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The J. J. Wade company completed installation of the plumbing at the Iroquois before the theater opened.
They were then asked to provide additional services, including installing railings in the third-floor
balcony. (See photo at right) Last-minute design changes to construction had resulted in such a steep floor rake there
that there was a risk of people falling over the seat backs of the row ahead. J. J. Wade installed
the railings and the theater opened on November 23, 1903 but, five weeks later, architect Ben Marshall's
company had not yet signed off on his contract with Wade. Nothing reported suggested a rift between the
two firms. In his testimony at the Coroner's inquest, owner James Wade said he had not tested the water
in the standpipe so did not know if water had been connected yet. He reported that the city "took
control" of the water to the the theater about two weeks after the premier, three weeks before
the fire. (Wade went on to say that without a pumping system, the pressure available to all four
standpipes would have been insufficient, producing streams no more than eight to ten feet high.
There was one standpipe on the stage — without water.
There was one reel of hose at the front of the theater — without water.
According to the plumbing company that installed them, the number of standpipes and their lack of plumbing, was irrelevant, because without a larger roof-top water tank and pump, there wouldn't have been enough water pressure to reach the fire at the Iroquois.
A tank in one of the top floors of the Iroquois was plumbed to provide water & gravity pressure for the
restrooms only. Standpipes were plumbed to connect to city water but that water had not yet been connected to
the theater's system. At the Coroner's inquest, much time was spent learning the locations of the standpipes
and single reel of hose, but on Friday, January 15 1904, the coroner learned that since the water to the
standpipes had never been connected, locations of standpipes and hose was irrelevant.
See illustration of water and hose outlets at Iroquois Theater.
Below is a portion of
Robert
E. Murry's testimony before the Coroner's
inquest. His information as to the lack of water and fire
hose was echoed by the Iroquois stage manager, business manager
and fireman, as well as by Chicago fireman John Hannan.
Murry was the young but conscientious stationary engineer at the
Iroquois. He was responsible for maintaining the
structure's heating and ventilation systems, including pumps,
engines and generators.
Q. What precautions were taken by the theater management or anybody in charge for fire protection on the stage, auditorium, or under the stage?
A. Well, there were Kilfyre tubes.
Q. Where?
A. They were on the stage.
Q. How many?
A. Two on the stage.
Q. How large are they?
A. About two inches in diameter, and about eighteen or twenty inches long.
Q. Where were they located on the stage?
A. One on each side in the proscenium arch, right back
of the proscenium arch.
Q. Any others?
A. Yes, sir; there was one downstairs.
Q. On the stage?
A. No, sir; not on the stage.
[doh!]
Then right back of
the proscenium arch there was a fire hose pipe, two
inches large, located at the stage entrance.
Q. On the north side of the stage?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How was it fastened?
A. It was fastened to the brick wall.
Q. "With what? "
A. "By bands or screws to the brick wall."
Q. "How far does that project out?"
A. "Well, it came up to the wall and then made a turn, and a valve was on it."
Q. "Was the valve movable?"
A. "No, sir; it was stationary."
Q. "What protection would that give against fire?"
A. "Well, you could put a hose on."
Q. "Well, where was the hose?"
A. "There was no hose."
Q. "Was there any hose any place on the stage? A. "No sir."
The photo below was taken to feature an unidentified
police officer touching the lamp strip that prevented the
fire curtain from descending but just behind his wrist is a
white vertical pipe. Could it be the one and only
standpipe on the stage? If the officer would be so
kind as to lower his hand we might see the valve. Or is
that it about a foot up from his hand? If this IS the
standpipe, what did Murry mean when he described the
standpipe as being "located at the stage entrance in the
ally"? This fellow is standing at the front
of the stage, not the rear where the stage doors were
located. Also, this pipe looks to be much larger than the two-inch
diameter described for standpipes.
What did engineer Murry mean by "up to the
wall"? Have looked at a lot of standpipe pictures online but haven't seen one
showing a standpipe that goes up to a wall then turns.
If someone could send me a picture or link, I'd appreciate
seeing it.
The standpipes at the Iroquois might have looked something like the illustration
on the far right — that is, as it would have looked had it been
equipped with a hose. The only hose in the building was a fifty-foot reel of
two-inch hose on a wall in the smoking room.
More of Murry's testimony
Q. "What hose was there?"
A. "There were fifty feet of two-inch hose."
Q. "How was that placed or fastened?"
A. "It was on a reel."
Q. "On the floor, or side of the building?"
A. "On the side of the building."
Q. "In a room?"
A. "Just in front of the gentlemen's checkroom."
Q. "What was there to fasten that hose to get water?"
A. "There was a valve on the end of the pipe and the hose was connected with that valve."
Q. "What pipe, a water pipe?"
A. "Yes, sir."
Q. "How large a water pipe?"
A. "Two inch."
Q. "And that water pipe connected with where?"
A. "Right from the meter.
Discrepancies and addendum
*James J. Wade (1842–1919) was an immigrant of Waterford in Cork County Ireland. His wife, Alice Sheahan Wade (1851–1919), also from
Ireland, died one month after her husband. The pair had seven children, one of whom became a municipal judge in Chicago. a daughter continued
to serve as secretary at the company until her death in 1961.
Henrietta and Natalie
Eisendrath
Stagehands at 1903
Iroquois Theater
Eugene Field Chicago
journalist and poet
Other discussions you might find interesting
irqconstructionproblems irqwater
Story 2967
A note about sourcing. When this
project began, I failed to anticipate the day might come when a
more scholarly approach would be called for. When my
mistake was recognized I faced a decision: go back and spend years creating source lists for every page, or go
forward and try to cover more of the people and circumstances
involved in the disaster. Were I twenty years younger, I'd
have gone back, but in recognition that this project will end when I do, I chose to go forward.
These pages will provide enough information, it is hoped, to
provide subsequent researchers with additional information.
I would like to
hear from you if you have additional info about an Iroquois victim, or find an error,
and you're invited to visit the
comments page to share stories and observations about the Iroquois Theater fire.
