7. Fifth Avenue Factory

“Fifth Avenue, the Fashion and Wealth Centre of New York is the Factory District of This Great City.” Electrical New York (1916)

This drawing by Bailey appeared only five years after the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Fire that killed 146 workers, mostly young immigrant women. With this tragedy, public concern over factory working conditions were brought into focus.

Whether this drawing represents an actual scene or an idealized setting is unknown, but at the very least, it shows how workers were packed onto factory floors even post-Triangle Shirtwaist.