
In 1942, Boston's most famous "hotspot" was the Cocoanut Grove, in the Bay Village. Everyone who was anyone went to the Cocoanut Grove; and at least 900 people were jammed into the place on the evening of Saturday, November 28--when the worst nightclub fire in U.S. history struck the Grove with terrible suddenness and ferocity. How could this have happened? And how did Bostonians turn a disaster into positive reforms that still affect us today?