Hartford Circus Fire: Ruins of Animal Cage and Bleachers
PhotographerPhotographed by
Unknown
DateJuly 6, 1944
MediumPhotography; gelatin silver print on paper
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 3 1/8 x 5 3/8in. (7.9 x 13.7cm)
Sheet (height x width): 3 7/16 x 5 13/16in. (8.7 x 14.8cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineGift of Craig Hotchkiss
Object number2011.216.8
DescriptionThe ruins of the large cage used in animal acts is in the background. The ruins of bleachers are at left and right. Long poles lie on the ground. Debris is in the foreground.
Label TextThe Hartford Circus Fire took place in Hartford, Connecticut, on the afternoon of July 6, 1944. The large tent housing the main performance area of the circus caught fire and burned at an incredibly rapid rate. The tent had been soaked with a mixture of gasoline and paraffin in order to waterproof it, and as a result once it started there was no stopping it. Several hundred people were injured, and 168 people were killed.
Status
Not on view
