The 1911 Heat Wave cooked most of the Northeastern United States for eleven summer days and nights, with temperatures hitting 105 in some areas. People in sweltering New York tenements were particularly impacted.
On one day, roughly 400,000 rushed to Coney Island in hopes of catching ocean breezes. Night finally fell, but temperatures did not. According to news reports, the surges to Coney Island ended in massive slumber parties on the beach.
Following are a few Blistering Beats from the 1911 heat wave that started on July 4th and finally broke on July 15.
People Lost Their Cool
The month of June in 1911 brought normal temperatures for the Northeastern United States. But hot, dry winds from Canada suddenly raised temperatures into the 90s and above. The 1911 Heat Wave quickly became a public emergency, with people and horses dropping in the streets.
Unbearable temperatures blazed on for eleven days and nights.
On July 4, 1911, The New York Times wrote:
“New York City at 8 AM yesterday was the hottest place in the United States, excepting none, the thermometer registering 87, which was higher than Sunday’s temperature at the same time by 15 degrees. All morning the mercury rose, until at 11:45 AM it reached the official maximum of 98, higher by 3.5 degrees than Sunday’s maximum, and surpassing all records for heat in a decade.”
Clothing was long and heavy. Even swimsuits offered little relief. With home air conditioning units unavailable until 1932, people fought for shade on streets and parks.
With temperatures inside tenements reaching dangerous numbers, fire fighters doused outer walls of buildings and surrounding sidewalks. Authorities opened hydrants to cool the crowds in the streets.
As the 11-day heat wave persisted ice blocks were a valuable commodity. Kids were photographed licking ice blocks in open wagons.
Sweltering Masses Sought Distraction On Coney Island
The New York Times reported on the great rush of sweltering citizens to Coney Island to escape the 1911 Heat Wave.
“Pleasure seekers poured into it by boat, trolley, and train from early morning, and even as midnight approached, folk who found their homes in the heart of Brooklyn and Manhattan too hot to sleep in, continued to fill the cars, bound Coney Island-ward. Four hundred thousand persons visited the resort during the day, altogether, according to Police Capt. Thomas Murphy.” (NY Times, 1911)
They crowded onto Surf Avenue until they had to walk out in the street and along the trolley tracks. According to Captain Murphy, “They were all too hot to make trouble,” with almost no fights or arrests for disorder.
The only two arrests resulted from Capt. Murphy’s crusade against skimpy bathing suits.
In the course of the afternoon Patrolman Peter Campbell of the Coney Island Station saw two brothers, Edward and Rice Frost, sunning themselves between dips at the foot of West Twenty-fifth Street. They were wearing what Campbell determined were improper swim suits.
“I admire Greek statuary in its place, but its place is in a museum,” the patrolman remarked as he arrested the two young men. They were taken to the Coney Island Station and locked up on a charge of disorderly conduct.” (NY Times, 1911)
Later, a “venturesome young blonde” accompanied by two men caused the chief excitement of the day.
“She was dressed in a combination pantaloon and harem skirt which even hardened Coney said was the most remarkable costume it had ever seen…Below the knees it wasn’t even a narrow skirt, but, dividing mysteriously, became—much to Coney’s bewilderment—a pair of pantaloons.” (NY Times, 1911)
Getting off a train at the West End station, the woman walked boldly eastward along Surf Avenue, pursued by a wondering and constantly growing throng.
With the Female Vote still not a national reality until 1920, and women in pants still uncommon, some onlookers politicized her daring outfit.
“Suffragette! Dress reformer! Trousers for women! Trousers for women!” yelled the crowd.
The young woman walked past Luna Park to a dance hall where she began dancing with one of her male escorts.
“The sight caused the carousels and scenic railways to be quickly deserted. A special policeman finally told the woman that he was “very sorry, mar’m, but you are driving away business. No one is spending any money because you’ve got them all watching you.”
The young woman went all the way to the Coney Island Station to complain to Capt. Murphy. He advised her to go home.
The Slumber Parties Continued
The New York Times wrote about the 1911 Heat Wave bringing throngs of desperate people to Coney Island on July 5th:
“The beach is so crowded at night with people who seek relief from the heat that there is hardly any room for them without creating congestion conditions. Beginning last night, Steeplechase Park, with its pier, beach, and pavilions, was thrown open to mothers and their children as a resting place for the night. George C. Tilyou, the owner of the park, provided extra watchmen to keep guard over the sleeping ones throughout the night.”
The New York Times wrote on July 6th that the beaches remained crowded with tens of thousands of people.
“Many thousands of persons went to the beaches to seek relief. It is estimated that half a million persons bathed at Coney Island, Brighton, and Manhattan Beaches yesterday. About 30,000 persons slept on the beach last night.” (New York Times)
Meanwhile In New England Doctors Wrote Prescriptions For Ice
According to the Historical Society of Smithfield, The 1911 heat wave began on July 1st in New England with thermometers reading over 100 degrees. On July 3rd temperatures in Woonsocket climbed to 105 in the shade. People were already dropping from the heat.
Managers of Rocky Point announced plans to make the July 4th celebration “one of the biggest days at Rocky Point”, but heat kept people home.
A headline on July 5th read, “Sun’s Torrid Rays Wilted Fourth’s Fun”
The rising heat-related death toll was updated daily. It included drownings and suicides. The toll on horses was high as well.
“Ambulances of that era were nothing more than covered wagons pulled by horses, and those horses were pushed to their limits of endurance hauling numerous heat victims found collapsed in the streets. With temperatures in Providence registering 104 degrees – in the shade – one can understand why some of the animals simply dropped dead during the performance of their duty.” (Smith Appleby House Museum)
Telephone service in many areas was interrupted, or non-existent, as telephone operators were overcome. There was a story of a hen in Lowell, Massachusetts, who abandoned its nest due to the heat, and the rays of the sun hatched the eggs.
With the price of electric fans rocketing due to demand, cold drinks were one way to cool off. Unfortunately ice supplies dwindled.
“In some areas, shortages drove the price from $2.50 a ton, up to $25.00 a ton. New York City was the scene of “ice riots”, leading police in some cities to guard delivery wagons against those driven to desperate measures by the heat.” (Smith Appleby House Museum)
Some desperate doctors wrote prescriptions for ice to cool the very young and the elderly. But filling the scripts was a challenge.
“Even when the ice could be delivered it didn’t stay frozen for long, and in 1911, virtually all ice came from winter ice harvests, which meant that it wouldn’t be replaced anytime soon.” (Smith Appleby House Museum)
Cooler Heads Eventually Prevailed
Finally on July 15, a thunderstorm broke the 1911 heat wave. Unfortunately, along with the storms came dangerous lightning strikes with falling trees and other perils that resulted in fatalities.
According to History.com, there were an estimated 380 and 2,000 deaths across the region. Among the causes of were heat stroke, exhaustion, and accidental drownings when people who could not swim tried to cool off in rivers. More than 200 people died in New York City, along with an estimated 600 working horses.
Even today the death toll due to extreme heat is believed to be undercounted.
According to Nature Climate Change:
Climate warming is driving more frequent and intense heat extremes. Yet, changes in heat stress, the leading cause of weather-related mortality, remain poorly quantified at the global scale. (Nature.com)
Is It Really Getting Hotter You Ask?
Yes, extreme episodes of heat have always occurred. The 1911 Heat Wave was a doozy. Our great ancestors survived others, including London’s Great Stink of 1858, the Great New York Heat Wave of 1896 and the North American Heat Wave of 1936.
But according to the Center For Climate And Energy Solutions, hot days are getting hotter and occurring more frequently around the globe.
“The year 2024 was the hottest year on record, with global average temperatures more than 1.5 °C above the 1850-1900 average. The past 10 years, from 2015 to 2024, were the hottest on record globally.
Across the United States, the average rate of extreme heat events increased from two per year in the 1960s to ten per year between 2010 and 2020. Additionally, as of 2024, the average length of heat-wave season in the U.S. has increased by 46 days since the 1960s.”(c2es)
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