The Crackdown on Tacoma’s Fire-Trap Theaters
Mayor Campbell threatens to shutter city theaters unless they upgrade to meet building safety ordinances.
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No report has yet been made to Mayor Campbell by the city building inspector and fire chief regarding their investigation of local playhouses. While the officials remain tight-lipped until their report is formally submitted, they have confirmed that the theaters have failed to comply with existing building ordinances. Mayor Campbell has issued a stern warning: if the theaters are not brought into compliance, they will be closed immediately unless proper alterations are made. However, it is believed that the owners will choose to renovate rather than shut down.
“Mayor Campbell has stated, however, that if it is reported to him that the theaters are not arranged in compliance with the ordinances they will be closed.”
Theater safety was a national obsession in early 1904 following the horrific Iroquois Theatre fire in Chicago, which killed over 600 people. This local effort in Tacoma mirrors the immediate civic panic that followed, where cities across the US rushed to audit performance spaces for fire exits and basic safety.
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