That let in the snow, which came in through the broken places where the ceiling had given way. Funny, but it spun around, kind of twisted, as its supports gave way, and it swung down on those below. While I was looking up a great piece right over my head started to fall. Two women, pinned beside the students, began the prayer, but never finished. It didn’t go straight down, just kind of slid sideways and slanting, I suppose from the weight of the debris that had fallen on us upstairs. The theater had been filled with people watching the silent comedy movie Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford. Database and records searchable by surname. War veteran Joseph Younger and his wife were at the theater that night. Consternation resulted at the day progressed because of the circulation of false rumors to the effect that cries and moans were heard coming from the ruins. She had screamed, then moaned, and then grown still. Tomasso Asserto, of the Belgian Embassy. For most newspapers, it was first page news as many of the victims were from other states, such as Pennsylvania, Washington state, and Virginia. When the roof collapsed, they were imprisoned in the wreckage. Unable to release them from their torment, rescue workers passed tubes to the victims through apertures made with picks and acetylene torches. And that’s when it happened. In total, 98 people were killed by the collapsed roof. The Knickerbocker was the Titanic of theaters. I ducked, crouching involuntarily, I suppose, down between the seats. “Across the aisle from me when the crash came was a little fellow who laughed and roared at every funny part of the film. It was a great, tremendous roar. Use our online form to ask a librarian for help now. By the next morning, newspapers across the country reported on the tragedy. Eventually it was determined that faulty construction was ultimately responsible. Younger and myself. The couple had been seated together in the third row of the balcony when the ceiling crashed down. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), ← Visits to the Morgue as Entertainment and Punishment. As the movie came to its end, the orchestra began to softly play “Sweet and Low.”. When Joseph Wade Beal was born, his father had only one dream for him, and that was for Joseph to become a violinist. Believe All Bodies Out. Police, firemen, and military personnel aid in the evacuation and rescue. My only thought then was to get home before I should die. I can’t remember about that part of it. Younger and I were afraid they’d miss us. “That was the worst part of it. Second, the largest girder supporting the balcony, as I remember it, fell just in front of us and shielded us from the mass of concrete and plaster which fell like a giant pancake. The reporters did everything in their power to identify any unknowns within the wreckage, and their work was truly amazing. But that all ended on January 28, 1922. The reporters at the scene shouted into the wreckage and gathered the names of the survivors. The young man lost his life in the collapse and left behind a young widow. The total number of know dead in the Knickerbocker theatre disaster was close to 110 at midnight. “Some of these seekers came with dirt and grime of the wreckage upon them still. Other voices died off, as well. Multiple investigations were conducted to explain the cause of the collapse. The Knickerbocker Theatre, in Washington’s Adams Morgan neighborhood, was showing “Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford.” The snow was falling hard … Then a woman would scream and the pick would strike above where she was thought to be lying. I can’t describe it. 98 people were killed. They had to cut away at the cement and plaster that surrounded them and pull them out of the hole, but both were alive and doing fairly well. ERNEST, S. … The number of severely injured is estimated at more than a hundred. It seemed that my time had come. They passed away a few moments into the prayer. When the reporter stationed at the police headquarters called the editor to relay the event of the theater, the city editor immediately got on the phone and called The Associated Press. The editor’s next step was to rally all of his remaining reporters and get them to key places throughout Washington, DC. They were caught the worst. I knew I was hurt some, but I didn’t know how badly. Inside the wreckage, two Georgetown University students, W. L. Peters and Wilfred Brosseau, began to recite the Lord’s Prayer. The Army also worked the scene of destruction. He begged them to leave him behind, but the crew managed to get him out from where he was pinned. Browse by State  AL | AK |  AR | AZ | CA | CO | CT | DC | DE | FL | GA | HI | IA | ID | IL | IN | KS | KY | LA | MA | MD | ME | MI | MN | MO | MS | MT | NE | NC | ND | NH | NJ | NM | NV | NY | OH | OK | OR | PA | RI | SC | SD | TN | TX | UT | VA | VT | WA | WI | WV | WY. I thought I was going to die.” [9]. WASHINGTON, Jan. 29. It was time for her to let go, but she pleaded with the rescuers not separate her from her husband. “It’s queer, but I was conscious all the time when I was pinned down under there by that great piece of ceiling. Four days before the ceiling came crashing down, the young man married his boyhood sweetheart. [3]. It was maddening. Deaths were reported as they happened and more first hand accounts were gathered. Two hours later, he passed away at the Walter Reed Hospital. The local morgues would not have been able to handle all of them at once. [5]. Search for Diplomats. Luckily, there weren’t more. They are Madame Virginia Kuraud, sister of Dr. Julio Bianchi, Guatemalan minister to the United States. [6]. Another survivor, John H. Smithwick of Florida, gave his account of events from a hospital bed. One rumor was to the effect that five persons had been trapped in a room which had been blocked off and made inaccessible to the rescuers. – Tonight the capital, stunned by disaster, watched fearfully the ever-growing list of dead and dying. Search is being made for three persons prominent in the Diplomatic corps who are believed to be among the unidentified dead or still in the ruins of the Knickerbocker theatre. I got out myself. My mind, when I saw the ceiling fall, and afterward, was just as clear and collected as it is now. https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-knickerbocker-theater-collapse, Knickerbocker Theater Collapse: Topics in Chronicling America, Directory of US Newspapers in American Libraries, "40 or more killed and scored injured when Knickerbocker Theater caves in.". “There were only a few of us in the balcony. The 1500-seat theatre was designed by the architectural firm of J. In 1922, a massive blizzard led to the roof collapsing at the Knickerbocker Theater. This guide provides access to materials related to the “Knickerbocker Theater Collapse” in the Chronicling America digital collection of historic newspapers. All I wanted to do was to get home and tell my wife and little girl what had happened and how I was hurt. With Unknown Number of Living Still Entombed Under Debris, Police, Firemen and Soldiers Struggle Frantically to Reach Them – Whole City Given Over to Saving Those Still Under Ruins and Caring for Close to 200 Injured. Twenty-six-year-old William Crocker, a native of New Jersey, served his country during World War One. In the mid-1890s, Lillian Russell starred at the theatre, including in The Queen of Brilliants, a flop. Subscribe to Strange Ago’s video channel. We in the balcony were more fortunate. It was just like an ice pond breaking up. Need assistance? He said: “The orchestra was playing beautiful music and a comic film was running. I forced myself up through that hole, wiggling and shoving. L. M. Price, Attache of the Venezuelan legislation. In two instances, the sufferers were located beneath a mass of material. Officers in charge of the search for bodies in the ruins of the Knickerbocker theatre announced at 11:45 p. m. that they were convinced that all bodies had been removed. Read more about it! “I don’t know how I got out from where I was crouching under that chunk of plaster that had fallen on me. I don’t know how I got out. On the way I saw a young fellow lying half curled up, moaning and crying for help. They were taken to the hospital for bruises and scrapes. The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection. My chest pained me, my back seemed broken, my face was dripping with blood. WASHINGTON DEAD NEAR 110; APPROXIMATELY 200 INJURED, CAPITAL AGHAST AT GROWING DEATH LIST, WATCHES RESCUE WORKERS CUT WAY TO VICTIMS. Have a question? They had worked hours with the rescuers to find that one, only to turn now and then for a hurried trip to the chamber of death.” [4]. From the entangled struts, supports and beams of the Knickerbocker motion picture theatre. Scott Montgomery was pinned beneath the rubble, but he was alive. The plaster began to fall, dropping down in large and small chunks all over the theater, it seemed to me. [2]. He married and five months later he died in the theater collapse. GenDisasters is a genealogy site, compiling information on the historic disasters, events, and tragic accidents our ancestors endured, as well as, information about their life and death. Many people must have been killed by that girder which saved us. “It was five hours before my wife was rescued, and six before they got me out. 133 people were injured. It was right over my head, I instantly realized what was happening. “As the ceiling broke the plaster fell first, in chunks. He had died instantly, and his wife remained with him for the next 4 hours, awaiting rescue. Men with working faces leaned to draw back the coverings and then gasp with short lived relief as they moved on to the next huddled form. After an intense blizzard that lasted more than 24 hours, the faulty roof construction of the Knickerbocker Theater didn’t stand a chance. In his own words, the boy said, “I was sitting in the first row balcony, and when the roof fell in, it just threw me on my knees, and my head butted into my sister’s back, and that’s the way we stuck for five hours. He died a few hours later at a hospital. As the movie came to its end, the orchestra began to softly play “Sweet and Low.” After giving his service, he became involved in numerous community works and was in Washington, DC as the representative of the World’s Trade Club. Joseph began his intense study of the violin at a young age and then, after serving in the Navy, the twenty-two year old became a first violinist at the Knickerbocker Theater. On their crawl out, they rescued two other women and the small group made it out of the wreckage. Neither of the girls were badly hurt, and they were whisked away to the hospital for further observation. B. McElfatrick & Co. He described his experience as follows: “Two things saved Mrs. The noise was awful. The students then began to work their way out of the wreckage. The theater was eventually rebuilt almost a year later but this disaster remains one of the worst in DC history. Chat with a librarian, Monday through Friday, 2-3 pm Eastern Time (except Federal Holidays). Beneath tons of steel and masonry scores of men women and children were buried.” (Evening Star, January 29, 1922). The year after the disaster, Crandall hired a new architect, rebuilt the Knickerbocker and renamed it the Ambassador Theatre. Privacy Policy. I don’t know what became of him or the others in the balcony after we were showered with plaster. Officials estimate that eight are thus imprisoned. First, we were sitting in the orchestra near the aisle and when the crash came I shoved my wife into the aisle and fell next to her.

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