Brown Building (Manhattan)

The Brown Building is a ten-story building that is part of the campus of New York University (NYU). It is located at 23-29 Washington Place, between Greene Street and Washington Square East in Manhattan, New York City. It was built in 1900-01, designed by John Wolley in the neo-Renaissance style^[1] and was originally named the Asch Building after its owner, Joseph J. Asch.^[3] The top three floors of the building were at one time occupied by the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, which was the site of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire that killed 146 garment workers on March 25, 1911. The fire led to wide-ranging legislation requiring improved factory safety standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. As of 2002, the building's name was changed to the Silver Center for Arts and Science.

The building survived the fire and was refurbished. NYU began to use the eighth floor of the building for a library and classrooms in 1916.^[1] Real estate speculator and philanthropist Frederick Brown later bought the building and subsequently donated it to the university in 1929, where it was known as the Brown Building until 2002.

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was named a National Historical Landmark in 1991.^[4][5] It was designated a New York City landmark in 2003. Three plaques on the southeast corner of the building commemorate the men and women who lost their lives in the fire.

In popular culture

In the sci-fi television show Warehouse 13 an artifact from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory – a door knob – emits intense heat and flames when held.

References

Notes

External links

• Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_building Triangle Shirtwaist Factory building] at Wikimedia Commons
• Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition
• The Triangle Factory Fire
• Triangle Fire Open Archive: Landmark Designation, Brown/Asch Building