    
Title: Fire, Boston, Massachusetts, 1942 Description: Firemen battle the blaze consuming the Cocoanut Grove nightclub at 17 Piedmont Street (in what is now Boston's Bay Village neighborhood) where 492 persons out of an estimated 1,000 patrons died from burning or smoke inhalation after the club's décor - paper palm trees, draperies covering the ceiling and other highly flammable decorations - caught fire; fire exits were poorly positioned and marked so the panic-driven patrons could not find them. One of the patrons, cowboy movie star Buck Jones, trapped with others, died of his injuries some days later; owner Bernard Welansky, who often boasted of his ties to the Mafia and his close relationship with Boston Mayor Maurice J. Tobin, was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter in not providing safe exits in his club, sentenced to twelve to fifteen years in prison (he served four years); Location: Boston, Massachusetts, November 28, 1942 Category: Disasters Topic: Fires Keywords: disasters, draperies, firemen, fires, involuntary manslaughter, nightclubs, palm trees Orientation: Landscape Dimensions: 2475 x 1887 (4.67 MPixels) (1.31) Print Size: 21.0 x 16.0 cm; 8.3 x 6.3 inches File Size: 13.38 MB (14,026,298 Bytes) Resolution: 300 x 300 dpi Color Depth: 16.7 million (24 BitsPerPixel) Compression: None Image Number: 0000060128 Source: Jay Robert Nash Collection |
