January 13, 2022 - Great Molasses Flood + best places to work locally

Hello Sunday.

January 23 2022

Picture this: it’s Jan. 15, 1919. World War I has just ended, Prohibition is coming soon, and it’s lunch time. You’re in the North End neighborhood along the waterfront on Commercial Street, where you could find Copp’s Hill + Langone Park today.

Front cover of the Boston Daily Globe | Image from @newspaperscom via @marywatson48

It would be hard to miss the large storage tank, standing over 50 ft tall (about three stories) and measuring approximately 90 ft in diameter (nearly the length of a football field).

The tank was owned and operated by the Purity Distilling Company, which was known for producing grain alcohol. The storage tank was instrumental in producing the highly profitable beverage, holding the key ingredient — fermented molasses.

It was also used to make munitions and other weapons for the war. When full, the tank could hold 2.5 million gallons, which helped the company make nearly five million gallons of alcohol a year.

Scenes of the North End after the flood | Photo via @thisdisasterpod

Moving molasses isn’t as easy as one might think, especially when you factor in the freezing temperatures Boston is known for in the winter.

The tank had just been refilled on Jan. 12, adding an additional 1.3 million gallons to the already noticeably compromised tank. Rumor has it that rumbling sounds could be heard from the leaky container and sometimes the ground would shake.

FYI — one gallon of molasses weighs 11.5 lbs. So the tank was holding approximately 12,000 tons on the day in question (enough to fill three and a half Olympic swimming pools). The combination of the weight + gases was what some experts believe caused the following events.

Around 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 15, the tank collapsed, spilling 2.3 million gallons of molasses on to the streets of Boston, which as you probably guessed — caused the Great Molasses Flood of 1919.

Click the button below to see what happened next.

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EVENTS

Today

Chris Lane | Thur., Jan. 13 | 8 p.m. | House of Blues Boston | $32.50+ | Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for this Fill Them Boots tour stop. 🎤
Shakespeare Reimagined: The Tragedy of Macbeth | Thurs., Jan. 13 | 7 p.m. | Coolidge Corner Theatre | $13.50+ | Featuring a post-film discussion with film critic Sean Burns, author Anita Diamant, and BU Dean Harvey Young.

Friday

Persian Cuisine Cooking Class | Fri., Jan. 14 | 6-9 p.m. | Online | $65 | Learn to make fesenjan, a tahdig rice dish, and gondi — aka “Persian matzoh balls.”

Saturday

My Neighbor Totoro | Sat., Jan. 15 + Sun., Jan. 16 | 10:30 a.m. | Coolidge Corner Theatre | $8+ | Watch the English dubbed version of this Japanese children’s classic. 🍿

Sunday

Guster | Sun., Jan. 16 | 8 p.m. | House of Blues Boston | $45+ | Doors open at 6:30 p.m. to see this show presented by 92.5 The River. 🎵

We have a monthly guide filled with events + activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.

MORE JANUARY EVENTS HERE

NEWS NOTES

Weather

41º | Cloudy | 10% chance of rain

Sunrise + Sunset

Rise: 7:12 a.m.
Set: 4:35 p.m.

Travel

The Brookline Hills station on the Green Line D Branch has now reopened. Upgrades for the station include fully-accessible platforms and pathways, new station canopies, and safety amenities. Improvements will also be made at Waban, Eliot, Chestnut Hill, and Beaconsfield stations along the Green Line. 🚃

Coming Soon

A new cafe and upscale corner store will open this summer at at 501 Boylston St. Foxtrot is a Chicago-based market known for its minimalist decor, locally sourced goods, snacks + beer and wine options. This will be the first location in Boston. 🍽️ (Boston Business Journal)

Health

In addition to the City of Boston, the town of Brookline will also be requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for most indoor businesses and venues beginning this Sat., Jan. 15. This includes all patrons 12 years and older. (WCVB 5)

Biz

A new report by Glassdoor ranked the 100 best places to work in America, and nine Boston-based companies made the list. Hubspot earned second place, Bain & Company ranked third, and Boston Consulting Group placed sixth. (7 News)

Outdoors

Two research scientists spotted a whaley cool view. They saw the first North Atlantic right whale of the season in Cape Cod Bay. These whales are critically endangered, with only 336 known in the world. They can be found around the Bay area in the winter and spring and feed on zooplankton. 🐋 (WBZ 4)

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#BOSTODAY

Adding art along the river 🎨

📸 @esplanadeboston

The Esplanade Association is looking for four artists to use a spark of imagination to transform electrical boxes into public art. The project is taking place this spring and the organization will cover up to $200 for materials needed to complete the project.

The deadline to apply is Fri., Jan. 21 — download the statement of interest form here.

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THE WRAP

Editor’s Pick: Is Boston a bike-friendly city? We’ll let you decide. In the meantime, here is a Twitter thread from the Boston Cyclist Union asking “what piece of advice would you give to someone who wants to start biking around Boston?”

Some replies encourage riding on the road and avoiding buses, while others say to take pride in knowing you are making a difference one pedal at a time. 🚲 Let us know if there is anything else you think we should know before hitting the road.