Chicago City Council's involvement with
Iroquois Theater timeline

In 1903/4 Chicago's City Council was made up of seventy members. This webpage discusses those who played a role in
the theater legislation before and after the Iroquois Theater fire.

Warning
This is long and tedious. Some day I'll edit and condense but for now it's an aldermanic bucket.  I also confess to a lack of objectivity about a few of these guys. Some held strong, determined to produce an ordinance that would make Chicago's theaters safer, even if it meant dragging theater owners kicking, screaming, threatening and sobbing into compliance. A few aldermen, however, became stooges for the theater owners, privately assuring them of protection from an overzealous ordinance, enabling continued operation of fire traps with far worse safety conditions than had been present at the Iroquois.

October 10-14, 1903 — during a special Council committee graft investigation (of the building department as well as the fire, health, boiler, street and police departments, the attorney's office and board of local improvements) a Chicago contractor, Milton Bushnell, claims he lost a theater remodeling contract because of building department graft. According to Bushnell, to get a building permit for the theater required the use of a building process sold by a deputy commissioner in the building department (Timothy O'Shea who subsequently resigns) and construction by an alderman (William Mavor).  Chairman of the graft investigation committee, alderman Ernest Herrmann, reports to Chicago mayor Carter Harrison that theater owners are taking advantage of the woeful disorder and lack of coordination between departments in the building department, licensing department and city clerk's office to bypass building and licensing codes. The building department issued permits but did not perform follow up inspections to verify adherence to such conditions as seating capacity. The building department asserted that was the responsibility of the license department, who held the city clerk's office responsible for the job. (The lack of coordination between departments would be well evidenced during the coroner's inquest when testimony from John F. McCarthy, a collector in the city licensing department, revealed that the Iroquois operated without a license for twelve days, Nov 23, 1903, to Dec 5, 1903.)

October 16, 1903 — mayor Harrison orders Chicago building commissioner George Williams to conduct a "rigid examination" of Chicago's theaters, stating, "Any place where lives are at risk will have to make the necessary improvements for safety or close up. If the changes cannot be made the closing up will have to take place, anyhow." Williams assigns two staffers to perform a methodical inspection of Chicago's theaters.

October 19, 1903 — building commissioner Williams recommends amendment t mayor Harrison that section #181 of the city's building ordinance relative to the proscenium wall to permit steel studs and metal lath covered with cement plaster as an alternative to brick or tile. The amendment would bring that portion of Chicago's theater ordinance into alignment with a court ruling and standards allowed in other Chicago ordinances, specifically those covering tenements. Williams points out that in March 1898 when the Council wrote #181, stud/metal lathe was still experimental but for fire protection is now considered comparable to brick. Mayor Harrison passes Williams' recommendations on to the City Council who vote to amend the ordinance accordingly. In conjunction with that discussion Alderman Edward Novak introduces a resolution that the mayor appoint a special committee to amend the theater ordinance and the Council votes to instruct the building department to temporarily suspend enforcement of theater building codes relative to second-floor theaters and proscenium arches. Novak's resolution is sent to the judiciary committee.

October 30, 1903 — building commissioner Williams reports that his department's investigation of Chicago theaters is complete and reveals that every theater in the city is violating ordinances. The report will be submitted to mayor Harrison on Monday, November 2, 1903.

November 2, 1903 — mayor Harrison submits Williams report to the City Council. The report shows that based on inspections by his department the last two weeks in October, every theater in the city is violating multiple ordinances. The Iroquois is not yet open thus is not included on the list. It will open in three weeks. The Council sends the report to the judiciary committee.

November 7, 1903 — Chicago Eagle newspaper applauds Williams's report and blames the mayor for collecting an annual salary of $10,000 and not enforcing theater ordinances.

Tue. November 10, 1903 — Council sends the Williams report to a subcommittee of its judiciary committee. Subcommittee member Linn H. Young takes report home to read.

Mon. November 16, 1903 — alderman Young thinks the Williams report is significant enough to merit distribution to the Council and requests authorization to purchase printing services to produce copies for distribution to the Council.

Mon. November 23, 1903 — Williams's report is sent to the printer for duplication. The premier opening of the Iroquois Theater takes place tonight.

Tuesday, November 24, 1903, to December 30, 1904 Iroquois Theater in operation, staging 45-1/2 more performances

Tue. November 29, 1903 — City Council receives 500 copies of the Williams report. (Had copies been distributed to Council members by courier, and a special session called that same night, and had every theater on the report been closed the following morning, it would not have prevented the disaster because the Iroquois did not open until twenty days after compilation of the report. One of many circumstances contributing to the perfect storm.)

November 30, 1903 - December 30, 1903 ordinance revision stalls in a City Council committeeCouncil is not idle, is working on a streetcar and vagrancy ordinances and was conducting a graft investigation.

Wed. December 30, 1903 — Iroquois Theater fire

Thu. December 31, 1903 — a group of seven aldermen is one of many groups to tour the Iroquois the day after the fire. From the Iroquois, the aldermen go to the city building department to speak with deputy building inspector Louis Stanhope, then on to the mayor's office. The seven: Ernst Herrmann, Winfield Dunn, John Jones, Henry Eidmann, Luther Friestedt, Peter Wendling and John Minwegen.

Fri. January 1, 1904 — alderman William Mavor tours theater with mayor and building department commissioner Mavor (who has only 43 more days to live).

Sat. January 2, 1904 — two more alderman tour the theater, Michael C. Conlon and Charles Alling, discussing their observations with Iroquois architect Ben Marshall and industrialist Charles Plamondon (whose daughter Charlotte Plamondon escaped the fire).

Sun. January 3, 1904 — the mayor throws down a gauntlet, closing thirty-five Chicago theaters until they comply with Chicago ordinances, whatever the ordinances may be, as determined by the City Council. He threatens to do the same with hospitals, churches, factories and stores.

Mon. January 4, 1904 — Council forms a committee of seven to investigate the Iroquois fire and draft a new or amended theater ordinance, made up of aldermen who are builders or contractors. An important resource is the Chicago Tribune study. John H. Jones is chairman; other committee members are Michael D. Dougherty, William H. Ehemann, Luther P. Friestedt, William Mavor, William T. Maypole andPatrick J. O'Connell.

Alderman not on the theater ordinance committee have ideas, too; many, however, will lose their resolve over the next seven months.

• John J. Bradley proposes that any theater found to have a locked or obstructed door loses its license or pays a $200 penalty, of which half is awarded to whoever reports the problem.
• Winfield P. Dunn proposes making acceptance of theater or railroad passes by municipal employees a dismissible offense. Council members laugh.
• Thomas M. Hunter proposes inclusion of theater management's names on playbills, outward opening doors, door signage, a steel fire curtain, sprinklers, and that a city official examine places of amusement before and during each performance.
• William Johnson proposes that the city purchase the theaters.
• James C. Patterson proposes allowing only one balcony.
• Lewis D. Sitts proposes a Council committee reconsider an 1899 ordinance regarding crowding in theaters.
• Vincent Jozwiakowski proposes that theaters pay $4 per performance to the city for police officers and firemen at every performance, plus admit five additional policemen free of charge as extra guards.
• Charles Woodward proposes a requirement for steel or iron fire curtains with a city fireman and police officer watching raising and lowering before and after every performance and legislative prohibition of enforcement delays.
• Michael Preib suggests the committee should investigate requiring adult guards and guides at every exit.
• Silas F. Leachman proposes more exits from both stage and auditorium, a fireproof curtain, a ventilator on stage, policeman and fireman at every theater for every performance, prohibiting combustible scenery and 9-ft sq. stage doors.
• Alfred D. Williston proposes theaters seating over 500 persons should have automatic apparatus to open and close doors, controllable by levers near exits, as well as controls for electric lights.

January 5, 1904, 2:30 pm — City Council's new theater ordinance committee meets for the first time, excluding the public because builders fear retaliation from theater owners in future building projects. The committee warns theater owners that reopening might be three weeks away. The committee expresses willingness to hear from theater owners about ordinance content but not petitions for early opening. Among petitioners who walk away unhappy is Philo A. Otis of the Thomas Orchestra. Its $3,200-$3,400 weekly payroll and a month of advance ticket sales mean it will have to disband performers after thirty days. Thomas S. Kernan at the Bush Temple of Music describes the changes being made there to comply with the old ordinance, including stage flues. The weekly payroll for its ninety-two workers is $1,900. Billie Cleveland, formerly a manager of the Ohio Polite Minstrel troupe, says he spent all his money remodeling the Cleveland Theater (a structure built in 1883 to display a panoramic painting of Gettysburg). Cleveland insists the closing means there is no revenue with which to remain in business. (Billie later emerges as rather unpleasant and a review of his history suggests money shortage claims was a favorite tool.) Owners of The People's Theater saw to the addition of five exits six months before.

The committee seeks input from attorney Edgar Tolman and other experts, including architects Louis Sullivan and George Beaumont, engineer Edward C. Shankland, contractors Joseph Downey, Addison E. Wells, Charles Gindele and Victor Falkenau.  Shankland and Wells are also members of the Chicago Tribune investigatory group. Newspaper predict the new ordinance will eliminate the sprinkler mandate because theater owners unanimously agree they are unpredictable and cause audiences to panic. Sprinkler-induced panic becomes a common objection from theater owners. McVicker's, the Grand Opera and Powers theaters will require substantial structural changes to comply with the new ordinance.

Wed January 7, 1904 — the theater ordinance committee inspects steel fire curtain at The Auditorium preparatory to considering the matter of time consumption, 1-3 minutes, to lower a steel curtain. The committee works until 10:00 pm and throughout the next two days.

Sat January 10, 1904 — ordinance drafting committee submits a new ordinance for the Council's adoption. Many details of the new ordinance appeared in the Chicago Tribune on January 10, 1904. If the Council adopts it, a majority of Chicago theaters can open with restrictions, providing exits, seating and auditorium lighting requirements are met. The plan gives existing theaters until Oct 1, 1904, to bring the stage area into compliance, if extra police officers, firemen and fire extinguishers are present. Few theaters will be able to open their third-floor galleries for at least a month due to requirements for fireproof exits from galleries and pitch reduction. New theaters will require fireproof construction and existing theaters will in many cases require extensive remodeling. Predictably, some theater owners find the proposed ordinance to be reasonable; others have immediate objections. Peoples Institute objects to the steel curtain because the weight, 12,000 to 20,000 lbs, will require rebuilding the proscenium wall.

Aldermen Ehemann and O'Connell voice their opinion that the proposed ordinance is too restrictive. Others criticize the ordinance as too lax. Aldermen Alling, Young and Werno said they would not vote for an ordinance permitting an auditorium above sidewalk level. Alling will soon exhibit a willingness to vote for any measure desired by theater owners. Comparisons with the old ordinance lead to some useful hole patching but are of limited value since the old ordinance was not unenforceable.

January 11 - January 14, 1904 — the Council votes against the ordinance, despite a visitors section packed with hissing and jeering theater workers, citing discussion of over a hundred amendments as evidence the ordinance is not ready for enactment. Permitting existing theaters to operate up to seventeen feet above sidewalk level and separate balcony exits are primary points of contention. Various aldermen accuse the ordinance committee of having succumbed to pressure from theater managers. Aldermen Raymer and Eidmann reject what they see as watered-down legislation. Ordinance committee members meet until early morning hours trying to find a solution acceptable to the membership.

January 15, 1904 — the Council agrees to refrain from voting on the new ordinance for a week so the theater ordinance committee can consider over a hundred amendments from aldermen. Alderman Alling withdraws his resolution to immediately permit limited openings.

A group of theater owners meet and informally agree they prefer the Chicago Tribune investigative report becomes law rather than the ordinance drafted by the City Council.

January 16 - 17, 1904 — retail merchants and organized labor pressure aldermen to accept and pass the ordinance. Restaurants, hotels and unions of bartenders, stage workers and musicians are among the most vigorous protestors.

January 18, 1904 — Newspapers report that Flo Ziegfeld is considering linking up with Charles Frohman and William Brady to sue the city over losses sustained by canceled shows (Ma'mzelle Napoleon, The Pitt and The Silver Slipper). Ziegfeld spoke of his friendly relationship with Klaw & Erlanger and his insider knowledge that the Illinois Theater (managed and co-owned by Will J. Davis, Iroquois manager) had complied with all requirements thus should open. Apparently, no one told Ziegfeld that at that moment there wasn't a theater law in Chicago with which to comply. Will Davis later takes a more public position of opposition to the new ordinance. The man had no shame. The soil over the graves of his nearly six hundred victims was still freshly turned as he busied himself trying to coerce the Council into penning an ordinance that would allow him to continue operating death traps. Too strong? Nah, am letting it stand.

January 19, 1904 — With the visitors area of the Council chamber full and hundreds waiting outside, ordinance chairman Jones calls up the new ordinance for discussion and the group starts through it, one section at a time. The audience cheers and applauds speeches opposing restrictions and hisses when Raymer speaks up for the public interest. Find myself wondering how many of those were Iroquois employees and if Davis played a role in their presence in the Council chamber. Do I think he would have paid people to attend and behave like jackals, or lead them to believe their employment would be secured if they did so? You betcha. Mayor Harrison does much gaveling to order. Overall, Charles Alling and Edward Cullerton emerge as toadies for the theaters, Mavor champions his committee's recommendation and Raymer and Eidmann hold strong to protect the public by keeping teeth in the ordinance. At midnight the group takes a half-hour lunch at the Sherman House.

As part of the process, the Council reviews petitions from special interest groups, including the Chicago Restaurant Keepers Association and the National Alliance of Bill Posters. Alderman Johnson proposes creation of a committee to prepare a bill for submission to the state legislature that would authorize Chicago to own and operate theaters. The membership vote against his suggestion.

The final version of the ordinance passes with a vote of forty-five to eight at 3:45 am. The ordinance reduces the permissible rise between tiers of seats in balconies from twenty-five to eighteen inches. Open space must surround auditoriums or enclosed fireproof passages with a width no narrower than eight feet. The bottom-most seat on the ground floor in existing theaters in the Class V category cannot be higher than twelve feet above sidewalk level and in balconies there must be a cross-over aisle between every nine rows of seats (despite conflicting views on the matter from architects Sullivan and Beaumont). Steel fire curtains beat out asbestos. Other requirements: sprinklers above and below stage, fireproofed scenery, electronically and manually controlled vents, working standpipes, fire alarms on all floors, twice-weekly fire drills, adequate lighting in auditorium, including a red light at exits with battery backup, and city-paid policeman and fireman at performances.

The new ordinance gives theaters until August 1, 1904 to complete requirements of a permanent nature, such as reconstruction of galleries to change the pitch and add exits. To receive a temporary permit to reopen just their ground floor, they must have a steel curtain, sprinklers, fireproofed scenery, stage venting, fire alarms, aisle widths, fire apparatus and police/fire staffing. The Council forms a committee ito inspect and grant these temporary permits, composed of the building commissioner Williams and aldermen Jones, Friestedt, Ehemann, Minwegen, Werno and Eidmann. The council passes Frank I. Bennett's amendment, the "Bennett Resolution," requiring alderman Raymer's suggested $25,000 bond from theaters who apply for the temporary opening permit, and giving the Council theater committee authority to grant permits to existing theaters based on customized agreements, effectively overriding everything else in the ordinance. Alderman Freeman K. Blake of the 26th ward voiced the obvious problem with Bennett's amendment: "If it is found that some theaters can't comply with the ordinance, then special legislation would allow them to open anyway. If they can be made safe, that may be well enough, but this "special legislation" will nullify the ordinance. I think the ordinance ought to go to the corporation counsel for an opinion."

Theater managers and owners predict they will have to double ticket prices to cover remodeling costs. I spot-checked in 1905 and found no evidence of increased seat prices. Later theater owners say that some aldermen told them the ordinance would not pass so they did nothing until the deadline was upon them.

• The Auditorium Theater - manager Milward Adams reports it is able to reap the rewards of its original million dollar construction fifteen years prior because it is already configured and equipped to comply with a majority of the new ordinance requirements. It need only increase the size of vents above the stage and install sprinklers. Adams nonetheless later becomes active in an attempt to water down the ordinance, becoming indignant when a father who lost his daughter in the fire dares to suggest theater owners are more concerned about money than lives.
• Academy theater - plans to spend a month installing a steel curtain and sprinklers, rebuilding the proscenium wall, removing two hundred seats and reconstructing the gallery
• Alhambra Theater - James H. Brown met with city officials
• Avenue Theater - apt to close
• Bijour Theater - will install a new proscenium wall, steel curtain and sprinklers, and remove 240 seats
• Bush Temple Theater - manager Thomas F. Kiernan says it will take three months and $12,000 to install a steel curtain, sprinklers, standpipes and fireproof scenery
• Cleveland's Theater - to comply must widen aisles and exits, install steel curtain and rebuild proscenium.
• Criterion Theater - manager Lincoln J. Carter says will make repairs
• Garrick Theater - J. J. Shubert estimates remodeling will take three months to install a steel curtain
• Glickman's Theater - will install a steel curtain, replace the proscenium wall, add flues, fire extinguishers and a fire alarm
• Grand Opera House - owner Harry Hamlin says they will have to rebuild entirely.
• Great Northern Theater - manager G. E. Raymond says cannot meet ordinance requirements
• Haymarket Theater - will close or remodel its gallery to reduce the pitch, remove seats to add aisles, install sprinklers, a steel curtain and new exits
• Hopkins Theater - manager John Fennessy feels his house is already safe the cost of fixing the noncompliant gallery pitch and exits, and installing sprinklers and a steel curtain, may force closure.
• Howards Theater - owner Lorin J. Howard said he cannot make the changes to become compliant
• Illinois Theater - anticipates reopening in two to three weeks, in time for an E. H. Sothern attraction, after installing sprinklers and a steel curtain, with increased ticket prices to make up for closing its steeply sloped 338-seat gallery
• LaSalle Theater - S. J. Franks met with city officials
• McVicker's Theater — will install steel curtain and sprinklers, its gallery pitch already in compliance
• Masonic Temple Theater — Needs to reduce seating capacity to fewer than 500
• New American Theater — John Conners met with city officials
• New Marlowe Theater — R.L. Crescy of the Marlowe says he'll probably have to close
• Olympic Theater — will rebuild
• People's Institute — treasurer Edward McGuire estimates a $7,000 expenditure and three months to bring the facility into compliance
• Powers Theater - will abandon the balcony and reopen in four to six weeks
• Sam Jack's Theater - manager Signey C. Euson did not want to discuss the theater's problems with reporters. The theater height exceeds the allowed maximum of twelve feet and is not fireproof. Rebuilding is the only solution
• Steinway Hall Theater - manager E. Christy says he might convert the theater to offices
• Studebaker Music Hall - manager Ed Fish says alterations are in progress
• Thirty-first Street Theater - apt to close
• Trocadero's Theater - Robert Fulton said they need to install sprinklers for $3,400 and a steel curtain for $1,400.

January 20, 1904 — mayor Harrison feels that if other requirements are met, the city should allow theaters to open immediately then add sprinklers and make permanent alterations by August 1, 1904. Reportedly the four sprinkler firms in the city employ only 100 workers, too few to add sprinklers to Chicago's theaters within the three to four week time frame the mayor and Council had in mind to get the theaters back in operation. Harrison calls together the aldermanic theater ordinance committee (Jones, Friestedt, Ehemann, Minwegen, Werno and Eidmann) and theater managers.

January 21, 1904 — the graft commission halts its investigation before getting to inspection departments in municipal departments. After meeting with theater managers members of the Council theater commission (Friestedt, Ehemann, Jones and Minwegen) are persuaded that sprinklers are unnecessary because after all the other provisions for the stage are met, there will be nothing on the stage to burn. The weight of water tanks for the sprinklers, estimated by theater managers to be 80 to 100 tons, will require structural changes. Theater owners complain a monopoly on sprinkler installations drives the price up by 25% and involves a 30-day delay. Sprinkler contractors purportedly involved in the monopoly are:

January 23, 1904 - the Council's theater commission recommends amendments to the new ordinance. They define a steel curtain as one that can withstand heat up to 1,500 degrees for ten minutes on the stage side without causing the auditorium side heat to exceed 500 degrees, controlled by two independent mechanisms. The deadline for sprinkler installation, along with permanent alterations, is extended from August 1, 1904, to September 1, 1904.

January 25, 1904 — Friestedt now asserts the steel curtain is also too much of a burden on the theaters and threatens to resign from his position as alderman if the Council does not alter the ordinance according to his wishes.

January 26, 1904 — the Council votes to retain the steel curtain requirement and to the extension to Sept 1 for major changes. Instead of resigning, Friestedt backpedals and issues a position clarification statement.

January 30, 1904 — Chicago theaters slowly move toward compliance as a committee of alderman perform inspections and demand changes. At the Illinois Theater, former sister theater to the Iroquois, reopening requires bricking up windows that open onto fire escapes, installation of additional aisles on main floor and removal of iron doors. Davis must close the third-floor gallery because, as was the case at the Iroquois, the pitch is too steep. Other theaters also fail to pass their first inspection. The Robert W. Hunt company is testing fire curtains and providing affidavits to the building department.

February 8, 1904 — William Mavor, one of the most influential members of the Council, suffers a stroke during a finance committee meeting. Within minutes he is unconscious and does not regain consciousness again before his death on February 12, 1904.

February 17, 1904 — the Council votes 31 to 14 to let Cleveland's Theater open without rebuilding its proscenium wall. This is the first of two special accommodations granted to Cleveland's.

February 25, 1904 — the mayor decrees that police officer theater assignments apply to the entire day's performance, not just matinees, and prohibits between-act breaks. The ruling comes in response to a deluge of applications for matinee assignments from "good looking" officers, the implication being that female audience members interested applicants as much as wages. That might suggest a high proportion of women in all afternoon matinees, not just those during holidays.

February 27, 1904 — fire insurance expert John Freeman completes his eight-week study of the Iroquois fire and has bad news for the Council's new theater ordinance. Stage vents are too small and operation mechanisms inadequate, with little wonder: Chicago based its ordinance on a New York ordinance that New York discarded twelve years prior. Fireproof paint and hand grenade extinguishers are useless and some of the steel curtains being installed will not perform properly in a fire.

February - March, 1904, — Six hundred dead didn't prevent some theaters from trying to flout the law. The LaSalle Theater added fourteen seats beyond its capacity and evaded many requirements by avoiding the use of moveable scenery (the absence/presence of which was a distinction commonly used in municipal code to designate theaters with a higher risk of fire).† The Thirty-First Street Theater reopened with too many seats, poorly designed stairs, no brick proscenium wall or asbestos curtain and an unsafe gallery. Schiller Hall needed to change the direction of an exit door and add two stairwells. Drill Hall in the Masonic Temple needed to add a stairway. Sam T. Jack's had nearly double the number of seats allowed, too narrow aisles and corridors and stairways, too few exit signs, no asbestos curtain or brick proscenium wall. The worst offender was the Columbus Theater that continued giving the bird to enforcement for nine months (see January, 1, 1905).

Police close down Hedda Gabler at Steinway Hall at the end of the first act for operating without a license, sending home an audience of four hundred.

Many theaters are circumventing fire safety requirements by substituting curtains and flaps for moveable scenery thus qualifying the theater for reduced fire safety standards insofar as the steel curtain, aisle width, number of exits, etc.

June 20, 1904 - the Theatrical Managers Association submit eleven amendments to the theater ordinance to the City Council. Theater managers demand:

• To eliminate the requirement for separate street-level entrances for each floor in the theater so that floors can share common stairwells.
• A standard minimum width established for entrances, regardless of the seating capacity of the theater.
• To strike the word "directly" from the passage about aisles, permitting scissor stairwells such as those at the Iroquois.
• To eliminate sprinklers altogether.
• To increase the number of seats permitted per row from ten seats to thirteen.
• To eliminate all cross aisles on all floors.
• To permit a reduction of seat bank depth from thirty-two inches to thirty inches.
• To reduce the minimum seat width from twenty inches to eighteen.
• To increase the maximum rise between tiers in balconies to twenty-four inches instead of eighteen (thereby allowing the pitch to return to within one inch of the Iroquois).
• To remove all requirements for emergency exits, outward opening and fireproof doors.
• To permit gas, oil or electric exit lights.

Alderman Jones supports the theatrical managers, saying that the ordinance, drafted soon after the Iroquois fire, reflected the heat of emotion and put too great a burden on theaters. He apes theater owners in claiming that sprinklers are a menace to life because if they go off accidentally the audience will think there is a fire and panic. (Don't forget that according to many in 1903, the nearly six hundred victims at the Iroquois Theater committed something akin to mass suicide by panicking. Mayor Harrison, the Iroquois Memorial Association and aldermen Sitts, Jozwiakowski and Schmidt are among those opposed to the manager's demands. A week later comes a petition to completely redraft the ordinance, using experts paid for by the theaters. No conflict of interest in that plan, LOL. Some theater managers have already spent thousands of dollars bringing their houses into compliance so understandably oppose a new ordinance. Among them: Powers, McVicker's, Grand and Garrick. $100,000 was the estimate for remodeling McVicker's. Petitioning for a new ordinance are Bijou, Academy, Alhambra, Olympic, Chicago Opera House, Haymarket, Criterion, Trocadero, Hopkins, LaSalle, Sam T. Jack's, New American, People's, Calumet, Columbus, Illinois (Will J. Davis' theater) and Great Northern.

July 1, 1904 - A trio from the Theater Managers Association addresses the City Council theater committee to lobby for a new ordinance more favorable to theaters. Among the group: Will J. Davis, the man most responsible for the Iroquois fire. After an hour of discussion about the costs of remodeling, August Marx rises. He had lost his daughter at the Iroquois.  "I want to protest against any changes in the ordinance. In the name of the 600 mute graves, blamable upon that almost unmentionable accident that happened recently, I want to protest. The theaters acknowledged that the new ordinance was all right by giving bond under it. The public goes into the buildings at the invitation of the managers, and is the duty of the managers to see that the people come out again in safety. I have been here an hour and a half and the talk has been all of dollars and cents. I have not heard one word regarding the value of human life."
"I resent that statement, Mr. Chairman," interrupted Milward Adams of The Auditorium. "That is not the spirit of the Theater Managers' Association," said Davis. The theater owners put on a show of indignance, making not so much as a nod of acknowledgment that it was the gross incompetence of one of their trio that resulted in nearly six hundred deaths.

July 11, 1904 - Council's theater committee grants a six-month extension to McVickers to install a gallery exit in an adjacent building when its lease runs out and it becomes available.

July 12, 1904 - the theater committee considers ordinance relief requested by theater managers, assisted by architect George Beaumont and engineer William S. Mac Harg, appointed by mayor Harrison to provide technical advice. The modifications under review include eliminating the sprinkler provision, cross aisles and reducing the pitch in galleries. The group concludes that for clarity the ordinance needs to be split between requirements for existing theaters versus those for theaters built in the future. Building commissioner Williams and Ehemann resist attempts to weaken the ordinance while Jones, Werno, Eidmann and Dougherty, along with consultants Beaumont and Mac Harg support the idea of creating a separate watered-down ordinance for existing theaters. Assistant corporate counsel William H. Sexton‡ interceded to prevent Ehemann from resigning.‡

July 14, 1904 — yet another committee gathers, this one consisting of building commissioner Williams, aldermen (presumably Jones, Friestedt, Ehemann, Minwegen, Werno and Eidmann), architects Beaumont and William Holabird (1854–1923), as well as theater managers Milward Adams from The Auditorium and Harry Hamlin of the Grand Theater. They hash out ordinance modifications to the requirements in the ordinance package with a Sept 1 deadline for existing theaters.

• Sprinklers are only required in painting, carpentry, storage and dressing rooms. Adams asserts sprinklers are unnecessary with fireproofed sets and curtain, and that sprinklers positioned 60-70 feet above the stage would be too high to be triggered until the fire was out of control, and if they open accidentally they would destroy sets costing as much as $50,000, forcing theaters to carry sprinkler damage insurance. (Adams was one of those who became indignant when accused of focusing on money instead of lives.)
• Vents need only operate via electricity, dual electric/mechanical operation having caused problems in a theater where tried. So if the fire takes out the electrical power, as happened at the Iroquois, there will be be no way to open the vents.
• If two firemen are present, police are not necessary.
• Power for Exit sign lighting can be electricity, gas or sperm oil.
• The city electrician and his assistant, as well as police, fire and building department heads are all granted the right to enter theaters.
• The allowable rise between seating tiers in galleries can be up to twenty-two inches (only three inches less or about 10% of the gallery at the Iroquois).
• Space required between rows is reduced from thirty-four to thirty-two inches.
• The modification allows a maximum of thirteen seats per row on the main floor and eleven in galleries.
• Direct exits may consist of tunnels or cross aisles.

July 18, 1904 — the amendments pass as discussed in committee but not without a fight from Jones, Allings and a shouting Cullerton who wanted sprinklers eliminated altogether, accusing alderman Blake of operating as a mouthpiece for underwriters who are pushing for sprinklers despite their history of damaging inventory. Before Cullerton and Blake come to fisticuffs Mayor Harrison interrupts and calls for a vote.  The amended ordinance for existing theaters, including the sprinkler requirement, passes 52 to 3.

July 21, 1904 — Mayor Harrison signs the ordinance.

August 12, 1904 - Theater Managers Association petitions mayor for yet another extension of the deadline for ordinance compliance, from Sept 1 to to Nov. 1. The deadline had originally been set to Jun 1 so a November deadline would represent a five-month extension. The theaters who have whined loudest since January 1904 are the ones whining loudly eight months later. Harrison sends the request to the theater committee of the Council. A Chicago Tribune editorial in the August 14, 1904 issue cites the leniency already given the theaters and relates the story given by some that they delayed making changes because of promises from aldermen that amendments to the ordinance would make changes unnecessary. "One would like to know who were the city officials and aldermen who were playing to the galleries in January by demanding a rigid theater ordinance and were at the same time giving private assurances to the amusement people that the ordinance would be toned down later on. " "If the theater owners really were deceived by promises which they had reason to believe meant something, give them the extra time they ask for, but no more, and see to it that all the alterations required by the ordinance are thoroughly made." "Let there be no more tinkering of the ordinance to save theater owners' expense. They have been treated with great leniency." Amen.

August 15, 1904 — pushed through, predictably by Jones, the Council granted theaters a two-month extension. Amendments by Eidmann and Raymer cause the $25,000 bonds to be forfeited if alterations are not made and require theater managers to sign agreements that they will close their houses if not compliant by Nov 1, 1904.

October 28, 1904 — new theater ordinance altered to allow landings every thirteen and a half feet instead of every eleven feet, to accommodate three theaters.

November 1, 1904 — all but four theaters comply with the new ordinance. Three (Great Northern, Folly and Columbus) are suing over the legality of the ordinance. The fourth, the Illinois, co-owned and operated by Will J. Davis, manager of Iroquois, the man most responsible for the deaths of over 600 people, uses its New Jersey incorporation to bypass the Chicago ordinance and get an injunction against the city that prevents it from being closed. Will J. Davis, one of history's most notorious narcissists, who in publicized remarks from 1903 until his death demonstrated that from his point of view he suffered the most in the Iroquois disaster, whines that he deserves more time because of the stress and anxiety he's had to deal with as a result of the legal actions taken against him. Predictably, Davis's attorneys Levy Mayer and Alfred Austrian support that their client has been persecuted. Chicago city attorney, William H. Sexton‡ schools Davis. See article at right.

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November 28, 1904 — Council amended ordinance to require one fireman on the stage and one policeman in the house during performances.

January 1, 1905 — Columbus theater exceeds its seating capacity, allows aisles to fill with people standing and sitting on campstools, including one box with twenty-five camp stools. A squad of police and firemen arrive and force theater employees to clear the aisles and collect the stools. It is part of a continuing disregard by the theater. Mayor Harrison has a talk with manager Max Weber, making it clear he will close the theater if it does not shape up. There is one more incident of belligerence over an infraction but management, at last, seems to accept that the city has both the will and legal authority to close the theater.

Mar 5, 1906 — Garrick Theater ordered to removed illegal seats or face closure. Council's theater committee declines to amend the ordinance to accommodate the Garrick.

Nov 13, 1906 — Fire chief Horan wants to remove firemen from theaters because he is short of men since mayor Dunne instituted a two-platoon system. A Council subcommittee likes the idea of substituting theater employees; others see it as a slippery slope leading to another disaster. ('Have to say I thought Horan was better than playing political games like this. He'd sided with former chief Campion in mid-1905 when resistance to a two-platoon department resulted in Campion's dismissal. Horan knew that theater safety was still a hot button issue in Chicago so why this? Was he really short of men or was he poking the mayor in the eye?) 

July 11, 1906 — The Howard Theater tries to prevent the building department from enforcing ordinances. An injunction from judge Dupuy forces them to comply.

Charles Alling (1865–1931) republican 2nd ward

Toured Iroquois two days after the fire with alderman Conlon, speaking with Iroquois architect Ben Marshall during the tour. Alling proposed the new ordinance should require two standpipes over the stage and in the auditorium, two firemen and two policemen on the stage and in the auditorium of every theater at every performance, paid for by the theater, fire escapes and balconies constructed to afford direct descent to the ground, and four-foot-high guard rails in balconies. Two weeks later, with over a hundred amendments to the new ordinance up for consideration, Alling motioned to let theaters reopen their ground floors. He cited jobs and revenue for citizens, merchants and streetcars. Aldermen Raymer, Eidmann and Mavor objected to Alling's motion.
Alling had received a law degree from the University of Michigan in 1888. In 1913 Alling and his assistant were shot by an angry masseur, Frank Klemek, who then killed himself. An attorney for the board of health, Alling had recently prosecuted Klemek for practicing without a medical license, imposing a $200 fine. At Klemek's request, Alling reduced the fine to $100 but Klemek did not have the money and retaliated. Alling survived but lost an eye. He and his wife, the former Jane Murdoch, had one child. Alling served from 1897 to 1901 for the 3rd ward and from 1901 to 1905 for the 2nd.

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Frank I. Bennett (1856–1925) republican 7th ward

An attorney who specialized in real estate, Bennett is credited with having co-developed the Jackson Park Highlands, today a historic neighborhood in Chicago's South Shore community. Head of the Council's transportation committee in 1903, after his friend William Mavor's death on February 12, 1904, Bennett would serve as pallbearer and assume chairmanship of the finance committee. He proposed an amendment to the new ordinance on 1/19/1904 that gave the Council the capacity to let theaters open that were not  compliant with the rest of the ordinance, effectively negating the entire exercise of drafting a new ordinance. His wife was Anna Helen Roberts and they had three children. Prior to joining the Council, Bennett was assessor in Hyde Park and in later years was state director of public works and building and vice-chairman of the Chicago plan commission. He served as an alderman from the 34th ward from 1897 to 1901 and from the 7th ward from 1901 to 1909.

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Freeman K. Blake (1857–1919) republican 26th ward

An attorney from Auburn, Indiana, Blake was admitted to the bar in 1883 and in practice in Wichita prior to locating in Chicago, Blake's support for sprinklers in the final theater ordinance brought an accusation from alderman Cullerton that Blake was a mouthpiece for underwriters. since Cullerton was a mouthpiece for theater owners perhaps Blake brushed it off. Was married to Iva A Minnich; at her death, he remarried, to Florence Marble. His son, Guy Blake, also became an attorney.

Served as alderman from the 26th ward from 1899 to 1905. Became a municipal court judge 1906–1912.

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Michael Mickey C. Conlon (1855–1923) democrat 18th ward

Toured Iroquois two days after the fire with alderman Alling. Married to Ellen Nellie F. Reichart with two children.  He operated a saloon prior to election, a furniture store while in office and after 1910 a printing business. Conlon served as a Chicago alderman from 1898 to 1910.

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Edward F. Cullerton (1842–1920) democrat 11th ward

Served as a Chicago alderman for forty years, from the 7th ward 1871-1875, the 6th 1876-1888, the 9th 1888-1892 and 1898–1900 and the 11th 1901–1920. His occupation varied over the years, including real estate, private eye work and publishing. In the theater

legislation following the Iroquois Theater fire, he soon became a mouthpiece for theater owners, at every turn fighting loudly and vigorously for the financial interests of the theaters. He was particularly opposed to Chicago having a high-pressure water system. Was married to Winnifred Dyer. Died of pneumonia from an influenza epidemic that also killed his nephew and sickened his sister. Was first elected when there were only twelve aldermanic wards in Chicago and the job paid $3 per meeting.

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Michael D. Dougherty (1853–1931) democrat 22nd ward

Appointed immediately after Iroquois Theater fire, on Jan 4, 1904, to a seven-man committee to study Chicago theaters and draft new ordinance. His wife, Ellen "Nellie" Cummings Dougherty

died in 1895, leaving him with four children aged seven to fourteen. Michael and Ellen were both born in New York and came to Chicago as young children. His obituary reported that he'd lived in the same house on Wendell St. for fifty years.  He was a plaster contractor with real estate holdings. Served as alderman from 1902 to 1908 during the tenure of three mayors — Harrison, Dunne and Bussee.

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Winfield P. Dunn (1845–1933) republican 25th ward

Dunn toured the Iroquois Theater on December 31, 1903, with a half dozen other aldermen then went to the building department to talk to deputy commissioner Louis Stanhope, then on to mayor Harrison's office. Dunn founded W. P. Dunn Printing and Publishing in 1874 and was active in the Presbyterian church. He took pride in introducing and helping to pass an ordinance in 1906 that increased the price for licenses in Chicago's 7,000 saloons from $500 to $1,000. Was a native of New York, married to Augusta Holmes Dunn, father of three. Served on the Council from 1901 to 1911.

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William H. Ehemann (1869–1939) democrat 24th ward



Appointed immediately after Iroquois Theater fire, on Jan 4, 1904, to a seven-man committee to study Chicago  theaters and draft new ordinance. A carpenter turned contractor. Married to Rose Christ Ehemann. Tried to hold fast on keeping teeth in the ordinance for existing theaters, standing alone against the other members of the theater committee. Served on the Chicago City Council from 1901 to 1905

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Henry F. Eidmann (1861–1938) republican 32nd ward

Toured the Iroquois Theater on December 31, 1903, with a half dozen other aldermen then went to the building department to talk to deputy commissioner Louis Stanhope and on to mayor Harrison's office.  Resisted pressure in mid-January, 1904, from Chicago theater employees to rush through approval of a new theater ordinance so as to reopen theaters on the ground floor. Successfully passed a motion forcing the school board to equip every school with a fire alarm.

Eidmann was a native of St. Louis, a graduate of Elmhurst College and a former teacher. Settled in Chicago's Englewood area in 1888. A realtor, partner in Madlung, Eidmann and  McCortney, with substantial property holdings, in later years a trustee of Sanitary District and president of Halsted Street Bank. Wsa married to Emma Schill Eidmann with two children. Served as alderman from 1899 to 1906.

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Luther P. Friestedt (1860–1919) republican 13th ward

Toured the Iroquois Theater on December 31, 1903 with a half dozen other aldermen then went to the building department to talk to deputy commissioner Louis Stanhope, and on to mayor Harrison's office. Appointed immediately after Iroquois Theater fire, on Jan 4, 1904, to a seven-man committee to study Chicago theaters and draft new ordinance.  Friestedt served as a Chicago alderman from 1902 to 1906. Gave a quote to newspapers on 1/5/1904 that probably alarmed theater owners: "I do not suppose that over 35 percent of the theaters will ever reopen. They cannot conform to the ordinances unless they are entirely reconstructed and many may find it too expensive to make the changes." Later became a champion for the theater owners, threatening to resign if the Council did not support him in catering to the owners. They didn't and he didn't.

Friestedt was a contractor and engineer by trade, married to Dora Hogan or Hoyer, father of five. He and Dora moved to Los Angeles later in life.

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Ernest F. Herrmann (1859–1918) democrat 23rd ward

Considered the mayor's pet by some, attorney-Councilman Herrmann had two months prior to the fire become head of the Council's "graft commission," charged with ferreting out municipal graft.

He toured the Iroquois Theater on December 31, 1903, with a half dozen other aldermen, then went to the building department to talk to deputy commissioner Louis Stanhope, and on to mayor Harrison's office.

Alderman Herrmann defended suspending a portion of the fire ordinance to give theaters time to modify the structural properties of proscenium arches, a modification suggested by the mayor, and went on to assert that shows such as Mr. Bluebeard should be outlawed. "They are immoral shows, and the inflammable machinery needed to carry them through is a menace to the lives of those who are induced to go and see them."

Over fifty city employees were fired during the course of the graft commission's five-month investigation, along with a dozen indictments and resignations. At its conclusion in March 1904, Herrmann's report was that Chicago's graft was sporadic, not systemic. He attributed laxness and inefficiency in record keeping and enforcement as more problematic than dishonesty or greed. He recommended increasing the civil service commission's budget and disciplinary authority and regulation rather than attempted eradication of the city's all-night saloons and vice dens, specifically citing the need for enforcement of gambling ordinances. Married to Louisa Schroeder, Herrmann was a native of Dresden, Germany. He served as a Chicago alderman for the 21st ward from 1898 to 1901 and for the 23rd ward from 1901 to 1904.

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John Hugh Jones (1857–1923) republican 8th ward

Toured the Iroquois Theater on December 31, 1903, with a half dozen other aldermen then went to the building department to talk to deputy commissioner Louis Stanhope, then on to mayor Harrison's office.

Appointed immediately after Iroquois Theater fire, on Jan 4, 1904, to chair a seven-man committee to study Chicago theaters and draft a new ordinance.

Six months after the fire Jones became a champion for the theater owners and campaigned to overhaul the five-month-old ordinance to suit their demands. Born in Wisconsin, John came to Chicago from Minnesota with his parents in 1872. Both parents would die in accidents, the father when a wall fell on him and the mother in a train accident. John succeeded his father to superintendent of construction at Illinois Steel. He lost his first wife, Nellie Williams, two years before the Iroquois Theater fire and remarried in 1906 to Emma Wolfe of Georgia. His younger brother, David R. Jones, became chief deputy coroner in 1904.  (Despite strong support by the women's temperance league and endorsement by then-mayor Dunne, Jones was defeated by 201 votes in '06 due to his being a "high license" man who supported $1,000 saloon licenses.)  As a member of the Council committee to study municipal buildings he contributed to the decision to replace Chicago's city hall in 1905. John served as a Chicago alderman for the 33rd ward from 1900 to 1901 and for the 8th ward from 1901 to 1906 and 1908 to 1910.

Discrepancies and addendum

* Download a pdf file of the 175-page 1894 paper by William P. Gerhard Theater Fires and Panics: their Causes and Prevention. A searchable version of the text follows the original-format version.

† By 1922 the ordinance closed that loophole, defining "moveable scenery" as being "all scenery, drop curtains, borders and wings which are made movable for the purpose of changing scenery and substituting another set during or between the various stage acts.

‡ A native of Leeds, England, George Beaumont (1854–1922) began studying architecture as a fifteen-year-old boy. He was a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects who emigrated to the U.S. around 1881, establishing his practice in Chicago in 1886. He was a co-founder and active member of the Chicago Sketch Club that in 1895 evolved into the Chicago Architectural Club. A widow, George had at least four children.

William Storrs Mac Harg (1847–1910) was a New York native married to Frances Briggs and a father of four. He was a consulting engineer for the Chicago sewer department until September 1909. Just after his death defendants in a $45k graft scheme labeled the "Shale Rock Steal" appear to have scapegoated him. Sad for his widow and kids.

William H. Sexton (1875–1963) was husband of Alice M. Lynch, father of two. He graduated in 1895 from Lake Forest law school. He was in the corporate counsel office fifteen years between 1897 and 1935, and traction counsel for five years.

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