Capital Weather Gang

Haunting faces, scenes and stories from the Knickerbocker Theatre roof crash 95 years ago

By Kevin Ambrose January 27

The Knickerbocker was the Titanic of theaters. It was the largest and most luxurious theater ever built in Washington at the time — and doomed to a massive roof collapse four years into its reign. The tragic accident occurred during the opening scene of a featured movie on a Saturday evening, Jan. 28, 1922.

It was cold and snowy when the roof fell. A record-breaking snowstorm was winding down after dumping 28 inches of snow. Despite snow-clogged roads, over 200 people traveled to the Knickerbocker Theatre by foot to watch a silent film. Saturday was comedy night at the theater, and it was the most well-attended night of the week. ... At 9 p.m., the featured film, “Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford,” began to roll, and the theater’s orchestra struck up a lively tune. A few latecomers were still entering the theater’s auditorium and finding seats. The opening scene quickly produced laughter in the audience.

Within a few minutes after the start of the movie, a loud hissing noise was heard above the music of the orchestra. Some survivors described the noise as the sound of ripping of sheets. The Knickerbocker Theatre’s roof, burdened by the weight of the heavy snow, was splitting down the middle. .... Suddenly, the theater’s entire roof broke free from the brick walls and fell as one piece toward the audience below. As the roof fell, it collapsed the theater’s large balcony and pulled down chunks of the brick walls.
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The weight of the snow was initially blamed for the roof collapse, but it was later determined that there were design and construction flaws with the Knickerbocker Theatre’s roof and how the roof was attached to the walls. The courts, however, were unable to determine who was liable. The families of Knickerbocker victims never received a cent of compensation for their losses despite many lawsuits. .... Five years ago, I wrote “The Knickerbocker Snowstorm,” which was published by Arcadia. I was surprised that Knickerbocker families contacted me with their stories after hearing about my book. It had been 90 years since the Knickerbocker disaster occurred, and the stories continued to circulate through the families, mostly by word-of-mouth.