My grandmother's sister and a friend died in this tragedy. My grandparents were both supposed to go and didn't because of the storm. It's amazing how one decision affected so many lives! If they had been killed that day my mother would never have been born, and thus my brothers, myself, my daughter and my grandsons would not have been born either! So very sad!

my great-grandparents, Captain Reginald Henley Conroy Vance and his wife Clarissa Brown Vance of Fredericksburg perished in the Knickerbocker disaster. They were staying at their city apartment at the Highlands on Connecticut Avenue and had decided to watch the move on the spur of the moment. my grandfather was away at school and his sister was back at the apartment, so they both survived.

Amazing. I've walked by that Sun Trust bank a hundred times, not realizing what happened there.

Thank you for sharing this film. My Grandfather was with the Marines and while stationed in DC was a part of the rescue and clean-up effort. He described it to me when I was a young man. Very sad.

My grandfather was a fireman back then, and was on the scene for rescue and recovery.

Thank you, Jeff. This means so much to me. My grandmother, Ida V. Clarke, was the organist. She was on break, went out to call my grandfather, Edward T. Clarke (Primrose Minstrals) to come to pick her up. I have a newspaper article, done 16 years later discussing it. Almost all the musicians in the pit were killed. A great tragedy. Thoughts and prayers go out for the families and descendants. My dear father was at home 5 years old. Mary

The Knickerbocker theater disaster was dinner table conversation at my house for decades. It was a prestigious theater, in an upper class (at that time) neighborhood. My father, as a teenager, had a part-time job there - as an usher. On the night of the disaster, he had a very bad cold, and had to call in sick (thank God, otherwise I wouldn't be here). Most of the winters in Washington, D.C. are relatively mild. BUT, when we have an ass-kicker winter, not only is it unusual, but un-expected, and "unplanned for". Sometimes, I can remember having weather that was colder than those in Alaska, and lasted for longer periods of time. AND, when we have a blizzard, it REALLY kicks ass. That's why a number of buildings are, and have been, not particularly well-built, and strong. Likewise, sometimes in winter, as in this case, the temperature fluctuates, resulting in deep, wet snow, which melts, then re-freezes, and, the resultant ice, and more snow on top weights A LOT, sometimes more than the structure is designed, and built to withstand. That's what happened here. I heard reports from neighborhood witnesses, survivors, and employees that the building's roof, and inside balcony just collapsed down, with no warning, during the second half of a double feature. Almost everyone inside had donned winter coats, and cold weather paraphanalia, and the roof, etc. came down totally, on them, followed by 2 feet of wet snow, and ice, adding to the catastrophe. Also, unfortunately, the D.C. Fire Department was nowhere near equipped or trained then, as they are now, which compounded the tragedy RIP to those who perished.

Fantastic Video! This is at the corner of Columbia Rd & 18th Street where a suntrust bank and police substatin sits. (across from the McDonalds). Its the largest loss of life in one disaster in DC's boarders.

I was reading my grandfather's obituary and Knickerbocker was spelled wrong so I googled it. It said he was the organist there at the start of WW1. I figured out he was in D.C. 1917-18. Thoughts go out to all who lost relatives and to all who had close calls. It is an eerie feeling. I never heard of the theater or storm before. Thanks for sharing.

A great aunt of mine experienced this disaster as a child. She was at the theater with her father, who was killed. I have a videotape of her from a few years ago, when she was still alive, in which I asked her about it. She had a great interest in theater until her death and wrote plays even in her retirement home (her favorite playwright was Harold Pinter) but she always insisted on sitting in the balcony--never beneath it.

Thanks for posting this. My great uncle, Vinson Dauber who was 9 at the time, was killed in the collapse.

My great aunt, Martha Strayer, walked for blocks to cover this story for the Washington Daily News..she was a reporter there for nearly 50 years.

That location is not where the Columbia Hts. Metro stands (at 14th St.).The Knickerbocker site was at 18th St. & Columbia Rd. in Adams Morgan.

I was thinking about the Knickerbocker disaster during Saturday's storm. Thanks for posting this--I'd never seen film footage before.

Wow, how can there not be a memorial there? All the people who died...there is a large space unused by Suntrust - they could do it as a public service....

Wow thank you for sharing video..I always heard this storm mentioned,but never seen

Thats like looking back in time. Most of the buildings in the background are still there. The Columbia Hts Metro station is now where the Knickerbocker used to be.

This building, oddly, had a flat roof and couldn't bear the weight of the snow. The architect and owner both committed suicide.

Very sad day in Washington DC history in 1922.

100 years ago this evening...

Years later when I was a child I saw South Pacfic in this theater.

better than 20 inches of snow fell before the roof collapsed.

Film in the first half, then pics in the other half

And yes both owners of the building commited suicide.

Hi there. I'm a producer at WUSA9. May we have permission to use some of this video for an upcoming story? We would certainly give you on-screen credit.

Wow.

Fun fact: This storm was named Knickerbocker because the storm collapsed a roof onto a theatre in DC