Big Apple History . Business and Politics . House of Morgan Bombed!


	Aftermath of the House of Morgan bombing

Just before lunchtime on Wednesday, September 16, 1920, a horse-drawn wagon rode up to the Morgan Bank in lower Manhattan. Without warning, it blew up! The wagon had held dynamite and shrapnel that blasted into the crowd. The explosion killed over 30 people and injured hundreds of others. All that remained of the horses were four hooves found near a neighborhood church. The fatal explosion also caused $2 million worth of damage and shattered windows as far as half a mile away.

Clean-up crews worked through the night to get a handle on the mess. Despite the deaths, New York's powerful financial machine was not fazed. The next day, the NEW YORK TIMES announced that by the afternoon, despite the bombing, Wall Street would continue with "business as usual."

Some officials suspected that members of the working class and/or political radicals were responsible for the bombing. Maybe, the officials thought, it was an act of revenge. After all, the government had recently arrested and violently suppressed many anarchists, socialists, labor organizers, and communists. Investigators went to 5,000 horse stables to try to trace the bombers, but no evidence was found.

Today, the limestone exterior of the Morgan building still has marks from the explosion that happened all those years ago.

Illustration: Courtesy of Brown Brothers.