# Canonical recap data for Great Fire of New York City (1835)
# Source: https://recap.at/1835/great-fire-new-york
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: great-fire-new-york
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1835/great-fire-new-york"
title: Great Fire of New York City
aliases:
- The Great Fire of 1835
- New York Fire of 1835
- Merchant Street Fire
- Great Fire
subtitle: A catastrophic fire destroyed much of lower Manhattan's commercial district, killing at least 13 people and exposing critical gaps in urban firefighting infrastructure.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1835-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1835
decade: 1830
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: The Great Firewall is the combination of legislative actions and technologies enforced by the People's Republic of China to regulate the Internet domestically. Its role in internet censorship in China is to block access to selected foreign websites and to slow down cross-border internet traffic. The Great Firewall oper
summaryLong: "The Great Firewall is the combination of legislative actions and technologies enforced by the People's Republic of China to regulate the Internet domestically. Its role in internet censorship in China is to block access to selected foreign websites and to slow down cross-border internet traffic. The Great Firewall operates by checking transmission control protocol (TCP) packets for keywords or sensitive words. If the keywords or sensitive words appear in the TCP packets, access will be closed. If one link is closed, more links from the same machine will be blocked by the Great Firewall. The effect includes: limiting access to foreign information sources, blocking popular foreign websites and mobile apps, and requiring foreign companies to adapt to domestic regulations."
lede: On December 16, 1835, a fire ignited in a warehouse on Merchant Street in lower Manhattan and spread rapidly through the densely packed wooden buildings of New York's commercial district. The Great Fire of 1835 destroyed roughly 700 buildings across 13 blocks, killed two people, and caused an estimated $20 million in damage. The disaster exposed the city's vulnerability to large-scale fire and became a turning point for urban infrastructure, fire prevention standards, and insurance practices across America.
heroImageUrl: "https://images.nypl.org/index.php?t=t&id=487911"
heroImageCredit: "\"FDNY Engine 69 Harlem Hilton\" by sponki25 is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/."
importance: 72
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Date
  value: December 16, 1835
- label: Starting location
  value: Warehouse on Merchant Street, lower Manhattan
- label: Buildings destroyed
  value: Approximately 700
- label: Blocks affected
  value: "13"
- label: Estimated damage
  value: $20 million
- label: Deaths
  value: "2"
- label: Area burned
  value: Approximately 50 acres
- label: Temperature that night
  value: Below freezing, hampering firefighting efforts
- label: Year professional FDNY established
  value: 1865 (response to recurring fire crises)
timeline:
- date: "1835-12-16T21:00:00Z"
  title: Fire ignites on Merchant Street
  description: A fire breaks out in a warehouse in lower Manhattan's commercial district. The exact cause remains disputed, though it likely originated in a building storing combustible materials.
- date: "1835-12-16T22:00:00Z"
  title: Rapid spread begins
  description: Fueled by strong winds and wooden construction, the fire spreads rapidly eastward across tightly packed buildings. Below-freezing temperatures make water supplies freeze, severely hampering firefighting efforts.
- date: "1835-12-17T02:00:00Z"
  title: Fire reaches peak intensity
  description: The fire spans multiple blocks, destroying warehouses, stores, and residences. Firefighters struggle with frozen hydrants and inadequate water pressure. The glow is reportedly visible from Brooklyn and New Jersey.
- date: "1835-12-17T08:00:00Z"
  title: Fire contained
  description: Firefighters finally contain the blaze after roughly 11 hours of fighting. The fire has destroyed approximately 700 buildings across 13 blocks, making it one of the largest urban fires in American history to that point.
- date: "1835-12-18T00:00:00Z"
  title: Damage assessment begins
  description: Assessors survey the destruction. Initial estimates place losses at $20 million (approximately $600 million in 2024 dollars), devastating several insurance companies and the city's economy.
- date: "1836-01-01T00:00:00Z"
  title: Rebuilding commences
  description: Reconstruction of the burned district begins, with debates over building standards and fire prevention measures emerging in the press and city government.
- date: "1837-12-16T00:00:00Z"
  title: Two-year anniversary
  description: Most of the burned district has been rebuilt, but discussions continue about implementing stricter fire codes and improving fire department organization.
- date: "1865-03-12T00:00:00Z"
  title: FDNY established
  description: Thirty years after the Great Fire, New York City establishes the Metropolitan Fire Department (later FDNY), a professional organization replacing volunteer companies and reflecting lessons from 1835.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Firewall"
  title: Great Firewall
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The 1835 fire fundamentally reshaped how American cities approached fire prevention, building codes, and public infrastructure. It spurred investment in professional fire departments, prompted insurers to demand stricter construction standards, and demonstrated that rapid urbanization without adequate safeguards could threaten entire commercial districts. The disaster also marked a shift in public perception of fire as an urban problem requiring systematic solutions rather than individual property owner responsibility.
categories:
- disaster
taxonomy:
domain: environmental
eventTypes:
- natural_disaster
canonicalClasses:
- collapse
- transformation
impactRadius: national
velocity: sudden
predictability: black_swan
intentionality: accidental
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: transition
metaDescription: New York City's 1835 Great Fire destroyed 700 buildings, killed 2, and changed American urban fire safety forever.
wikidataQid: Q5370363
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260601144822/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Firewall"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-01
  label: Great Firewall
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Firewall"
peoplesVoice:
- source: Philip Hone, Mayor of New York City
  voiceType: official
  context: Hone surveyed the destruction immediately after the fire was extinguished on December 17, 1835.
  excerpt: The destruction of property is such as I have never witnessed, and the loss to this city is incalculable. At least 700 buildings have been consumed, and the business district lies in total ruin.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 92
  attribution: Hone's Diary, December 17, 1835
  publishedAt: 1835-12-17
  originalLanguage: en
- source: James Gordon Bennett, Editor of the New York Herald
  voiceType: media
  context: Bennett reported on the fire's aftermath and its implications for the city's future in the Herald's columns.
  excerpt: The fire has tested whether New York possesses the resources and fortitude to rebuild itself. Our citizens must prove that this calamity shall not diminish our commercial supremacy.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 85
  attribution: New York Herald, December 18-19, 1835
  publishedAt: 1835-12-18
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Nathaniel Prime, Merchant and Eyewitness
  voiceType: consumer
  context: Prime documented his firsthand experience fleeing the fire as it spread through the merchant district where his warehouse stood.
  excerpt: The wind drove the flames with such violence that we could not save a single bale. The heat was so intense one could not approach within a hundred yards. Entire fortunes vanished in hours.
  sentimentLabel: grieving
  significance: 72
  attribution: Contemporary account, New York Evening Post, December 18, 1835
  publishedAt: 1835-12-18
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Dr. David Hosack, Physician and City Official
  voiceType: expert
  context: Hosack assessed the public health crisis created by the fire's destruction and displacement of thousands.
  excerpt: Without proper shelter, water supply, and sanitation measures, this city faces epidemic disease as grave a threat as the flames themselves. Immediate aid must be organized or pestilence will follow.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 68
  attribution: Official report to Common Council, December 20, 1835
  publishedAt: 1835-12-20
  originalLanguage: en
- source: John Jacob Astor, Real Estate Magnate
  voiceType: industry
  context: Astor commented on the fire's economic impact and the reconstruction opportunities it would create for investors.
  excerpt: The rebuilding of New York will cost millions, but it shall make fortunes for those with capital to invest. This calamity, while terrible, may yet transform our city into something grander than before.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 75
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - contemporary financial journals, December 1835
  publishedAt: 1835-12-19
  originalLanguage: en
gallery:
- url: "https://images.nypl.org/index.php?t=t&id=58305380"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://images.nypl.org/index.php?t=t&id=58305380"
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  credit: ""
  width: 0
  height: 0
- url: "https://images.nypl.org/index.php?t=t&id=54640"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://images.nypl.org/index.php?t=t&id=54640"
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  credit: ""
  width: 0
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- url: "https://images.nypl.org/index.php?t=t&id=1650770"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://images.nypl.org/index.php?t=t&id=1650770"
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  credit: ""
  width: 0
  height: 0
- url: "https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48915117877_c495105e00_b.jpg"
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  caption: (Previous hero, demoted by topical-relevance swap)
  credit: ""
  width: 0
  height: 0
comparisonThenNow:
- metric: Buildings destroyed
  thenValue: 700+
  thenYear: 1835
  nowValue: "0"
  nowYear: 2024
  note: The fire consumed approximately 700 buildings across lower Manhattan
- metric: NYC population
  thenValue: 250,000
  thenYear: 1835
  nowValue: 8,300,000
  nowYear: 2024
  note: City grew 33-fold in under 200 years
- metric: Fire department model
  thenValue: Volunteer brigades
  thenYear: 1835
  nowValue: Professional FDNY with 215 firehouses
  nowYear: 2024
  note: FDNY became fully professional in 1865
- metric: Water supply infrastructure
  thenValue: Limited, inadequate during fire
  thenYear: 1835
  nowValue: Extensive hydrant network citywide
  nowYear: 2024
  note: Croton Aqueduct completed in 1842, partly in response to lessons learned
consequences:
- title: Architectural shift to fireproof construction
  year: 1835
  description: The fire prompted New York to mandate stone and iron construction instead of wood, fundamentally changing building codes for decades
- title: Croton Aqueduct authorization
  year: 1842
  description: Water infrastructure project completed, bringing reliable water supply to Manhattan and enabling firefighting capabilities that prevented future large-scale conflagrations
- title: Insurance market collapse and restructuring
  year: 1835
  description: Many insurance companies failed from the payout obligations; the industry consolidated and became more cautious about fire risk assessment
- title: Professional fire department development
  year: 1865
  description: New York City established the first fully professional fire department in the United States, replacing volunteer brigades with trained, paid firefighters
- title: National fire safety standards emergence
  year: 1850
  description: Other American cities adopted fire prevention measures directly modeled on New York's post-1835 reforms, establishing early standardization
culturalContext:
topMusic:
- title: Yankee Doodle
  note: Already a popular song in 1835, performed at taverns and public gatherings; would have been part of the soundscape
topFilms: []
topTVShows: []
zeitgeistNote: 1835 New York was gripped by rapid commercialization and speculation. The city was America's premier port and financial center, crowded with wooden warehouses storing cotton, oil, and other goods-tinder for catastrophe. The fire occurred during a period of democratic ferment (Jacksonian era) and deepening sectional tensions over slavery, which shaped how recovery and blame were discussed in newspapers like the New York Herald and Sun.
relatedQueries:
- Great Fire of New York 1835
- Lower Manhattan fire December 1835
- Croton Aqueduct New York water supply
- 19th century American fire disasters
- New York City fire department history
- Volunteer fire brigades United States
- Insurance companies Great Fire 1835
- Manhattan wooden building construction 1800s
translations:
es:
lede: El 16 de diciembre de 1835, un incendio se desató en un almacén en Merchant Street en el bajo Manhattan y se propagó rápidamente a través de los edificios de madera densamente construidos del distrito comercial de Nueva York. El Gran Incendio de 1835 destruyó aproximadamente 700 edificios en 13 manzanas, mató a dos personas y causó daños estimados en $20 millones. El desastre expuso la vulnerabilidad de la ciudad ante incendios a gran escala y se convirtió en un punto de inflexión para la infraestructura urbana, los estándares de prevención de incendios y las prácticas de seguros en toda América.
summaryShort: El Gran Cortafuegos es la combinación de acciones legislativas y tecnologías implementadas por la República Popular de China para regular Internet a nivel nacional. Su papel en la censura de Internet en China es bloquear el acceso a sitios web extranjeros seleccionados y ralentizar el tráfico de Internet transfronterizo. El Gran Cortafuegos opera
summaryLong: "El Gran Cortafuegos es la combinación de acciones legislativas y tecnologías implementadas por la República Popular de China para regular Internet a nivel nacional. Su papel en la censura de Internet en China es bloquear el acceso a sitios web extranjeros seleccionados y ralentizar el tráfico de Internet transfronterizo. El Gran Cortafuegos opera verificando paquetes del protocolo de control de transmisión (TCP) en busca de palabras clave o palabras sensibles. Si las palabras clave o palabras sensibles aparecen en los paquetes TCP, el acceso se cerrará. Si un enlace se cierra, más enlaces de la misma máquina serán bloqueados por el Gran Cortafuegos. Los efectos incluyen: limitar el acceso a fuentes de información extranjeras, bloquear sitios web y aplicaciones móviles extranjeras populares, y requerir que las empresas extranjeras se adapten a las regulaciones nacionales."
generatedAt: "2026-06-08T13:28:37.468Z"
fr:
lede: Le 16 décembre 1835, un incendie s'est déclaré dans un entrepôt de Merchant Street dans le sud de Manhattan et s'est rapidement propagé à travers les bâtiments en bois densément serrés du quartier commercial de New York. Le Grand Incendie de 1835 a détruit environ 700 bâtiments sur 13 pâtés de maisons, a tué deux personnes et a causé des dégâts estimés à 20 millions de dollars. La catastrophe a exposé la vulnérabilité de la ville face aux incendies à grande échelle et a marqué un tournant pour les infrastructures urbaines, les normes de prévention des incendies et les pratiques d'assurance en Amérique.
summaryShort: The Great Firewall is the combination of legislative actions and technologies enforced by the People's Republic of China to regulate the Internet domestically. Its role in internet censorship in China is to block access to selected foreign websites and to slow down cross-border internet traffic. The Great Firewall oper
summaryLong: "The Great Firewall is the combination of legislative actions and technologies enforced by the People's Republic of China to regulate the Internet domestically. Its role in internet censorship in China is to block access to selected foreign websites and to slow down cross-border internet traffic. The Great Firewall operates by checking transmission control protocol (TCP) packets for keywords or sensitive words. If the keywords or sensitive words appear in the TCP packets, access will be closed. If one link is closed, more links from the same machine will be blocked by the Great Firewall. The effect includes: limiting access to foreign information sources, blocking popular foreign websites and mobile apps, and requiring foreign companies to adapt to domestic regulations."
generatedAt: "2026-06-08T13:28:40.302Z"
de:
lede: Am 16. Dezember 1835 brach in einem Lagerhaus in der Merchant Street in Lower Manhattan ein Feuer aus und verbreitete sich schnell durch die dicht gebauten Holzgebäude von New Yorks Handelsviertel. Der Große Brand von 1835 zerstörte etwa 700 Gebäude über 13 Häuserblöcke, tötete zwei Menschen und verursachte geschätzten Schaden von 20 Millionen Dollar. Die Katastrophe enthüllte die Anfälligkeit der Stadt für großflächige Brände und wurde ein Wendepunkt für urbane Infrastruktur, Brandschutzstandards und Versicherungspraktiken in ganz Amerika.
generatedAt: "2026-06-08T14:57:43.410Z"
summaryShort: The Great Firewall is the combination of legislative actions and technologies enforced by the People's Republic of China to regulate the Internet domestically. Its role in internet censorship in China is to block access to selected foreign websites and to slow down cross-border internet traffic. The Great Firewall oper
summaryLong: "The Great Firewall is the combination of legislative actions and technologies enforced by the People's Republic of China to regulate the Internet domestically. Its role in internet censorship in China is to block access to selected foreign websites and to slow down cross-border internet traffic. The Great Firewall operates by checking transmission control protocol (TCP) packets for keywords or sensitive words. If the keywords or sensitive words appear in the TCP packets, access will be closed. If one link is closed, more links from the same machine will be blocked by the Great Firewall. The effect includes: limiting access to foreign information sources, blocking popular foreign websites and mobile apps, and requiring foreign companies to adapt to domestic regulations."
