The Paramount Hotel explosion occurred on January 28, 1966, in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. A series of explosions under the hotel and resulting fires killed 11 people.

Explosion

Around 6:45 pm, an intense explosion occurred on

Boylston Street Boylston Street is a major east–west thoroughfare in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. The street begins in Boston's Chinatown neighborhood, forms the southern border of the Boston Public Garden and Boston Common, runs through Back Bay, and e ...

between

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

and

Tremont Street Tremont Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts. Tremont Street begins at Government Center in Boston's city center as a continuation of Cambridge Street, and forms the eastern edge of Boston Common. Continuing in a roughly so ...

s - an area known as the Combat Zone. The blast tore up a 50-foot section of sidewalk and part of the street. The floor under the Paramount Hotel's cocktail lounge collapsed and around 30 of its patrons fell into the basement. The floor also gave out at Chatrelli's Coffee Shoppe and sent the chef, two cooks, and several patrons into the cellar. Within minutes of the explosion, fire spread through all eleven of the Paramount's floors. Flames observed coming up through the sewer grates and manholes over an hour after the explosion. Two more explosions followed, which resulted in the interiors of the Paramount and its neighboring hotel, The Plymouth partially collapsing, the destruction of Chatrelli's and a nearby cafe, and heavy damage to many other buildings. Windows were shattered in at least a dozen buildings near the Paramount. 9 people were killed and 68 were injured in the blast. Six of the deceased were pulled from the basement of the Paramount and the other three died in the hotel's upper floors. The injured were transported Boston City Hospital,

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United Stat ...

, and Beth Israel Hospital. A fourth, less serious explosion occurred at 9:00 pm. Two of the hospitalized later died from their injuries.

Inquest

Boston Municipal Court Judge

Elijah Adlow Elijah Adlow (August 15, 1896 - November 4, 1982) was an American lawyer, politician, jurist, author and the Chief Justice of the Municipal Court of the City of Boston, now known as the Boston Municipal Court Department, serving in that capaci ...

held an inquest into the explosion. His report blamed the blast on a leak from a gas main and found no one criminally responsible for the disaster. The president of the

Boston Gas Company National Grid plc is a British multinational electricity and gas utility company headquartered in London, England. Its principal activities are in the United Kingdom, where it owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission networks ...

disputed Adlow's findings, claiming that the main was destroyed as a result of the explosion.

References

{{Hotel fires 1966 disasters in the United States 1966 fires in the United States 1966 in Massachusetts Explosions in 1966 Explosions in Massachusetts Fires in Boston Hotel fires in the United States Urban fires in the United States Gas explosions in the United States