The Knickerbocker Storm
The historic blizzard that ended in tragedy
Alex Q. Arbuckle
Jan. 28-29, 1922
Beginning Jan. 27, 1922, a blizzard began to dump snow on the east coast of the United States, centering on Washington, D.C. Due to a powerful high pressure system to the north, the storm took especially long to make its way up the coast, lingering and dumping snow on the nation’s capital from noon on Jan. 28 into the next morning. The city ground to a halt as the wind blew snow into drifts as high as 16 feet. By the time the precipitation ceased, the official count was for Washington was 28 inches, the highest snowfall in the city since the start of record-keeping in 1885.
In the Capitol grounds the snow has piled up to the level of the branches of many of the trees. Barely a quorum of Senators appeared for the roll call and only a handful of Representatives were on hand. - New York Times, Jan. 29, 1922
Hundreds of automobiles were stalled in the streets late last night and are still stuck in the snow. With few exceptions the street car lines in the District of Columbia were snowbound early today and suburban lines were unable to operate because of derailments. - New York Times, Jan. 29, 1922
At the height of the storm, a crowd between 300 and 1,000 people had packed into the city’s newest and biggest movie house, the Knickerbocker Theatre, for a showing of the silent comedy Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford.The roof of the Knickerbocker, which was designed by Reginald Wycliffe Geare and owned by Harry Crandall, was totally flat, allowing massive quantities of snow to accumulate during the storm. During the film’s intermission just after 9 p.m., the weight of the snow caused the entire roof to separate from the walls and come crashing down onto the audience.
There was applause and laughter following a particularly clever comedy situation. There was a crash that struck terror into the hearts a-thrill with merriment. There was a gust of wind, a rushing of air that blew open the closed doors of the theater – and then, after one concerted groan, there was silence – and Crandall’s Knickerbocker theatre, previously the temple of mirth, had been transformed into a tomb. - Washington Post, January 1922
As the snow continued to fall through the night, over 600 rescue workers frantically picked through the wreckage to find and aid survivors. In all, 98 theatergoers were killed, including former Pennsylvania Congressman Andrew Jackson Barchfeld; 133 more were injured. Both the theatre’s architect Reginal Wycliffe Geare and owner Harry Crandall were so disgraced that they later committed suicide.One of the worst disasters in D.C. history, the theatre collapse has led to the blizzard being known as “The Knickerbocker Storm."
