where history comes alive
The air in Boston’s North End on January 15, 1919, was unusually warm for a January day. A sense of anticipation buzzed through the neighborhood, a mixture of relief that the day’s work was nearing its end and the quiet hum of everyday life. But this particular afternoon was to be etched into the city’s … Read more
The air in Boston’s North End on January 15, 1919, was crisp, carrying the scent of coal smoke and the salty tang of the nearby harbor. It was a typical winter afternoon, with children playing and workers heading home, unaware that their lives were about to be irrevocably altered by a wave of sweet, sticky … Read more
The year is 1919. Boston, a city steeped in history and the aroma of industry, was about to be forever marked by a disaster as bizarre as it was brutal. It wasn’t fire or flood in the traditional sense, but a tidal wave of a different kind – a monstrous surge of molasses that swept … Read more
The winter of 1919 in Boston was already a harsh mistress, with the nation still reeling from the Great War and grappling with the impending Prohibition. Yet, on January 15th, a day of unseasonable warmth, Boston was to face a disaster of truly sticky, and horrifying, proportions. A colossal tank, holding over 2.3 million gallons … Read more
The winter air in Boston on January 15, 1919, was deceptively mild. Children were returning from school, workers were heading home, and the city buzzed with the usual post-war energy. Few could have imagined that within hours, a sweet, sticky tide would engulf a neighborhood, leaving a trail of devastation and a lingering, syrupy scent. … Read more