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On January 15th 1919, a huge storage tank of molasses exploded without warning, and caused a wave of molasses and debris
to travel down Commercial Street at 35 miles per hour. About twenty-one
people were killed, and 150 people were injured. The value of all
property destroyed was around $1,000,000 [or $12.4 million current dollars]. The tank was five
stories high, and contained 2.3 million gallons of molasses. This event became known as the Boston
Molasses Flood.
Prohibition of alcohol consumption was being amended to
the U.S. Constitution in 1919, and molasses is used in the manufacture of rum. Plans were made by the tank owners to convert their East Cambridge plant
from the production of rum over to (still legal) industrial alcohol. A
final batch of molasses for rum production arrived in November 1918—the ill-fated shipment. The
tank had been hastily constructed 3 years earlier, and proper design and
construction standards were not followed (rivet strength was not checked as an example).
The Boston Molasses Flood was historic for several
reasons. The flood was tragic because many innocent people were
killed, including a Boston firefighter who slowly drowned in the molasses,
having been trapped in the debris in a nearby damaged firehouse. A class action lawsuit was filed,
and $628,000 was eventually awarded to the victims, a large sum at that time.
It was unusual for such suits to be successful back then. The tank's
owner had claimed an anarchist had blown it up, which was rejected.
Some of the good results of the Boston Molasses Flood were improved
engineering safety standards, such as the use of stamp
plans (documenting changes during construction), architects authorizing all
work, and more observation during the construction process.
Approximate Location Now
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