With locked exits and boarded-up vents, the Iroquois Theater was a perfect death trap.

A fire in the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, Illinois, killed more than
600 people on December 30, 1903. It was the deadliest theater fire
in U.S. history. Blocked fire exits and the lack of a fire-safety plan
caused most of the deaths.

Shocking 1903 illustration of the infamous Chicago Iroquois Theater Fire. Originally published in France.

The Oriental Theater, which retained the façade of the ill-
fated Iroquois Theater.