Snow Covered Negligence: The Knickerbocker Theater Disaster

The Knickerbocker Theater Disaster, 100 Years Ago on January 28th 1922 in Washington D.C. was both tragic and preventable. The Knickerbocker Storm, A massive snowstorm/blizzard, combined with cost cutting and negligence led to this devastating Washington Heights Tragedy.

▶Timestamps:
00:00 Setting the Stage - Harry M Crandall
02:55 Knickerbocker Theater Background & Architect Reginald W Geare
05:03 Steel Supplier Issues & Roof Framing Revisions
05:55 Theater Construction Issues Early On & Frank L Wagner
06:50 The Roaring 20s Bring Roaring Crowds - Theater Expansion
07:21 The Knickerbocker Storm
07:48 The Snow Laden Roof Collapses, Chaos Ensues
09:36 Rescue Efforts in The Darkness and Storm
11:32 Difficult Investigation and Eventual Findings
12:12 How did The Knickerbocker Theater Collapse?
15:32 Subsequent Trials and Aftermath
17:56 The Ambassador Theater built in its place
18:31 In Memoriam...

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▶ A B O U T
Hey, I'm Sam! Child of the 80s turned Parent, Traveler, & Bumbling/Stumbling Nostalgic, Sentimental Creator. With a background in Logistics & Supply Chain Management, Industrial Robotics and a passion for Workplace Safety... half the time I know about 50% what I'm doing!

▶ C O N T A C T M E

#Engineering #StructuralFailure #YourSafetyMatters

[Rammstein.]

One small correction.

There WAS a warning, moments before the collapse, I understand that someone who worked in mines said he heard cracking and creaking that his training told him meant an imminent collapse in a mine, so he bolted for the door, making it out just moments before the disaster.

[hh]

10:59 This lady who called all the physicians. Quick thinking and she had access to phone numbers others did not have. Awesome lady.
Would be neat to know what ever happened to her in life and where she is buried. Would be nice to pay respects.

[Phoenixesper]

Love your channel. Between you, Plainly Difficult and Facinating Horror, I get my horrible manmade disaster fix on a regular basis! Thank You! :)

[cyberchoys]

I’m honestly surprised this channel doesn’t have more subscribers considering the production quality. love the collapse series!

[loveflowsfromife]

As a prospective Structural Engineer, videos like this always motivate me to ensure that my designs will be done to the highest standard of integrity and professional ethics.
P.S: could you please do a video on the Pemberton Mill of 1860? Most people regard it as the worst structural design failure and it’s cause was down to many similar issues as with the Knickerboker Theatre.

[CaffeineGeek]

Disasters such as the Knickerbocker Theatre collapse should serve as a cautionary tale to those in industries beyond construction. In my field, there is always pressure to cut costs, meet budget, and deemphasize the importance of items not visible to the customer. Years ago I was brought on a project that played out in a similar way. Costs were cut in critical areas, unapproved hacks implemented, lack of ownership on assigned tasks, anything not visible was deprioritized, and a general "not my problem" attitude was pervasive. When my concerns were brushed aside, I resigned. Six months after the project was complete, disaster struck and the fallout nearly put the company out of business. While no one was injured or lost their lives, it was extremely disruptive for customers and financially costly to remediate. Everything could have easily been prevented has the issues addressed in this video been taken to heart.

[melasnexperience]

Thank you for covering this. When I worked in DC, one of our elderly clients said something about a "Knickerbocker storm" coming and told me about this. Yet there's very little out there on this disaster.

[effluviah]

Mrs. Dorsey Bush is a hero. Quick thinking, gave the right info to the right people. Incredibly well done, and one of many rescuers/aiders involved who did a great job with a terrible situation. A great example of something you can do if you can't be helpful on the scene: Contact people who CAN be helpful on the scene.

[sixstringedthing]

05:35 "However, these revisions would quickly received sign-off anyway ... with no calculations reportedly being made to ensure load capacity of the new materials or designs by any parties involved".
Kinda weird to be having "flashbacks" to Kansas City when the walkway collapse happened _nearly 60 years after_ this incident, but the above phrasing just sounds too familiar.
Sometimes we learn from our mistakes after just a single tragic death. Other times, it seems the lesson must be horifically reinforced before it actually sticks. And then greed goes and undoes it all. Thanks for another grim but fascinating video Sam, excellent research and presentation as always.

[riverlady]

I have so much respect for an architect who shows up to a collapsed building he designed to help find victims. His design wasn't really the main cause but he couldn't know that at the time and others have hid from such events. I respect the fact that he didn't hide but it sounds like he didn't spare himself any blame, god rest the souls of every one touched by this. There were to many cooks in the kitchen so to speak and I get no impression of intended wrong doing by anyone really. It bring to mind only a few other disasters of engineering that made me think no harm was really meant or fully understood when built.

[fararelliott]

That's a grand explanation! There is one memorial to the Knickerbocker victims. It is a memorial chapel at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church on Connecticut Avenue, which lost 15 parishioners in the collapse.

[filanfyretracker]

a good rule of thumb in the Northeastern US, Never trim budget in anything that revolves around keeping the roof up. You will eventually meet a winter that has your number. I mean structural elements should never get trimmed budgets but you certainly are a lot less likely to suddenly get an extra few hundred tons on a roof in say Atlanta.

[MyLinguine]

I’m so sorry the YouTube algorithms are working against you. This content is so good it’s hard to believe you don’t have more views. Keep up the good work!

[nyanbinary]

Ground News is exactly the thing I’ve been looking for to teach my students about media bias—which I’m about to start. Thank you for bringing it to my attention!

[marqbarq]

The Tivoli Theater in neighboring Columbia Heights in wash DC (14th and Park NW) was built after this with a structural modification that the entire roof was supported by external walls to ensure that this couldn’t happen again. This disaster changed the way theaters were designed.

[TracyA]

5 inches out of plumb?!?!? Wow! With the chords not even anchored! Almost unthinkable! Particularly sad about the suicides following this tragedy though. I shudder to think how it would feel to know I caused someone else's death. Almost understandable but so sad.
Great overlay of the corner with the blueprints Sam! I'm sure that was a tough thing to get right. Well done!

[thomasaaronartwork]

I'm currently in my senior year studying Mechanical Engineering, and I can't get enough of these videos. You earned a sub my friend.

[caroleketelsen]

thank you for listing the names of the people who perished.

[melissajohnson]

I live in Louisiana and we had a crazy snow storm last year. We got like 6 inches and it didn't melt within a day, like it usually does on the rare chances we get snow. We quickly and unluckily found out that a good portion of our structures are not snow weight rated. We have figures out how to keep a trailer house in place through a cat 3 hurricane but our roofs can't handle the weight of a few inches of snow 🤦🏻‍♀️😬

[gringa]

The algorithm brought me to you! You have a great voice for story telling! You explain things so well someone with no prior knowledge can keep up! You don’t use a bunch of technical jargon, you do great research and the images go along with the story so well! This is a great channel! I’m about to binge watch your videos lol 😂 I can’t believe you don’t have more subscribers but with your content I’m sure it won’t be long until your channel takes off!! Keep the videos coming!!