26 May 2026

On January 15, 1919, a steel tank holding 2.3 million gallons of molasses burst in Boston's North End. A wave up to 25 feet high, moving at roughly 35 miles per hour, tore through the streets: it collapsed buildings, knocked an elevated railway off its supports, and killed 21 people. Residents said that on hot summer days, the neighborhood still smelled faintly of molasses for years afterward.