The Full Story of the Eastland Disaster (1915)

One of the worst maritime disasters in the United States actually occurred in downtown Chicago, at the Clark Street Wharf in 1915. The top-heavy, unstable SS Eastland took over 2,500 souls onboard and prepared to depart when she rolled over at her mooring.

The causes over the long, slow-burning lead up to the Eastland Disaster are muddy and a bit confusing, but with the help of detailed computer recreations in Unreal Engine 5 and in cooperation with the Eastland Disaster Historical Society, we do our best to paint a broad picture of the life and death of the unlucky ship, looking at the happy memories, the near catastrophes, and the changes over her career that built up to this disaster.

Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
1:29 - The Michigan Steamship Company
3:45 - Construction of Eastland
9:42 - Her First Season
12:28 - Instability Issues Begin
16:07 - Eastland at Cedar Point
21:05 - Eastland Returns to Chicago
25:15 - Eastland Sinks
38:30 - Rescue and Recovery
48:20 - The Aftermath
50:50 - The Criminal and Civil Trials
53:43 - USS Wilmette
56:05 - Eastland Site Today
58:55 - Acknowledgements and Conclusion

[AndyHappyGuy]

I know this I very cliche, but can we appreciate that this is free? This video covers essentially the whole history of the ship with visuals and 3d animations of the ship through the various stages of her life. The disaster itself is described in incredible detail with 3d animations and sound effects to make it as immersive as possible. I really appreciate you guys for making this!

[rangda_prime]

As a person who has struggled mental health issues, I was gripped by the account of the suicidal man who had paced the river, but leapt in to save the lives of others. I so hope that this showed him his life was worthwhile, that he could make a difference and that the world would had been worse off without him. And to anyone reading this feeling the same he did that day, please consider that you never know what is around the dawn of tomorrow.

[onlygenders]

It's crazy to think how deadly a ship wreck can be so close to the shore.

[tdestroyer]

The fact that there are no ads in this and that it’s completely free truly tells us how well this guy does his vids!

[michaelimbesi]

As a naval architect, I’d like to thank you for making this video. There’s a lot of accidents that happened because somebody who thought they knew what they were doing actually didn’t.

[davidjturner]

Something about the fate of the chief engineer hurts quite a bit. I guess it's in the knowing of his efforts to prevent the boiler from exploding and then being villainized over the whole affair. As you said, he acted within the expected expertise of his position operating under the information he knew. Hard to blame him for his missteps, and sad to see what came of him.

[BarefootFarmFL]

Yet again a YouTube video proving that network executives determining the content we consume are completely out of touch and tone deaf. These videos you produce are simply better than anything out there found on network programming. Thank you for devoting so much of your time and energy into creating these spectacular pieces. I hope people can continue to appreciate them for decades to come.

[Spitfire_]

Every time I walk past the spot it happened, I get chills. Crazy to just walk past the exact spot that almost 1, 000 people died within an hour

[kated]

It's amazing to me to see how many people watch both Part-Time Explorer and Ask a Mortician. I love them both.

[BrightSunFilms]

Fantastic re-telling of events as always! Beautifully presented.

[bekaemery]

My gosh. I had to stop and take a moment to cry when you said about the guy who was contemplating suicide and then ended up saving several people. That's amazing.

[chesspiece]

So they took an already top heavy ship and added more capacity, more life boats, and replaced it's wood floors with poured concrete on the upper deck? Is that right? That seems insane.

[SaucyTreasures]

My grandmother was a Westinghouse employee and planned to go to the employee picnic (via Eastland), and she was delayed and missed the catastrophe. It is amazing to think that my being here was likely due to a delay.

[OlOleander]

One thing I especially liked was the overlay of old photos onto the CG-model Eastland's signage. Seeing actual people in the context of the ship helps ground all of these events, and the ship itself, in reality.

[ALTREDBAST]

Utterly terrifying that so many lives were lost right in port, in city, in broad daylight and fair weather with many people able to immediately assist.

[veeatemoder]

I was born and raised in Chicago. I remember being taught that the disaster was caused by an over-zealous crowd of people that tipped the ship, as they rushed to wave goodbye to people on the dock. You have cleared that up, and given me an even greater appreciation for the history that took place on that day. Your channel is wonderful! Thank you for putting in so much hard work to present your videos like you do. Absolutely top-tier content!

[kurotsuki]

I feel bad for the engineer, he was blaimed for so much. He messed up but he also stayed at his post doing what he could till the last minute.

[rocketamadeus]

This is really an astonishing tale of how much people were willing to put up with from a boat.

[karanhdream]

Things I've learned watching this channel :
- Listen to the crew and captain
- Quickly locate all exits and emergency equipments (fire extinguishers, fire axes, first aid, alarms)
- Partake in emergency drills
- Make it outside as quickly as possible if something goes wrong, even if it's just a false alarm

[metamorphicme]

I wonder how long it takes this man to do all of this beautifully and tragically detailed research? I'm in awe! Love from a South African 🇿🇦. I'VE SUBSCRIBED!!!