The Burning of the City Hall, New York, August 18, 1858

The Burning of the City Hall, New York, August 18, 1858

This illustration was dated August 18, 1858 from New York. The image depicts a large crowd gathered around the City Hall and watching firefighters put out a fire that has already semi-destroyed the building. The audience for this specific item is both men and women, as everybody experienced the impact this had on New York. Whoever created this illustration wanted to create a memory for people to look back on and see how many people this fire affected.
This item is interesting because the reader is able to see how many people are standing outside watching this fire overtake the City Hall, and the firefighters fighting to extinguish the fire. The illustration looks as if there is a firework in the sky, which could be the reason for the fire. After conducting a bit of research, it was thought that the City Hall could have caught fire from actual fireworks that were set off to celebrate the successful laying of the Atlantic Telegraph Cable. This illustration demonstrates a bit of chaos, which could depict the chaos in New York because of immigration. Fire is always seen as chaos, and not as something beautiful, so this illustration could also be demonstrating destructiveness, in addition to chaos.

The Burning of the City Hall, New York, August 18, 1858. 1858. New York. Harper’s Weekly. 87th ed. Vol. II. Print.

Harper's Weekly Magazine

September 16, 2015

Emily Nader

1858