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The Cocoanut Grove was Boston's premier nightclub during the post-Prohibition 1930s and 1940s. On November 28, 1942, this club was the scene of the deadliest nightclub fire in history,〔List of nightclub fires〕 killing 492 people (which was 32 more than the building's authorized capacity) and injuring hundreds more. The enormity of the tragedy shocked the nation and briefly replaced the events of World War II in newspaper headlines. It led to a reform of safety standards and codes across the country, and major changes in the treatment and rehabilitation of burn victims. It was the second-deadliest single-building fire in American history; only the 1903 Iroquois Theatre fire in Chicago had a higher death toll, of 605. It was only two years after the Rhythm Club fire which had killed 209.〔"('Complete panic' as 233 killed in Brazil nightclub fire )." ''USA Today''. January 27, 2013. Retrieved on January 27, 2013.〕 ==The Club== The Club, a former speakeasy, had opened in 1927 as a partnership between two orchestra leaders, Mickey Alpert and Jacques Renard. (Although neither held an interest in the club by 1942, Alpert was leading the house band the night of the fire.) It was located at 17 Piedmont Street, which until recently was a parking lot in Boston's Bay Village neighborhood. As of 2015, a condo complex is being built over the former address, although the current developers use 25 Piedmont as the address for the new building that will occupy the site.〔http://www.bostonmagazine.com/property/blog/2014/06/17/condominiums-rise-site-cocoanut-grove-fire/〕 Much of the club's former footprint, including what was the main entrance, already lies under the Revere Hotel, as just a portion of the club extended out to Piedmont Street. Since the club was torn down in 1944, the street map of the site has changed due to urban renewal, with streets being renamed or built over. The section of Shawmut street where the main entrance was, and Broadway which also bordered the club, now lay under the Revere Hotel. The surviving section of Shawmut Street, and a newer extension, known as Shawmut Street Extension were renamed Cocoanut Grove Lane in 2013. The newer extension cuts through what was the club's original footprint. Originally a garage and warehouse complex, the building had been converted to a one-and-a-half-story meandering complex of dining rooms, bars, and lounges. The club offered its patrons dining and dancing in a South Seas-like "tropical paradise" created by artificial palm trees, rattan and bamboo, heavy draperies, "swanky" satin canopies suspended from the ceilings, and a roof that could be rolled back in summer for dancing under the stars.〔 The building had acquired a reputation as being a criminal hangout, and this image was enhanced when gangland boss and bootlegger Charles "King" Solomon, also known as "Boston Charlie," owner of the club from 1931–33, was gunned down in the men's room of Roxbury's Cotton Club nightclub in 1933.〔"Cabaret gunmen kill 'King' Solomon," ''The New York Times'', Jan. 25, 1933, p. 36.〕 The owner at the time, Barnet "Barney" Welansky, boasted of his ties to the Mafia and to Boston Mayor Maurice J. Tobin. He was known to be a tough boss who ran a tight ship: hiring teenagers to work as busboys for low wages, and street thugs who doubled as waiters and bouncers. He locked exits, concealed others with draperies, and even bricked up one emergency exit to prevent customers from leaving without paying.〔"Sealed Grove 'Exit' Found, Quiz Head of License Board", ''The Boston American'', Dec. 12, 1942. p.1〕 Coincidentally, on the night of the fire, he was still recovering from a heart attack in a private room at Massachusetts General Hospital, where some of the victims would be sent. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cocoanut Grove fire」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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