Great Molasses Flood site, Boston, Guia do visitante e o que fazer por perto

The Great Molasses Flood site is on Commercial Street in Boston's North End, where a huge steel tank of molasses burst on 15 January 1919. The wave of syrup killed 21 people and injured about 150, and it remains one of the strangest disasters in American history. Today the spot is a public park, Langone Park, with a small plaque to mark what happened.

The story behind it

On a cold January day, a tank about 50 feet tall and 90 feet across, holding roughly 2.3 million gallons of molasses, split open beside the waterfront. A wave of molasses surged through the streets at around 35 miles an hour. It crushed buildings, buckled the elevated railway above Commercial Street and knocked a streetcar off its tracks. As the molasses cooled it thickened, trapping people and horses where they fell. Rescuers, including cadets and Red Cross nurses, worked for days, and the harbour stayed stained brown for months.

The tank's owner, the United States Industrial Alcohol Company, first suggested anarchists were to blame. After years of hearings, a court-appointed auditor found the company responsible, citing poor construction and a lack of proper safety testing. The victims were mostly working people, among them Italian and Irish labourers and city workers. A local legend says that on hot summer days the North End still smells faintly of molasses. It makes a good story, though it is only a story.

What to look for

• Find the small plaque that marks the disaster. It is easy to walk past, which is part of the point.
• Look across the ballfield of Langone Park and picture a tank 50 feet tall standing where the players now run.
• Gaze along Commercial Street and imagine the elevated railway that once ran overhead and buckled under the wave.
• Notice how close the park sits to the harbour, and how the working waterfront and the dense North End streets press in on the site.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 15 to 20 minutes to read the plaque, take in the park and absorb the scale of what happened.
• The site is an outdoor public park, so there is nothing to enter. Daylight is the best time to see the plaque and the harbour views.
• The North End's streets and the waterfront are right next to it, so it pairs naturally with a longer walk through the neighbourhood.
• Wear comfortable shoes, as the area is best explored on foot. Check current conditions if the weather is poor, since the park is open to the elements.

See it on a quest

Playing North End Boston: Mafia Mission brings you to this spot on foot as one stop of a longer route through the North End. The app tells you about each place as you arrive and sets a puzzle in what is in front of you. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.

Ghost Hunt in Boston is a spooky-themed route that passes the site. You walk between stops, hear the story of each place as you reach it and solve a puzzle on the spot. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.

Dorothy's Quest: The Trials of Oz in Boston takes a playful, Oz-inspired route past the site. You reach it on foot, learn what happened from the app and solve a puzzle in the surroundings. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.