The Pickwick Club Disaster

In the early morning hours of July 4, 1925, the crowd at The Pickwick Club in Boston were celebrating the holiday at the “Before-the-Fourth” dance when roughly fifty couples took to the dance floor for one of the final songs of the night. With so much revelry and vibrations from the dancing, no one noticed the subtle sounds distressed infrastructure makes just before a tragedy, and even if they had, there likely wasn’t enough time to avoid the disaster. Around 3:30 am, the ceiling above them collapsed, as the entire five-story building came down on top of them, killing forty-four people and injuring countless more.

At the time, the Pickwick Club disaster was the deadliest building collapse and one of the worst accidents in in the city’s history. It was followed by large investigation, during which the disaster was temporarily blamed on the Charleston, and a sensational trial aimed at punishing those responsible. However, in the one hundred years since the disaster, the tragedy at the Pickwick Club has been largely forgotten, overshadowed by larger and more devastating accidents.

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References

Boston Daily Globe. 1925. "12 bodies taken from the Pickwick Club ruins as searchers place toll of death at 40." Boston Daily Globe, July 5: 1.

—. 1925. "Leaping of dancers caused collapse, view of survivor." Boston Daily Globe, July 6: 11.

—. 1925. "Officer beaten in raid staged at Pickwick Club." Boston Daily Globe, February 9: 2.

—. 1925. "Stabbing and small riot in Pickwick Club." Boston Daily Globe, March 23: 1.

—. 1925. "Survivors' stories of building horror." Boston Daily Globe, July 5: 20.

—. 1925. "Testifies Hendrick said Pickwick safe." Boston Daily Globe, Juky 28: 1.

—. 1925. "Testimony ends in cluyb tragedy." Boston Daily Globe, July 11: 10.

—. 1925. "Thousands seek sight of ruins." Boston Daily Globe, July 6: 12.

Donovan, John J. 1925. "Probe planned by grand jury." Boston Daily Globe, July 5: 20.

Harris, Henry. 1925. "Pickwick Club lure lay in its mystery." Boston Daily Globe, July 5: 18.

Keefe, John E. 2024. Deathtrap: Boston's Pickwick Club Disaster. Boston, MA: Menotomy Publishing.

—. 2018. The Pickwick Club Disaster. Boston, MA: Menotomy Publishing.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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