On This Date: Hartford Civic Center Roof Collapsed, 1978

HARTFORD, CT — It was 41 years ago today that a near-tragedy took place in downtown Hartford that people still talk about to this day. In the early morning hours of Jan. 18, 1978, the roof of the Hartford Civic Center collapsed under the weight of heavy snow and ice; faulty design was ultimately ruled as the culprit.

Just a few hours earlier, more than 4,700 spectators had been in the building to watch a UConn men's basketball game. Had the collapse taken place at that time, one of the largest single-day losses of life would likely have occurred - more than the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and only trailing the 1900 Galveston hurricane in terms of human devastation.

Instead, the city of Hartford suffered deep financial wounds, as the Civic Center had been part of a revitalization project that included Bushnell Plaza. The Civic Center complex contained not only the arena, known as the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, but a shopping mall that was 100 percent filled.

The building's primary tenants were the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association, still about a year and a half away from the league's folding and the admission of four franchises to the National Hockey League.

Bill Rasmussen, who later that year founded ESPN, was communications director and radio broadcaster for the Whalers at the time. His son, Scott, was the team's public address announcer, situated in a small booth between the two penalty boxes.

"When we were allowed back in after the collapse, a massive chunk of steel had obliterated the announcer's station and penalty box area," Rasmussen said Friday via phone from his home in Seattle, Wash. "The Whalers' offices were located high up in the building, and in [team executive] Dave Andrews' office, a huge steel girder rested where his desk and chair had been."

The Whalers moved 27 miles up Interstate 91 to the Springfield Civic Center to complete the 1977-78 season, and it was there that the club celebrated the 50th birthday of "Mr. Hockey," Gordie Howe, Rasmussen recalled.

Not only did UConn basketball play key games at the spacious venue, but concerts were also a huge attraction at the time. In 1977 alone, the building played host to performances by, among others, Fleetwood Mac, America, Boston, the Grateful Dead and Jethro Tull. The King himself, Elvis Presley, was scheduled to perform at the Civic Center on Aug. 21, 1977; unfortunately, he passed away five days earlier in his Graceland mansion at age 42.

Following the roof collapse, which took place just three years and nine days after the building opened, the Whalers took up temporary residence in Springfield, Mass., where members of the "91 Club" made the 27-mile drive up Interstate 91 to follow the team. By the time the Civic Center was reopened on Jan. 17, 1980 (exactly two years after the final pre-collapse event), the World Hockey Association had folded, the Whalers had been admitted into the National Hockey League and changed their name to the Hartford Whalers, and their home arena's seating capacity had increased to nearly 15,000.

The Whalers remained the primary tenant until moving to North Carolina in 1997. Today, the XL Center is home to the Hartford Wolf Pack, the American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Rangers, as well as hosting occasional basketball games, concerts and expos.

Do you remember the roof collapse of '78? We want to hear your memories of the time, including stories about events you attended in the Civic Center between 1975 and 1978. Please tell your story in the comments section below.

Photo and video credit: History Channel via YouTube

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