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The air in Boston’s North End on January 15, 1919, was crisp and cold, typical for a Massachusetts winter. Yet, beneath the surface of this ordinary day, a sinister force was brewing. In a massive, poorly constructed tank owned by the Purity Distilling Company, over two million gallons of molasses were held, a sweet, viscous … 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 air in Boston’s North End on January 15, 1919, was crisp and cold, the kind of winter day that usually portends a quiet stillness. But beneath the veneer of normalcy, a monstrous force was building, a silent, unseen threat seething within a colossal metal tank. A Sticky Situation Brewing This wasn’t just any tank; … Read more