Labor History Landmark: No. 3 Cooper Union
The Top 11 Labor History Landmarks in New York City is a blog series on Jewesses with Attitude created in honor of Women's History Month and the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Waist Factory fire. Learn more about the series here, or check out JWA's online walking tour.
The 3rd of the Top 11 Labor History Landmarks in New York City is Cooper Union.
The Great Hall at Cooper Union has been the scene of lively public debate since it opened in 1858. At a mass meeting in November 1909, Clara Lemlich, a young Jewish labor organizer gave an impassioned speech (in Yiddish), which inspired a general strike of shirtwaist makers. The owners of the Triangle Factory were among a minority of manufacturers who did not agree to the concessions that ended the strike after 14 weeks.
Learn more about Cooper Union and see it "On the Map!"
About the online walking tour:
Learn about the events surrounding the Triangle fire with an online tour or, if you are in Manhattan, print out these pages and go for an invigorating walk. You can use a "Google Maps Tour" to organize your tour according to the sequence of events, easiest walking, or "most complete" route. If you want to listen to an audio version of the tour on your computer or cell phone, sign up for a free Travelgoat account and download the Triangle walking tour.
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