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Friday, March 25 marks the 100 year anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire, New York’s landmark industrial disaster that killed 146 of the factory's 500 employees, most of them young immigrant women and girls of Italian and European Jewish descent. The tragedy sparked a nationwide debate about workers rights, representation and safety.

The Triangle Shirtwaist factory occupied the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors of the Asch Building, which still stands at 23-29 Washington Place beside Washington Square Park in Manhattan. The shirtwaist factory is now called the Brown Building, and is part of the New York University campus.

When the factory was open, it was a crowded space where workers churned out hundreds of shirtwaists, which were fashionable dresses of the time that featured an upper portion styled like a man's shirt, with buttons and a turnover collar. In the early 1900s, many considered the Triangle Shirtwaist Company one of the more modern New York workplaces, despite being overcrowded and lacking an evacuation plan in the event of a fire.

As the factory's tailors and seamstresses prepared to leave for the day on March 25, 1911, they suddenly found the building had caught fire. The women were trapped in the burning sweatshop and many died trying to force locked doors open. Others threw themselves from the windows.

As the factory burned, firefighters and onlookers alike were astonished to find the hoses could only reach as high as the sixth floor. Efforts to fashion impromptu rescue strategies, including human chains for the workers to climb and nets to catch those who began jumping, were largely unsuccessful.

After the incident, factory owners Max Blanck and Isaac Harris were indicted for manslaughter. But the pair was acquitted after less than two hours of deliberation.

Outraged by the verdict, union organizers from groups such as the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (I.L.G.W.U.), which represented female garment workers nationally, rallied for change. They demanded that better workplace safety laws be required.

Three months after the fire, Governor John A. Dix signed a law creating the Factory Investigating Commission. Following the findings of the commission, the New York State Legislature enacted 36 statutes to regulate workplace fire safety and ventilation, and to set minimum standards for working women and children.

The public fury over the fire and its scores of female victims proved a particularly strong rallying point for women's rights advocates. The garment workers' union and the Womens' Trade Union League both seized the moment to organize garment workers and push for collective bargaining rights.

On Friday, March 25, church and firehouse bells across the city will ring at 4:45 P.M.—the time the first fire alarm sounded 100 years ago. It's one of many memorials, events and exhibits held across New York this month that commemorate the centennial of the fire.

Gathering to Remember: Memorials and services to remember the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire will take place across the city on March 25. One of the largest processionals will be a commemoration by Workers United, the division of Service Employees International Union that represents textile workers. The march starts at Union Square at 9:30 A.M., before heading west at 10:30 A.M. to the corner of Washington and Greene. Live music will be performed beginning at 11 A.M., and speakers, including U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, will take the stand at noon. The processional will include family members of the victims. According to tradition, volunteers will fan out across the city on March 25 to chalk the names and ages of the Triangle fire victims in front of their former homes. All are welcome to participate. On March 25, from 9 to 10 A.M., the Mount Richmond Cemetery, which is the burial place of 22 of the Triangle fire victims, will hold a ceremony organized by the Hebrew Free Burial Association. The ceremony will be followed by a reception. On March 27, from 1 P.M., the Eldridge Street Synagogue hosts its Triangle Walk, starting at the site of the fire and ending at the Lower East Side's Eldridge Street Synagogue in the neighborhood where many of the workers lived. The march will be led by a cantor, evoking the Yiddish funerals of the 20th century. Throughout the week of March 25, St. John’s University will host a series of conferences, lectures and commemorative events in honor of the victims of the fire and to examine its impact.

Art to Commemorate: Two N.Y.U. gallery shows about the fire are currently up in the Washington Square neighborhood. "The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: One Hundred Years After" features historical photographs, archives and artifacts to tell the story of the fire and its contemporary lessons. It's on view through May 19 at the NYU Open House. The N.Y.U. Grey Art Gallery presents "Art/Memory/Place" through March 26 and again April 12 through July 9. The exhibit presents everything from photographs of the victims’ bodies at a morgue to documentation of memorial services from the 1960s onward. On Friday, March 25, the Cooper Union hosts its events to commemorate the Triangle Fire, starting with the Remember the Triangle Coalition Visitor Center that will occupy the Cooper Union Great Hall Lobby from 2 to 7 P.M. From 5:30 to 8 P.M., the opening reception of "Made by Hand," an art exhibit, will unveil work in response to the fire by both established artists and secondary school students from the New York City and Long Island metro areas. Also on March 25, Cooper Union will host 100 Years After: The Triangle Fire Remembered, an evening of music and spoken word poetry in memory of the fire's 146 victims. The evening will feature such diverse offerings as klezmer music written about the tragedy, a performance of Clara Lemlich’s historic speech, Irish folk rock from Larry Kirwan of Black 47, and worker testimonials from Bangladesh, Egypt, and West Virginia. On March 26, from 6 to 9 P.M., the New York City Fire Museum hosts a reception in honor of the victims of the Triangle Fire, entitled Remembering Their Prayers and created by artist Susan Harris. Harris is a descendant of Max Blanck, one of the co-owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. Her work commemorates the tragedy with a presentation of Edwardian shirtwaists and handkerchief fabrics hand-embroidered with the names of the victims. Many have been sewn by relatives of the deceased. Free. “Remembering Their Prayers” will be on display through April 23.

They're Sewing Today: The Fashion Institute of Technology continues through the month of March with its series of lectures, discussions and exhibits called Triangle 100 Talks. Events at the school, which are free and open to the public, run through March 26. In what may be a rare opportunity to test out your capacity to mass produce hand-sewn garments, step into the Merchant's House Museum on March 23 from 7 to 8:30 P.M. for a lecture on, and chance to try, labor-intensive clothing production. Admission to Hand-Sewing in the 1850s – 60 Years before the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire is $15 ($10 for seniors and students). Another opportunity to sharpen your sewing skills occurs on March 27 at 1 P.M. at the Garment Factory Workshop at Yeshiva University Museum, which opens its doors to those keen for a taste of shirtwaist factory life. Visitors are invited to try out the foot pedal on the museum's antique Singer sewing machine, and examine giant tailor’s shears and gas iron from the collection. All who contribute to the making of mass-produced utility aprons will be allowed to take one home.

Read All About It: The Jewish Daily Forward will publish a special section in its March 25 issue (on newsstands March 18) featuring first-ever translations of the original Yiddish coverage of news stories about the heroes of the fire, and editorials by the editor at the time, Ab Cahan, about the tragedy and the desperate need for reform. It will even publish the front page of the Jewish Daily Forward on March 25, 1911. On March 23 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, authors Leigh Benin, Rob Linne, Adrienne Sosin and Joel Sosinsky will present a multi-media talk about their new book "The New York City Triangle Factory Fire" at the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association. On March 24 from 6 to 8 P.M., the Drama Bookshop presents Art from the Ashes, a night of poetry and performance. Works in English and Yiddish will be presented, as well as the famed labor relations statements by Rose Schneiderman and Leonora O’Reilly that galvanized the nation. Directed by Yiddish translator Caraid O’Brien. Free. The Sweatshop Poets presents a literary tribute to the Triangle Fire on March 27 from 3 to 5 P.M. at the Museum at Eldridge Street, with musical presentations by performers Deborah Strauss and Jeff Warschauer, as well as poetry readings in Yiddish and English, and a short commentary on sweatshop writers today.

The Fire on Stage: During the month of March, Theater for the New City presents "Birds on Fire," a play depicting the lives of four Italian and Eastern European factory workers. The story is based on archival research on the lives of the factory workers. Also this month, LuLu LoLo Productions presents "Soliloquy for a Seamstress: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire," a three-character, one-person play, written and performed by LuLu LoLo in a continuous, one-day street performance at three historic locations across the city. Jump on the trains, walk, or bike to catch the full performance that starts in Harlem, rushes downtown to the Asch Building, and finishes up at Collect Pond Park. "From the Fire" is a new work created by the Tony-nominated composer Elizabeth Swados, writer director Cecilia Rubino and poet Paula Finn. The dramatic oratorio/physical theater piece dramatizes the history of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and highlights its contemporary relevance. The work will be performed from March 23 through March 27 at the Judson Memorial Church. On March 20 from 2:30 to 5 P.M., 16 young actresses will be joined by a live band in the performance of the "Waistmaker’s Opera," an original music-theater work illustrating the history of the shirtwaist maker’s struggle for equal rights and improved working conditions. Act 1 is performed live at locations in the Greenwich Village, Act 2 takes place indoors at the Millennium Film Workshop. From March 24 through March 27, Manhattan Theatre Source presents Looking for Lilith’s “Fabric, Flames, and Fervor: Girls of the Triangle,” a performance piece that explores the lives of the women and girls killed in the garment factory fire and delves into the ensuing trial against the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory owners. The production takes a closer look at the extent to which the fire changed labor laws and conditions in the U.S. In perhaps one of the most inspired commemorations of the fire, Brooklyn's Center for Performance Research presents "Triangle: a Puppet Play with Live Music." Vocalists are paired with puppets to tell the story of the fire. Performances run from March 24 to 26, from 8 to 9 P.M. On March 22 from 6:30 to 8 P.M., America-in-Play presents "Fire Escape" at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, a new work exploring the lives of the workers trapped by the fire. The play juxtaposes the plight of the workers against Bertha the Sewing Machine Girl, a popular iconic figure of the time, to examine the tension between idealized work conditions in America, and the reality in the sweatshops. Free.

The Fire on Film: On March 23 at 7:30 P.M., New Filmmakers at the Anthology Film Archive presents a special program to commemorate the migrant garment workers who perished in the Triangle Fire. The evening will present several short films on the Triangle Fire history and legacy.

Walk and Talk: On March 19 from 1 to 3 P.M., a Joyce Gold Walking Tour will focus on the galvanizing impact of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and its role in bringing together women across all strata of society. On March 27 from 10:30 A.M. to 12 P.M., the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy hosts "Triangle Factory Fire: A Walking Tour Through Time," which explores the fire's key sites. Free, but registration is required and the meeting point will be shared upon registration. Women and girls comprised the majority of the victims of the Triangle Fire. On March 27 from 11 A.M. to 1 P.M., take a stroll with Women’s eNews for a special downtown tour entitled "Opening the Way: A Women’s History Walk." The walk, researched and written by former New York Times editor Betsy Wade and historian James Boylan, celebrates such leaders as Frances Perkins, who commissioned hearings as chief investigator on fire hazards after witnessing the Triangle Fire, as well as Margaret Sanger, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, and Brenda Berkman, one of the female firefighter first responders on 9/11. Afterward, continue with Women's eNews for a special screening and discussion to honor the Triangle Fire and its legacy, as director and producer Jamila Wignot introduces her new PBS documentary “Triangle Fire." The film, to be screened at 6 Barclay Street, examines both the circumstances of the fire and its lasting impact. Free, but registration is required.

Music for Memory: The West Fourth New Music Collective honors the 100th anniversary of the fire with a concert on March 27. Musical performances will be intermingled with the voices of the survivors in archival interviews, featuring the work of eight composers, twenty performers and two video artists. On March 24 from 9 P.M., the Living Room and SweatFree Communities present a performance by Sweatfree campaigner & musician Valerie Orth, a singer songwriter who has successfully advocated for one of the nation’s first and strongest sweat-free purchasing laws in 2005.

Talking the Talk: David von Drehle, author of "Triangle: The Fire that Changed America," will speak at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum on March 23, from 6:30 to 8:30 P.M. Von Drehle explains the sociopolitical context in which the fire occurred and subsequent advocacy for industry reforms, but is at his best in his moment-by-moment account of the fire. Free. On March 24, The C.U.N.Y. Grad Center convenes an all-day conference on the historical significance, and present legacy, of the Triangle Fire. Topics will include the contemporary globalized sweatshop, the present role of sweatshops in the U.S., issues surrounding working conditions for low-wage workers, contemporary labor law violations and exclusions and labor standards. Those who can't make the full conference may attend C.U.N.Y.'s Triangle Shirtwaist Fire – Panel Discussion 100th Anniversary Commemoration from 7 to 8:30 P.M. on March 24, featuring leading academic specialists on the fire and its aftermath, including Annelise Orleck of Dartmouth College, Jennifer Guglielmo of Smith College and Richard Greenwald, author of "The Triangle Fire, the Protocols of Peace, and Industrial Democracy in Progressive Era New York." Free. On March 24 from 5 to 6:30 P.M., Ryan Carey of the Museum of the City of New York will discuss the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire and its effects as part of the museum's educator workshop series, in a lecture titled Marking the Triangle Factory Fire Centennial. Following the lecture, educators will participate in a workshop examining the relationship between the garment industry, immigration and industrialization. Get the current academic perspective on the fire as the City University of New York presents professor Hasia Diner, N.Y.U. professor of American Jewish history and director of the Goldstein Goren Center for American Jewish history. On March 29 from 6 to 8 P.M. at CUNY's John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, Diner will provide a lecture on the immigrant experience and the broader impact of the Triangle Fire. Free.