Village Awardee: Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition

Village Preservation is proud to honor Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition as a 2026 Village Awardee! Join us in recognizing the Coalition and five other remarkable awardees at Village Preservation’s Annual Meeting and Village Awards on Wednesday, June 10th, with emcee Penny Arcade, at the historic Great Hall at Cooper Union. Registration is free and open to all. Click here to register. 

On the afternoon of Saturday, March 25, 1911, sirens blared through the streets of Greenwich Village. Alarmed by the urgency of the fire trucks whizzing by, many residents followed their path. Arriving at the Asch Building, on the corner of Washington Place and Greene Street, onlookers found the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors ablaze.

This fire would soon come to be known as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. This devastating event would end up being one of the most tragic and deadly workplace accidents in United States history, resulting in the death of 146 workers, mostly young immigrant women. The aftermath of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire helped lead to the establishment of better labor practices and laws to protect workers and create safer workplaces, both state-wide and country-wide.

Although the Triangle Fire occurred well over a century ago, it still feels alive within the narratives of labor history and the story of Greenwich Village. The event’s continued familiarity is thanks in no small part to the hard work of Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition, a local coalition of dedicated volunteers, and our 2026 Regina Kellerman Awardee.

Since 2009, the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition (RTFC) has endeavored to shine a spotlight on the importance of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire as a tragic event that created a turning point in American history. The Coalition accomplishes this mission through an annual commemoration event, year-round education events, and the implementation and upkeep of the award-winning Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Memorial.

Each year, at the site of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, a crowd gathers to collectively honor the victims. Led by RTFC, as well as NYC Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Workers United, and SEIU. This annual commemoration includes speakers, a reading of the victims’ names by their family members, and the laying of flowers on the site.

Additionally, a fire ladder is raised to the sixth floor, in order to visualize the highest point that could be reached in 1911, much lower than the 9th floor where workers were trapped.

The commemoration educates labor union members, activists, students, and community allies about workplace safety, collective bargaining rights, and the importance of standing together to protect workers’ safety. It serves as an opportunity to honor those who perished in 1911, while also acting as a catalyst for continued progress in labor rights and organizing.

Throughout the year, RTFC continues its mission through a variety of community education programs.  The group promotes educational events held by unions and civic organizations that advocate for worker rights and safety in the United States and around the world. RTFC members are involved in American and global labor justice campaigns.

RTFC also aims to make education about the Triangle fire relevant and accessible to all, using arts projects, educational outreach at museums and cultural institutions, and on social media. RTFC has collaborated with NYU, Judson Church, FIT, Hunter College, the NY Philharmonic, the NYC Labor Chorus, the Museum of the City of New York, the Hudson River Museum, the Municipal Art Society, NYU’s Bobst Library, LaborArts, the Coalition of Labor Union Women, and various unions and cultural institutions to offer programs that educate audiences about the Triangle fire. RTFC recently received the 2025 GANYC award given by the Guides Association of New York for its work supporting tourism in New York City.

Among the many groups that RTFC has partnered with for educational outreach is Village Preservation. Over the years, we have welcomed the Coalition as guests for lectures and other educational events, including last year’s presentation and pop-up exhibit at Jefferson Market Library. You can learn more and watch a recording of that program HERE.

Possibly the most significant accomplishment of the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition in recent years is the completion of the Triangle Fire Memorial, which is mounted on the outside of NYU’s Brown Building. The Memorial, dedicated in 2023, is a work of public art, placed at the site of the fire. Long-awaited, this memorial was the result of tireless advocacy on the part of a variety of community groups, most notably RTFC.

The memorial tells the story of the fire in the languages spoken by the victims: English, Yiddish, and Italian. Notably, it is one of the only memorials in America dedicated to workers.

The lower section of the Memorial is made up of a textured, stainless steel structure, meant to emulate a fabric ribbon. It is twelve feet above the sidewalk, on the building’s southern and eastern facades. The names and ages of the 146 victims are engraved into this ribbon, and are mirrored in a dark reflective panel. As visitors walk the length of the memorial, the names of the victims overhead appear in this reflective panel, as if written in the sky. Quotes from survivor and eyewitness testimonies are etched along the lower edge of the reflective panel, inviting the visitor to look down into the reflection and discover the names of the victims and their stories.

Procuring this incredible memorial was no easy feat. Following the successful completion of the Coalition’s 2011 Centennial events, progress toward a permanent Memorial required involvement with NYU (current owner of the Triangle Factory building) at every step, beginning with an initial memorandum of understanding with the RTFC for permission to erect a memorial on the building’s façade.

RTFC then held an international juried competition to design the Triangle Fire Memorial. RTFC hired a competition director to conduct the contest, collect entries, and bring together an esteemed panel of experts composed of architects, an artist, fashion designers, a city official, and a labor historian to judge the contest. Multiple rounds of judging resulted in a unanimous winning entry – REFRAMING THE SKY – designed by Uri Wegman and Richard Joon Yoo. Once the design was selected and approved by NYU, the RTFC sought and secured approvals from local Community Board #2 and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The Department of Buildings & Department of Transportation issued permits.

RTFC then raised funds to meet building costs and NYU’s escrow requirements. Memorial construction costs were met with grants from New York State and with private fundraising contributions from many donors.

For their tireless advocacy, robust programming, and incredible success with the Triangle Fire Memorial, Village Preservation is pleased to award the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition with this year’s Regina Kellerman Award. You can learn more about all of our awardees and register to attend the Annual Meeting and Village Awards on June 10 at Cooper Union’s historic Great Hall HERE.