The Last Great Fire - Heather Navy

$18.00 $26.00

From our NYC Fire Museum series.  The Last Great Fire of New York started early in the morning in a whale oil store and quickly spread to neighboring buildings and warehouses.  Twenty souls perished in the blaze and nearly 300 buildings burned to the ground before the fire was extinguished.  The Great Fire of 1845 was the last of three large fires that drastically changed the skyline of New York City, shaped building codes, fire prevention, and ultimately contributed to consolidating the volunteer departments into FDNY as we now know it.  If you'd like to read more about  The Last Great Fire, you can click here.

Printed on a midnight navy 50/50 tee, the whale (signifying the whale oil store) represents the city of Manhattan.  The fire in the whale's mouth marks the location (in lower Manhattan) where the fire occurred, and the anchor marks North and South as a compass would.  The East River and North River are marked respectively on either side of the whale.  The design creates a unique map of early Manhattan and marks the spot of one of New York's most tragic fires.  From the ashes Lower Manhattan rises and that is why Ryan Brown chose to finish the shirt with, 'Faithful & Fearless', the motto of Engine 225 and Ladder 107 in Brooklyn.