{"id":53114,"date":"2025-01-28T11:30:07","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T11:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/aerospace\/nearly-100-washingtonians-died-when-a-theater-collapsed-in-one-of-the-largest-snowfalls-ever-to-hit-d-c\/"},"modified":"2025-01-28T11:30:07","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T11:30:07","slug":"nearly-100-washingtonians-died-when-a-theater-collapsed-in-one-of-the-largest-snowfalls-ever-to-hit-d-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=53114","title":{"rendered":"Nearly 100 Washingtonians Died When a Theater Collapsed in One of the Largest Snowfalls Ever to Hit D.C."},"content":{"rendered":"


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The Knickerbocker Theater’s roof collapsed under the weight of snowfall, resulting in 98 deaths.
\n Photo by Herbert A. French \/ Buyenlarge \/ Getty Images<\/span>
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Around 9 p.m. on the evening of January 28, 1922, a massive blizzard caused one of the deadliest disasters<\/a> in Washington, D.C. history.<\/p>\n

Snow had already been falling for over 24 hours when patrons made their way into the Knickerbocker Theater. This 1,700-person venue was the largest movie house in the nation\u2019s capital at the time, and one that writer Kevin Ambrose<\/a> has called the \u201cTitanic<\/em> of Washington theaters.\u201d An estimated 500<\/a> moviegoers had gathered to see a showing of the silent comedy Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford<\/em> while outside, the snow continued to accumulate.<\/p>\n

Just after the show\u2019s intermission, tragedy struck. The weight of the snow that had collected atop the theater caused its flat roof to buckle, splitting it down the middle and onto the movie house\u2019s concrete balcony. The latter came crashing down as well, trapping dozens of men, women and children beneath a maelstrom of steel and masonry.<\/p>\n

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1917 photograph of the Knickerbocker Theater<\/p>\n

Public domain via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While people in the surrounding area rushed to the theater to help, the buildup of snow caused many nearby streets to remain obstructed, hindering rescue efforts. Eventually, more than 600 firefighters, soldiers and Marines arrived on the scene, with Army Major George S. Patton<\/a> (later famous for helping lead the Allies to victory during World War II) tasked with overseeing the operation. The following day, rescuers were still trying to sort through the wreckage to reach those who\u2019d been seated in the theater\u2019s orchestra section.<\/p>\n

A total of 98 people were killed\u2014including former Congressman Andrew Jackson Barchfeld<\/a>, as well as several notable political and business leaders\u2014and 133 injured by the collapsed roof. Later dubbed the Knickerbocker Storm<\/a>, the weather event remains both one of the largest snowfalls (28 inches<\/a> in total) and deadliest architectural catastrophes on record in Washington. The building\u2019s collapse was also one of the deadliest structural engineering failures<\/a> in United States history.<\/p>\n

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Snow Covered Negligence: The Knickerbocker Theater Disaster<\/p>\n

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