The Pickwick Club Disaster: Boston's Deadliest Building Collapse

The year was 1925. Five years of Prohibition had seemingly accomplished little other than to foster a widespread belief that the unpopular edict was just a thinly-disguised attempt to legislate morals, and Americans had begun to push back by drinking more than ever. A new dance sensation called the Charleston was sweeping the country. During the early morning hours of July 4, a crowd of Prohibition-defying revelers were kicking up their heels to that latest craze when they unknowingly triggered the deadliest building collapse in Boston’s history.

The dingy, smoke-filled speakeasy on the second floor of a rundown, five-story former hotel was still packed with holiday celebrants as the clock neared three that morning. The orchestra had time to play only two more numbers. The last one would be something mellow but, for the second last, the conductor chose a popular ragtime number. When the spirited music began, dozens of couples crowded onto the small, linoleum-covered dance floor to do the Charleston. For nearly five minutes they jumped, kicked, and stomped—blissfully unaware that the steady, rhythmic pounding was causing dangerous, resonant vibrations throughout the unstable building’s entire support structure. Finally, the music stopped. Many of the exhausted couples were still on the floor, waiting for the night’s last dance, when the lights grew strangely dim, flickered a few times, and then went out, plunging the room into darkness. A moment later the old building began to shake so violently that some of the dancers lost their balance and fell. Anguished screams were drowned out by the ear-splitting screech of boards and timbers being torn apart, then the ripping, tearing noise gave way to a thunderous roar as countless tons of bricks and debris crashed down from the upper floors. Terrified patrons rushed for the door. Many of them didn’t make it. The floor gave way beneath them sending everyone and everything—tables, chairs, bricks, beams, and plaster—tumbling downward like an avalanche into a pitch-black abyss.

The Pickwick Club Disaster spotlights the mistakes and the negligence that brought the building to that sorry state. It describes the hurried investigation, the criminal trial, and the frantic efforts of public officials to distance themselves from blame, and takes a glimpse into the lives of each of the forty-four people who perished.

This is an important work in Boston's historical canon that even casual followers of the city's rich and often tragic history will appreciate. John E. Keefe's historical account of The Pickwick Club Disaster describes the horror of the collapse of a swingin' club in the heart of Boston's Chinatown. It is hardcore nonfiction that reads with the taut precision of a blockbuster thriller. The first half of the book describes the collapse itself, including incredibly detailed accounts of its victims. The second half discusses the aftermath for the city and construction companies, noting the red tape that went all the way to the mayor's office. Appendices provide a wealth of additional information. On July 4, 1925, fireworks were popping, booze was flowing, and cops were having a hard time keeping order on the streets. At 3:00 a.m., the Pickwick Club, an infamous five-story speakeasy, collapsed with 125 people inside. Forty-four people died, including entertainer Johnny Duffy. At first, the dancing was blamed. Partiers were dancing the Charleston to the orchestra's "Twelfth Street Rag" immediately before the collapse; Boston mayor James Michael Curley unsuccessfully attempted to ban the dance. Many area clubs were closed pending a safety inspection. The care with which Keefe lays out each detail and explains what happened to everyone after the collapse indicates deep and infectious investment in the subject matter, and the integrity of the research is apparent. The text is easy to navigate; information is parceled out with exactitude. Its structure is effective for information retention, divided between an account of the event itself and exploration of its aftermath. Its style is conversational, relating history as a story rather than as a dry account. The Pickwick Club Disaster is an impeccably researched historical account certain to have wide appeal.

Foreword Clarion Reviews 4-Star Rating