Emblem: DESIGNATED LANDMARK - NEW YORK CITY

THE BROWN BUILDING
THIS TEN-STORY NEO-RENAISSANCE LOFT BUILDING, DESIGNED BY NEW YORK ARCHITECT JOHN WOOLLEY, WAS BUILT IN 1900-01 FOR JOSEPH J. ASCH. THE TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FACTORY OCCUPIED THE BUILDING’S TOP THREE FLOORS. IN 1909, TRIANGLE EMPLOYEES INITIATED THE FIRST LARGE-SCALE STRIKE OF WOMEN WORKERS IN THE COUNTRY, BUT WORKERS’ DEMANDS FOR INCREASED FIRE SAFETY WERE NOT MET. ON MARCH 25, 1911, A FIRE SWEPT THROUGH THE FACTORY, CLAIMING THE LIVES OF 146 GARMENT WORKERS. PROMPTED BY THE OUTRAGE OF REFORMERS AND LABOR UNIONS, NOTABLY THE ILGWU, NEW YORK STATE ENACTED LEGISLATION TO SAFEGUARD THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF WORKERS. THESE LAWS SUBSEQUENTLY SERVED AS MODELS FOR NATIONAL LABOR AND SAFETY REFORMS. THE BUILDING FAÇADE WAS LARGELY UNDAMAGED BY THE FIRE. IN 1929 FREDERICK BROWN DONATED THE BUILDING TO NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, WHICH NAMED IT IN HIS HONOR, AND HAS USED IT EVER SINCE AS AN ACADEMIC BUILDING.

NEW YORK LANDMARKS PRESERVATION FOUNDATION
2003

The building designed by John Woolley in 1900 is best known for the Triangle shirt factory that resided on the top 3 floors, and that a fire that broke out in it and claimed the lives of 146 workers caused a change in the safety and labor laws in factories in the United States Click for sign's details

The building was photographed several days earlier by the same photographer Click for a larger image

The place is also designated as a United States National Historic Landmark Click for sign's details