During the crowded lunch hour between 1 and 1:30 o'clock today, the oil burner in the basement of McCrory's Five and Ten Cent Store exploded, threw parts of the machinery to the opposite side of the street and making a great hole in the center of the building. The four alarm fire was turned in and every ambulance in the city put into action. Up to 5 p.m., the casualty list showed 2 dead, 3 dying, and 30 injured.

Aftermath of the McCrory disaster, a virtually forgotten chapter in the history of Washington, D.C.: At 1:32 p.m. on Nov. 21, 1929, a boiler in the basement of the McCrory five-and-dime store at 416 Seventh Street NW exploded, demolishing the ground floor and igniting a fire in a deafening blast whose final toll was six dead and dozens injured. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.
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During the crowded lunch hour between 1 and 1:30 o'clock today, the oil burner in the basement of McCrory's Five and Ten Cent Store exploded, threw parts of the machinery to the opposite side of the street and making a great hole in the center of the building. The four alarm fire was turned in and every ambulance in the city put into action. Up to 5 p.m., the casualty list showed 2 dead, 3 dying, and 30 injured.
Aftermath of the McCrory disaster, a virtually forgotten chapter in the history of Washington, D.C.: At 1:32 p.m. on Nov. 21, 1929, a boiler in the basement of the McCrory five-and-dime store at 416 Seventh Street NW exploded, demolishing the ground floor and igniting a fire in a deafening blast whose final toll was six dead and dozens injured. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. | Click image for Comments. | Home | Browse All Photos