There was one website ( ) that made it sound as if the story was a historical event, however, when I clicked on the citations below, the pictures were taken from a J.P Morgan history. I tried to research Coalhouse Walker but I did not find any information about this man as well as, Willie Conklin. After typing in “Emerald Isle firehouse explosion” nothing came up but the book itself. I was wondering whether this story of revenge from Coalhouse Walker, which resulted in several people dying, was real. Later on in the story, Coalhouse Walker informs the newspaper that he was involved in the act and wants his car to be fixed. The killer is believed to be an unidentified black man, demanding to know where Willie Conklin was located. From the hospital bed, a survivor of the attack is able to recount the event and describe the man who attacked them. The police backtracks and realizes that it was no accident, instead, the men were initially shot. The explosion was not ordinary, as it had outside involvement. And at least five men were known to have been on duty at the time…The field was scorched and the building was a pile of charred ruins” (206). In the book, during Chapter 28, the author mentions, “Two of the volunteers were in the hospital, one with burns so severe that he was not expected to live through the day. When reading Ragtime I was fascinated by Coalhouse Walker’s story and the Emerald Isle Engine explosion in Westchester. I found out this information regarding Henry Houdini from doing my own intensive research and reading this article posted on. According to my research, after Houdini escaped from his cell, he opened up the gates to the other cells that inhabited prisoners and criss-crossed and mis-matched the prisoners by placing them in completely different cells rather than the ones that they were assigned too in order to screw with the Warden and his prison. Houdini did successfully escape from the cell within two minutes just like the novel had stated but the incident which included Harry K. ![]() 30) After doing my own independent research, it turns out that Houdini was actually placed into a cell that was inhabited by a fellow prisoner named, Walter W. Thaw “came up to the front of his cell and raising his arms in a shockingly obscene manner he thrust his hips forward and flapped his penis between the bars.” (pg. 28) The novel, later on, stated that Houdini successfully escaped from the cell within two minutes and in the cell across of him, the prisoner/killer Harry K. After Houdini managed to escape these leg irons, the novel stated, “with the press crowded around, Houdini now proposed his own challenge: that then and there he be stripped and locked in a cell and his clothing placed outside if everyone would then leave he would contrive to escape from the cell and appear fully dressed in the Warden’s office within five minutes.” (pg. This was mentioned during Chapter 5 of the novel, Houdini was challeneged to escape from the new leg irons that were claimed to be way better than the standard prison equipment. Doctrow, I was puzzeled by the account of Henry Houdini escaping from a prison cell on Murder’s Row located on the top floor of the prison.
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