D.C. THEATER ROOF COLLAPSE KILLS 98 & INJURES 133; ARMY CONDUCTS RESCUE OPERATION
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On the evening of January 28, 1922, the roof of the Knickerbocker Theatre*, located in the Lanier Heights section (today Adams-Morgan) of the District of Columbia, collapsed killing 98 patrons and injuring 133 more. One of the victims was former congressman Andrew Jackson Barchfeld**.
It is the deadliest single-day disaster in the city's history.
The roof collapsed from the weight of a 28 inch snowfall which blasted the District of Columbia on January 27 and 28. Despite the bad weather, patrons flocked to see "Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford***" starting at 9 p.m.
Just as the opening credits were rolling, "the entire roof came down in one piece." The roof hit the floor with such force that the windows and doors of the theater were blasted out.
Major George S. Patton, United States Army, was called in to direct the rescue operation. According to Kellie Gormly, the subsequent investigation and public outcry that followed "led to improvements in D.C. building codes."
JFK+50 NOTE
Most of my sources show the spelling of the Knickerbocker in the English form (theatre) rather than the American form (theater).
*Knickerbocker Theatre, designed by Reginald Geare, opened in 1917. It was 'the most opulent & luxurious theater in D.C.' The site, at 18th St & Columbia Rd., is today home to a plaza with a "small, historical marker" across the street.
Reginald Geare committed suicide in 1927 and KT owner Harry Crandall died by suicide in 1937.
A memorial structure will be dedicated by "Neighbors for the Knickerbocker Memorial" on Jan 29, 2022.
**Andrew Jackson Barchfeld (1863-1922) was born in Pittsburgh, PA & graduated Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia 1884. AJB served in U.S. House of Representatives (R-PA) 1903-1917.
***'Get Rich Quick Wallingford' (1921) was a silent comedy directed by Frank Borzage & adapted from a Broadway Play of 1910 by George M. Cohan. It starred Sam Hardy & Doris Kenyon.
SOURCES
"40 Or More Killed & Scores Injured When Knickerbocker Theater Caves In," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., January 29, 1922, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
"Site of the Knickerbocker Disaster," Washington, D.C., Atlas Obscura, www.atlasobscura.com/
"The Knickerbocker Snowstorm," by Kevin Ambrose, Arcadia Publishing, 2013.
"When a Winter Storm Triggered One of the Deadliest Disasters in D.C. History," by Kellie B. Gormly, January 26, 2022, Smithsonian Magazine, www.smithsonianmagazine.com/
