometimes more) and come back to it due to the incomprehensible horror, grim, and devastating nature of it all. With that being said I can greatly empathize for the Author recounting an account he read. There are some parts of this Tragedy that will make you have Nightmares and wish you could just forget it. However just like Life in itself, its important to take away the lessons and insight learned from Tragedies like this so we can hope to better educate and prevent anyone from ever having to go through this again.

As frightening as this was/is, we have NEVER learned as much as we need to from it. As long as greed trumps safety, we will NEVER be truly safe!

It seems to be a commonplace for the exits to be locked or blocked so someone can't sneak into the venue right up into the 1980s, making something bad so much worse. It also seemed to be a commonplace that the [bleep] owners walked with light penalties or fines, and in this case, no justice at all. This is the first time I've heard of the Chicago flood. Kudos to the "Flood Stud."

I used to work as a forensic architecture technician. We did a lot of fire safety inspection jobs. Nowadays, it is the unseen fire safety features that are sometimes neglected. The most typical violations we found were lack of firewalls in the attic spaces of building, such as motels i.e. Wherever you see a wall in a top floor, motel room, that wall should extend all the way up through to the roof and have a certain level of fire rating. Also, electrical outlets on either side of adjacent hotel and condo units are not supposed to be aligned with each other and should have a minimum separation to slow the transmission of fire between units, but this is overlooked sometimes. Other issues included not having enough fire retardant filling the annular spaces where pipes pass from/through one floor to another.

Really enjoying this series. I am not from Chicago. But my birthday is also on December 30th. And ever since I learned about the Iroquois Theater fire, I take a moment, every year, to think about the victims and their families. To remember that, even though it's a happy day for me, it's the anniversary of a day that was unthinkably tragic, for hundreds. And I say a little prayer for them all.

The burning ( pardon the pun), part about the “fire codes” is that most of the codes had not been written, and unfortunately it takes tragedies like this to enact change. There is a reason why it’s said that the electric code books and Fire code books are written in blood.

I remember the flood well, but I still had family in Chicago, and my sister worked downtown. I don't think I remember about much of a panic, but Chicago is just one of those places where people take things in stride. Great stories and historical information.

Corruption in chicago?

My Great Grandpa use to work in those tunnels to set the phone wires.

@51:20 Wow, those divers are my heroes! I almost had a panic attack just seeing that part of the video. wttwchicago thank you for this informative, well created and professionally presented story!

I bet those tunnels came in handy during Prohibition.

I have an issue of Theater Magazine which has extensive coverage of the Iroquois Fire. Sadly, the same magazine had articles about lack of fire safety in theaters across the country a year earlier. So, the danger of fire in theaters was recognized but not acted upon.

Benjamin Marshall also designed the Nixon Theater in Pittsburgh that opened after the Iroquois Theater tragedy. Because of the fire, ramps were put in instead of stairs so that people could get out quickly in case of fire.

This is a great series. I used to record them off TTW.

Right, saying a building is fireproof is like saying the Titanic was unsinkable. Never tempt Fate - she'll take up the challenge. And then, allowing a $10,000.00 repair to balloon to $200,000,000.00 is a REALLY bad roll of the dice. Bureaucrats gambled, & lost.

....greed always comes ahead of safety, throughout history, every thing is flammable and we see it over and over, inflamability is like unsinkable, there's no such thing as either....

This is really really cool I like Chicago stories and I'm not even from Chicago

This is my worst fear being burnt alive I know it was over a century ago rip to the victims

Chicago the best city in the world

“ they had children at home”, insinuating that people that have children can be more sympathetic to the death of children and people who don’t can’t. what an insult!

I lived in Chicago during the flood and while I remember the flood, I don't really remember the panic. Just that it affected some of my Uni buildings. Definitely heard about the Iroquois Fire. Also remember the CTA crash where one train feel off the elevated tracks.

I’ve heard of the Great Chicago fire, it’s the reason Chicago is call “Second City”, every one knows that but how I got to my age without knowing of the horrific fire of the Iroquois Theater is beyond me but I’m ashamed to admit I was completely ignorant of this disaster. The number of lives lost, especially the children is heartbreaking to learn even today. The Coconut Grove nightclub fire seems to get more recognition and it doesn’t compare to this tragedy. Now that I am aware I’ll never forget! 23:51

It is one of the best documentaries I have seen. The firefighter talking is absolutely correct true is we try to hide the sorrow! I can say sadly I had two children the first I sat in my car for an hour before going inside my house. Hiding how I was feeling from everyone. I still feel the sorrow. I can't imagine what these brothers felt or the ones at the Our Lady of the Angels fire. Or how they managed after.

Money and greed cost so many lives 😢😢😢😢Nothing was as it seemed May the victims continue to rest in heavenly peace

The absolute fear knowing you’re likely to perish by burning to death or being trampled.

The crash bar was invented by a british (scottish maybe) boy Whose family member was crushed to death in a tragedy where all the kids on the upper levels rushed down the stairs and many where crushed at the doors.

Carter Harrison died in 1893 and it freaked me out hearing them say Mayor Carter Harrison. However, I realize that his son became mayor four years after his father was shot at the end of the Colombian Exposition in 1893.

Lady on the sidewalk: “I’ve been standing here for half an hour trying to find a way to get the short distance home.” Uh……..feet……..walk?

It’s so insane that the performers kept performing when fire burned all around him…

The statement was made that the deaths were among upper to middle class citizens brought attention to the catastrophe. I can’t help but wonder if the same outrage would have been for the poor citizens of Chicago especially in those days. Sad story and senseless lost😒

Those inspectors and builders should have gotten life at hard labor as mass murderers.

14:00 What a dilemma, to tell everyone they must evacuate immediately but that there is also no danger. 26:21 You can always find members of the bar willing to sell their soul for a fat paycheck, from from the lowliest lawyers to the highest placed judges.

It is not a “crash bar”. It is a “panic bar”

Those dancers were foolish, they should have informed the audience that it was best to leave. Why not cancel the show.

So awful 600 deaths in one building

The first episode of the Disney Channel series "So Weird" actually referenced that fire, very surprised to see that.

2 billion in relief, what a happy ending for city officials. These people know disasters fill their pockets with money

"Absolutely Fireproof" at the Iroquois sounds a little like the HMS Titanic's boast of "Unsinkable."

Slowing the flow of water…….big airbags put into the tunnel, inflate until they seal against the sides.

25:44 For the builder to refuse to take ANY responsibility for the fire shows exactly how it happened. Arrogant narcissists will always place blame elsewhere & feel little to no empathy. He should have been locked away for life. When narcissists get away w/ crimes they just feel more invincible & become more damaging to those around them

😩" @4:06, the narrator said The Iroquois Theater owners ' spared no expense ' .... They did EXCEPT FOR COMPLETE FIRE SAFETY INSTALLATIONS. Just as terrible as the horrific aftermath was the judicial system failing to convict Them. I hope They're burning in Hell no less harrowing than what the doomed Iroquois theatergoers went through. "

Corruption exists in every major city, always has and always will

Lime light is so dangerous! What are they thinking of!

Great video. I guess we have to learn the hard way in order to makes things right. We learn from our mistakes.👍

Some people can work fast and accurate but some people can just work fast.

Corruption was standing tall even before Capone showed up. Sadly we've haven't learned much from things like this yes they've add "safety components" BUT the attitude of corruption hasn't changed.

Seems to me that many venues are going back to this. Many are cutting corners to speed up the building process and to cut costs. Money talks and no one walks. It’s a sad situation.

These divers r some brave r crazy people indeed ,so so scary and thank God none died doing this crazy thing .Im so very sorry for what happen at the theater ,those poor people and it seems things like this still happens in other places even today ,with all We know and have and I wonder if these places cheaped out on making them safe for people .

So after all these years was justice served

...amazing work by the local authorities, they didn't give up....

Last year was the 120th Anniversary of the Iroquois Theater fire.

Do you have a documentary of the Lasalle hotel fire of 1946 in chicago

He signed off on bridges he didn’t inspect because he couldn’t find a parking spot? Ever heard of a TAXI?

i just don’t understand why those ppl didnt began leaving when they saw smoke☹️💔

These stories are very well produced. Don't understand why, though, the title isn't "Eddie Foy (and the Iroquois Theater fire).

Call me naive but I honestly believed that by 1950 there would be comprehensive data on every last thing that exists in downtown Chicago. So many projects on projects on projects. I dont understand. In my mind...I need to replace these pilings that protect the bridges that are on either side of the Chicago River. I go to the database of everything having to do with each bridge. Each side of the bridge. Any work done in the history of ever. How could they not know?

I don't think it would have been much more of a death trap if they had designed it that way.

The owners are to blame.....he wore the blood of the deceased on thier hands

21:30 oh plz.. somebody get this man an oscar. He wasnt there.. he just read about it, like 40 years after it happened..

The theatre fire was just another example of corporate greed, it was, it seems endemic then and now, and they get away with it in many cases, it seems society put money before life and corporate law in many countries is just a toothless tiger, about as much use as a chocolate 🍫 teapot 🫖.

When will Chicago straighten up and fly right?

Fire loves the Windy City

50:00 That is a $687.85 spread between the highest and lowest bid. Any comptroller would see that and know the bids are fixed. You play ball you are allowed to bid. You low ball... and that is the last bid you ever win. Really love the responses that have any number to the right of the decimal. Some real prices is right bullshit.

Even Capone left Chicago for Florida.

Material Service Concrete 😃👍🏻🇺🇸

I don’t understand the court dismissing the charges. I understand why state law would trump local if the local law is more lenient, but not the other way around. Whichever is more strict should be what matters. If local law is irrelevant, why does Cook County get to charge an additional tax above and beyond the state of IL? 🙄

An hour long video to prove that inspectors are terrible

The one semi-positive thing to consider about such fires that have a high number of victims is that a large % of the dead were already killed by smoke inhalation or toxic fumes before the fire reached them. Of course, this was not the case in the Iroquois because the fire moved too fast.

This could happen in corrupt Chicago today!

@ last one in my opinion there should be only one contracted company that contract last for year but can be canceled if dissatisfied work or grossly mismanaged work like inferior products used so that officials wont pick dick around just to save a little money and have parking spots all around for city workers only and if they use the excuse of no parking near enough they automatically get a desk job as they are not fit to be a onsite inspector

What's up with Chicago? Did somebody curse this city? Did they build it on an Indian burial mound?

If the 5 humanitarians that were indicted & were subsequently 26:45 acquitted actually were made to really pay, they would have been steered toward a cellar or somewhere quaint & abandoned & introduced to some kerosene a given a chance to explain themselves & after getting trampled for a while... The owner that had been so hassled by many, should have been thrown on an open flame... 600 humans were killed by greed & stupidity & more of the same, but nobody held a grudge toward anybody involved. What a great time to move up in stature by stepping over dead bodies. Congratulations. May their relatives be hexed. Bit negative... Sorry.

The Flood of 92 really wasn't a big deal the way this documentary is making it out to bed. Just saying. It's history but the next day it seems like work went back to usual....

I think laziness & lack of efficient safety preparations were overlooked. I believe the theater assumed everything was fine, and of course - little attention was paid to detail because the theater was in a rush to get it off the ground & going. The theater was expecting to make a good amount of money; which normally is the motivation to hurry. It would seem as if their eyes were on the prize and its human nature to slack off on things. The velvet seats made for a hot fire.

I think maybe God is trying to get rid of Chicago.

Clearly Mary wasn’t a fan of Daley. Like they say, the devil you know. Him and his father were still the best two Mayors the city of Chicago has had.

Couldn't call the fire department?

75k or make the american tax payer pay for it in heaps

Now Ms. Dixon thinks shes a structural engineer. She is saying Mayor Daily, who was made aware of structural integrity issues after the fact, Ms. Dixon said that was not a factor. She needs to do some research on the fragility of the USA's bridges. Start there.

That news lady is kind of a jerk.

not the flood stud ⚰️

how can He be a descendant of Viva when she had died in the fire?

The Love of money is disgusting 😢😢😢😢😢

Tringale shirtwaist and circus tent fire in New York and Hartford CT we would have learned but no the coconut Grove surly we learned apparently not the grand MGM and Beverly hills supper club fire just when will we learn how to prevent people from burning and dieing horrible needles deaths because of greed and owners who apparently just don't give a damn about human life

Terrible; Red tape😢😢😢😢😢😢

The tunnels were about bootleggers and corrupted history 🍸

Wilson Paul Jones Sandra Martinez Michelle

The voice actor sounds ridiculous. Why?

The glib female "radio journalist" Mary Dixon who 'found it entertaining", in her words to see the mayor "pissed". The entire city was facing something unknown yet clearly life threatening. While Ms. Dixon sits on her butt making jokes and jabs, hard working men and women were trying to save the city's infrastructure. I bet she scores super high on the Narcissist, Dark Triad Triangle.

Never knew,some women came from other times.

This show missed electing Lori Lightfoot… why Chicagoans’ elected her will be a topic for the ages

So Viva had no descendants

None of this is true!