Iroquois Theatre fire Iroquois Theatre fire The Iroquois Theatre fire happened on December 30, 1903, in Chicago, Illinois. It was the deadliest theater fire and the deadliest single-building fire in United States history. At least 602 people died as a result of the fire, but not all the deaths were reported, as some of the bodies were removed from the scene. The Iroquois Theatre was at 24–28 West Randolph Street, between State Street and Dearborn Street, in Chicago. The syndicate that bankrolled its construction chose the location specifically to attract women on day trips from out of town who, it was thought, would
Garrick Theater (Chicago) and photographs of the structure. Garrick Theater (Chicago) The Schiller Theater Building was designed by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler of the firm Adler & Sullivan for the German Opera Company. At the time of its construction, it was one among the tallest buildings in Chicago. Its centerpiece was a 1300-seat theater, which is considered by architectural historians to be one of the greatest collaborations between Adler and Sullivan. Opened in 1891, the Schiller Theater was originally funded by former "Illinois Staats-Zeitung" publisher Anton C. Hesing (1823-1895) and other German investors and was projected to be used for German-language operas