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This photo of the Iroquois
Theater auditorium was shot from the stage the day
after the fire (with some camera distortion
resulting in the melted-balcony look). The photo was
taken after the fly bridge arc lamp was removed and
taken to the courthouse for the Coroner's inquest.
With the furnaces banked and large quantities of
water having been sprayed into the theater, a new
dimension was added to an already grim picture. The
winter of 1903-4 was the coldest on record in
Chicago, with thirty-one inches of snowfall and
temperatures averaging just over eighteen degrees.
The floors at the Iroquois were soon covered in ice
with icicles hanging from chandeliers, light
fixtures, and balconies. The moisture and
temperature changes so damaged the plaster in places
on the back wall that it had to be propped up.
In the photo above can be seen what looks like smoke
at one of the first-floor fire escape doors, but it
is entering the building, not exiting. Possibly
it is snow blowing in from outside, or steam. The doors were
likely opened to add light to the scene. The stage
door was certainly open as well, and several arc
lamps were in operation.
It is interesting to see how much of the drapery and
"Hungarian Ash" wainscot was not destroyed by fire.
The fireball belted straight out into the
auditorium and up to the balconies. Excepting
an area immediately in front of the stage, seat cushions did not
feed it enough to spread the flames to the north and
south walls where drapery remained intact when the fire was over.
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