Washington District of Columbia Knickerbocker Theatre Collapse Real Photo Postcard

The Knickerbocker Theatre roof collapse, occurring on January 28, 1922, in Washington D.C., was a catastrophic event caused by the immense weight of an unprecedented snowfall known as the "Knickerbocker Storm." The opulent theatre, packed with approximately 300 patrons watching a silent film, buckled under over two feet of snow, leading to a devastating collapse of the roof and balcony onto the audience below.

This tragedy resulted in 98 deaths and 133 injuries, making it one of the deadliest building failures in American history at that time. The disaster spurred significant reforms in building codes and construction practices across the United States, particularly regarding structural load requirements for public buildings in areas prone to heavy snowfall, aiming to prevent such a calamity from recurring.