#10
The 1953 West 117th Street Explosion
Amazingly, it killed only one person, but it injured 64 more and left a large chunk of the West Side looking like London after the Nazi blitz. Perhaps more remarkably, most East Siders have never heard of the disaster.
#9
The 1895 Central Viaduct Disaster
At least 16 persons died when a trolley fell through an open drawbridge to the Cuyahoga River below. The tragedy also revealed a classic case of civic irresponsibility.
#8
The 1940 Doodlebug Deathtrap
Forty-three persons perished in fiery agony when a gasoline-powered interurban trolley hit a 73-car freight train at a Cuyahoga Falls intersection. It proved another costly lesson that there is no defense against human error.
#7
The 1949 National Air Race Crash
From their debut here in 1929, Cleveland took great pride in hosting the National Air Races. And it was willing to tolerate the human toll—pilot fatalities in 1929, 1934. 1937, 1938, 1939 and 1947 and 1948—until a Thompson Trophy race flier crashed into Berea home, killing the pilot, a housewife, and her 13-month old son.
#6
The 1916 Waterworks Tunnel Explosion
Perhaps Cleveland’s most avoidable disaster, the 1916 explosion killed 21 tunnel workers and constituted the horrific climax to almost half a century of similar calamities. It is also the shocking story of Garrett Morgan, the unsung hero of that terrible night.
#5
The 1942 Ringling Circus Menagerie Fire
Either a careless cigarette or a callous arsonist triggered this blaze, which killed over three score animals and led to two elephants being machine-gunned to end their misery. It also proved a fateful dress rehearsal for the horrific Hartford Circus fire in 1944.
#4
The 1908 S. S. Kresge Fireworks Horror
Seven persons died in an Ontario Street dime store when a fireworks demonstration got out of hand and the building exploded in smoke and flames. The catastrophe produced several heroes, one of whom paid with her life for her selfless bravery.
#3
The 1929 Cleveland Clinic Explosion / Fire
Careless placement of a lamp next to flammable, toxic x-ray films triggered a blast and fire, which cost 128 lives, mostly doctors, patients, and nurses who drowned in their own blood.
#2
The 1944 East Ohio Gas Company Explosion / Fire
The explosion of two liquefied natural gas tanks on a sunny October afternoon killed 130 persons and obliterated an entire neighborhood. It also provoked a rash of unexpected heroism.
#1
The 1908 Collinwood School Fire
Easily Cleveland’s worst disaster, with a death toll of 172 children, two teachers, and a heroic rescuer. And, NO, the school doors did not close inward.
Cleveland's Greatest Disasters!
16 Tragic True Tales of Death and Destruction
by John Stark Bellamy II
Price:
$14.95Binding:
SoftcoverPages:
224Illustrations:
65 black-and-white photos
Description
This collection of the 16 best true disaster stories from the popular books of John Stark Bellamy II retell the most terrible tragedies in Cleveland history, including:
- The apocalyptic East Ohio Gas Company explosion and fire of 1944, which destroyed an entire east side neighborhood;
- Genius inventor Garrett A. Morgan's daring underground rescue efforts—using his recently invented gas mask—during the gruesome 1916 waterworks collapse;
- The unspeakably horrible Collinwood school fire of 1908, in which 172 schoolchildren perished in panic because of obstructed exits;
- The shocking Ashtabula Bridge disaster, in which more than 80 holiday travelers plunged 82 feet to their death on the snow-covered ground;
- The Cleveland Clinic disaster of 1929, in which thousands of pounds of X-ray film exploded in flames, causing 123 deaths;
- The grisly drama of two doomed workmen buried alive in the very concrete that became Cleveland's celebrated landmark—the Terminal Tower.
- And other true local stories—Includes 65 photos!
John Stark Bellamy II
John Stark Bellamy II is the author of five books about Cleveland crime and disaster. The former history specialist for the Cuyahoga County Public Library, he comes by his taste for the sensational honestly, having grown up reading stories about Cleveland crime and disaster written by his grandfather, Paul, who was editor of the Plain Dealer, and his father, Peter, who wrote for the Cleveland News and the Plain Dealer.