The Knickerbocker Collapse

Every inquiry looked for someone to blame. The courts could not name anyone.

Collection: Washington: More Stories · USA · Open in OpenStreetMap

Knickerbocker Theater ruins in the snow, January 1922 · National Photo Company Collection, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

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How the story begins

"A crack, a sort of ripping sound." That is what a witness heard just after nine on the night of January 28, 1922, inside the Knickerbocker, the movie house on this corner. A former bank building, designed to echo its shape, took its place. The film was a silent comedy, Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford. Two days of record snow lay on the flat roof. The roof came down onto the concrete balcony, and the balcony fell on the seats below.

The rest is in the app. Peplos plays the full story when you reach the place. You can also listen ahead of time.