Windsor Hotel (Manhattan)
Encyclopedia
The Windsor Hotel was located at 575 Fifth Avenue (at the corner of East 47th Street
) in Manhattan
, New York
. The seven-story hotel opened in 1873, at a time when hotel residency was becoming popular with the wealthy, and was advertised as "the most comfortable and homelike hotel in New York." It burned down in 1899 with great loss of life.
Dora Duncan, leading a dance class in the hotel at the time, managed to get her students, including her daughter, Isadora
, to safety. Abner McKinley, President McKinley
's brother, who was outside when the alarm was raised, dashed in and rescued his wife and handicapped daughter.
Firemen, some of them still in their dress uniforms from the parade, made heroic rescues, but they were hampered by the crowds, the fire moved too fast for them to reach every window with ladders, and water pressure was inadequate. Almost 90 people died (estimates vary), with numerous bodies landing on the pavement; some people fell when escape ropes burned their hands, while some jumped in preference to being burned alive. The operator of the hotel, Warren F. Leland, was unable to identify his 20-year-old daughter, Helen, who had jumped from the 6th floor.
The following day's New York Times featured the headlines
"Windsor Hotel Lies in Ashes" and "The Hotel a Fire Trap." The fire chief, Hugh Bonner, blamed the construction of the hotel for the rapid spread of the fire: it did not have the cross walls that by 1899 were required by law. According to some reports, the fire escapes soon became too hot to use; other accounts state that there were none. The Windsor Hotel fire was the inspiration for John Kenlon, who later became fire chief but was a lieutenant in 1899, to become one of the most forceful advocates of a high-pressure hydrant system in New York, which was finally installed in 1907.
in Valhalla, New York
. Plans to erect a memorial grave marker were not carried out.
For a few months after the fire, the landowner, Elbridge Gerry
, rented the site for billboards. In 1901, he built the Windsor Arcade, an ornamental building of luxury shops. It was torn down in the 1910s; the buildings that replaced it have also been demolished. The two high-rises now occupying the site, at 565 and 575 Fifth Avenue, have no plaque or marker for the tragedy. One of the offices at 575 Fifth Avenue is home to L'Oreal USA.
47th Street (Manhattan)
47th Street is an east-west running street between First Avenue and the West Side Highway in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Traffic runs one way along the street, from east to west, starting at the United Nations Headquarters....
) in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The seven-story hotel opened in 1873, at a time when hotel residency was becoming popular with the wealthy, and was advertised as "the most comfortable and homelike hotel in New York." It burned down in 1899 with great loss of life.
Fire
On St Patrick's Day 1899, while people were gathered below to watch the parade, a fire destroyed the hotel within 90 minutes. Supposedly the fire started when someone threw an unextinguished match out of a second-floor window and the wind blew it against the lace curtains.Dora Duncan, leading a dance class in the hotel at the time, managed to get her students, including her daughter, Isadora
Isadora Duncan
Isadora Duncan was a dancer, considered by many to be the creator of modern dance. Born in the United States, she lived in Western Europe and the Soviet Union from the age of 22 until her death at age 50. In the United States she was popular only in New York, and only later in her life...
, to safety. Abner McKinley, President McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
's brother, who was outside when the alarm was raised, dashed in and rescued his wife and handicapped daughter.
Firemen, some of them still in their dress uniforms from the parade, made heroic rescues, but they were hampered by the crowds, the fire moved too fast for them to reach every window with ladders, and water pressure was inadequate. Almost 90 people died (estimates vary), with numerous bodies landing on the pavement; some people fell when escape ropes burned their hands, while some jumped in preference to being burned alive. The operator of the hotel, Warren F. Leland, was unable to identify his 20-year-old daughter, Helen, who had jumped from the 6th floor.
The following day's New York Times featured the headlines
"Windsor Hotel Lies in Ashes" and "The Hotel a Fire Trap." The fire chief, Hugh Bonner, blamed the construction of the hotel for the rapid spread of the fire: it did not have the cross walls that by 1899 were required by law. According to some reports, the fire escapes soon became too hot to use; other accounts state that there were none. The Windsor Hotel fire was the inspiration for John Kenlon, who later became fire chief but was a lieutenant in 1899, to become one of the most forceful advocates of a high-pressure hydrant system in New York, which was finally installed in 1907.
Aftermath
The bodies of several victims were buried in Kensico CemeteryKensico Cemetery
Kensico Cemetery, located in Valhalla, Westchester County, New York, was founded in 1889, when many New York City cemeteries were becoming full, and rural cemeteries were being created near the railroads which served the city...
in Valhalla, New York
Valhalla, New York
Valhalla is an unincorporated hamlet and census-designated place that is located within the town of Mount Pleasant, New York, in Westchester County. Its population was 3,162 at the 2010 U.S. Census...
. Plans to erect a memorial grave marker were not carried out.
For a few months after the fire, the landowner, Elbridge Gerry
Elbridge Thomas Gerry
Elbridge Thomas Gerry was an American reformer.-Biography:In 1860 he was admitted to the New York State Bar Association. He became an adviser to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals...
, rented the site for billboards. In 1901, he built the Windsor Arcade, an ornamental building of luxury shops. It was torn down in the 1910s; the buildings that replaced it have also been demolished. The two high-rises now occupying the site, at 565 and 575 Fifth Avenue, have no plaque or marker for the tragedy. One of the offices at 575 Fifth Avenue is home to L'Oreal USA.