Singer mickey alpert and bandleader jacques renard had opened the club near boston s theater district in 1927 at the heyday.
How many locked doors were i the coconut grove fire.
On the night of the fire the cocoanut grove was packed with about 1 000 people double its capacity.
Navy records document how 492 died in a deadly nightclub fire 75 years ago fall 2017 vol.
The club was a fire trap.
Today the cocoanut grove fire remains by far the deadliest disaster of its kind in history.
On the evening of november 28 1942 a massive fire broke out in a popular boston nightclub known as the cocoanut grove.
The fire now had complete control of the premises with a.
That night 492 people died.
Navy yard in boston.
To this day investigators are still trying to figure out how the flames spread so fast through the building.
It was later estimated that more than 1000 persons were inside the grove at the time of the fire.
Unfortunately many exits were either locked shut or were not easily indentified or accessed by the crowd.
The fast moving fire killed 492 people on nov.
The cocoanut grove first opened its doors to the public in 1927.
Courtesy of national fire protection association saturday november 28 1942 at the u s.
Fleming enlarge angelo lippi the maitre d of the cocoanut grove nightclub poses in the main dining room sometime before the devastating fire.
When the fire broke out locked doors and decorations that helped feed.
The cocoanut grove was a premier nightclub during the post prohibition 1930s and 1940s in boston massachusetts united states on november 28 1942 it was the scene of the deadliest nightclub fire in history claiming a total of 492 lives which was 32 more than the building s authorized capacity and injuring hundreds more the scale of the tragedy shocked the nation and briefly replaced the.
Six locked doors explores the events leading up to the deadliest nightclub fire in american history on november 28 1942 at the cocoanut grove nightclub in boston massachusetts.
By the time of the fire the cocoanut grove was a boston institution.
Exit doors were locked to stop patrons from skipping out on their bills.
As with the melody lounge panic ensued and customers attempted to find an exit.
With double the allowed occupants locked doors flammable materials and other deadly conditions the fire left 492 people dead.
Of the fire ravaged ruins which once were the swank coconut grove shows dead or injured victims lying on the street waiting to be taken to.