Physical places add an important dimension to our understanding of history. This was the impetus behind JWA's effort to put Jewish women "On the Map." This month, we have been commemorating the centennial of the Triangle factory fire, which took the lives of 146 garment workers. The history of the labor movement in the U.S. is inextricably linked with this watershed event. It is also linked to the physical site of the factory and a number of other places around New York City--most still standing--where women like Clara Lemlich, Rose Schneiderman, and others gathered to protest and organize for change.

During the second half of Women's History Month, we will be sharing JWA's "Top 11" landmarks in Jewish women's labor history in New York City. The list is not comprehensive; we chose sites associated with events surrounding the Triangle fire. Every weekday for the rest of the month, the blog will highlight a different one of these sites.

Each of these landmarks appears on JWA's online map of significant places in Jewish women's history, and each one is a stop on the new online Triangle fire tour. To listen to an audio version of the tour, sign up for a free Travelgoat account and download the Triangle walking tour to your mobile phone! If you're not in NYC or up for actual walking, you can take the tour "virtually" from your computer and listen to the audio guide online through Travelgoat.

JWA's "Top 11" Landmarks in Jewish Women's Labor History in New York City:

1. The Forward Building

2. Tenements on 6th or 7th street, off of the Bowery

3. Cooper Union

4. International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union Headquarters

5. Asch Building/Brown Building (Triangle Factory)

6. Washington Square

7. Jefferson Market Courthouse

8. Carnegie Hall

9. Metropolitan Opera House

10. Henry Street Settlement

11. Lower East Side Tenement Museum

Check the blog each day to learn about one of these locations or take the online tour  on your own schedule.