Hartford Circus Fire: Policeman and Ruins of Bleachers
PhotographerPhotographed by
Ralph L. Emerson
DateJuly 6, 1944
MediumPhotography; gelatin silver print on paper
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 7 1/2 x 6 5/8in. (19.1 x 16.8cm)
Sheet (height x width): 7 15/16 x 10 3/16in. (20.2 x 25.9cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineGift of The Discovery Museum
Object number2003.108.2
DescriptionA man wearing a uniform, possibly a policeman's uniform, stands in a grassy field among scattered ropes, a pulley, and what appears to be part of a harness. Smoke and flames billow from large bleachers in the left background. Some individual chairs are visible on the upper level of the bleachers at the far left. The hood of an automobile with a hood ornament is in the left foreground. A ladder leans against a trailer or circus wagon in the right background.
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
July 6, 1944
July 6, 1944
