The Park Place disaster occurred on August 22, 1891, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

when

benzene Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar ring with one hydrogen atom attached to each. Because it contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms, ...

vapor from a

bronze powder Mosaic gold or bronze powder refers to tin(IV) sulfide as used as a pigment in bronzing and gilding wood and metal work. It is obtained as a yellow scaly crystalline powder. The alchemists referred to it as aurum musivum, or aurum mosaicum. Th ...

manufacturer ignited, causing an explosion that resulted in the collapse of the five-story Taylor Building that housed the manufacturer along with other businesses. Two fires then broke out, one in the ruins of the manufacturer and the other in a restaurant that was caused by a

natural gas leak A methane leak comes from an industrial facility or pipeline and means a significant natural gas leak: the term is used for a class of methane emissions. Satellite data enables the identification of super-emitter events that produce methane plumes. ...

. The disaster killed 61 people, while local residents were admonished in the press for rubbernecking and general insensitivity. A

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

declined to indict any of the owners or occupants of the building, however legislation was introduced in the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

that sought to tighten the

building code A building code (also building control or building regulations) is a set of rules that specify the standards for constructed objects such as buildings and non-building structures. Buildings must conform to the code to obtain planning permission ...

in light of this disaster and the 1892

Hotel Royal fire The Hotel Royal fire occurred on February 7, 1892, at the Hotel Royal in New York City, killing 28 people. The fire began in the hotel's elevator shaft, where the night engineer was performing maintenance work by the light of a candle. The candle's ...

References

{{Coord, 40, 42, 50.5, N, 74, 0, 40, W, type:landmark_region:US-NY, display=title Explosions in 1891 Building and structure collapses in New York History of New York City August 1891 events 1891 in New York City 1891 disasters in the United States Explosions in New York City Tribeca