A massive blackout hit New York City 40 years ago today heres what it looked like
2017-07-13T15:57:10Z
On July 13, 1977—40 years ago today—at approximately 9:36 p.m., New York City was plunged into darkness. Trains screeched to a halt, airports were shut down and baseball games were forced to postpone.
A lightning strike hit near Consolidated Edison’s Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant in Westchester County roughly 36 miles north of Manhattan, the New York Times reported the next day, setting off a destructive chain of events. Two other strikes from the same storm system overloaded substations and transmissions lines.
An hour later, the entire city's electrical system shut down.
Traffic was virtually non-existent, but hundreds of fires raged throughout the night, especially in Brooklyn where arson and looting were rampant.
A congressional study released a year later estimated the total damage at $300 million.
Luckily, news photographers and their analog cameras were still hard at work documenting the day. Here’s what the blackout looked like from the streets:
Manhattan's famous skyline became a silhouette when all five boroughs lost electricity around 9:30 pm on July 13, 1977
New York City during the blackout of July 13, 1977.AP Photo/Suzanne Vlamis
Commuters waiting on trains home were stranded at Grand Central Terminal after the power failure.
Commuters wait at empty ticket windows at Grand Central Station in New York City, early on July 14, 1977, as trains were canceled by the electric power failure that affected most public transportation in the city.(AP Photo/Carlos Rene Perez
The station's famous opal-faced clock kept the correct time, but the larger one behind it is stuck on the time it lost power.
People huddle against the information kiosk in New York’s Grand Central Station, July 14, 1977 after being stranded by a power failure in the city, its boroughs and some neighboring areas. Grand Central is a crossroad for commuter trains and subways. The clock on the kiosk has the correct time, but the clock at upper left stopped when the power failed on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Steve Oualline
In Queens, the Mets and Cubs were six innings deep when the lights at Shea Stadium went out. The game was postponed until next month, when the Cubs won by a single run.
New York's Shea Stadium lies in darkness during the bottom of the sixth inning after the lights went out during the game with the Chicago Cubs, July 13, 1977.AP Photo/Ray Stubblebine
Seen from across the river in New Jersey, only the base of the World Trade Center's twin towers flickered with light.
AP Photo/LM
New Yorkers that had been out were forced to walk home through empty streets.
13th July 1977: A crowd of New Yorkers making their way home during a power cut after a power station was struck by lightning.Brian Alpert/Keystone/Getty Images
But others opted to take advantage of the situation.
AP Photo/Suzanne Vlamis
Drinkers in a midtown Manhattan bar continued their drinking by candlelight.
People in a mid-town Manhattan bar keep drinking by candlelight in New York on Wednesday, July 13, 1977 after the city was struck by a power failure.AP Photo/Steve Oualline
These revelers don't seem to be too downtrodden by the blackout.
People in a mid-town Manhattan bar keep drinking by candlelight in New York on Wednesday, July 13, 1977 after the city was struck by a power failure.AP Photo/Steve Oualline
The outage didn't stop the Plaza Hotel's famous Palm Court from continuing dinner service.
Diners at the Palm Court in the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan dine by candlelight after a blackout hit New York City, July 13, 1977. The restaurant continued its business despite the power outage. ()AP Photo/Calvin C. Cook
But things weren't so peaceful in other parts of the city where looting was rampant, like at this store on the Upper West Side where the owners stand guard with baseball bats.
Owners and employees of a sporting goods store stand guard outside with baseball bats after the store on New York City's Upper West Side was looted during massive power failure, Wednesday night, July 13, 1977. Police patrolling the area walk by the storeAP Photo/Suzanne Vlamis
Overnight, looting and arson wreaked havoc in Brooklyn. Firefighters responded to 1500 alarms, 400 of which turned out to be real fires.
fires started by looters raging in Brooklyn during the electricity failure that blacked out New York City, Wednesday, July 13, 1977 Police arrested an estimated 3,000 looting suspects and firemen battled blazes set during the night and into the following day when power was restored.AP Photo/Suzanne Vlamis
In the 24 hours of the blackout, police arrested an estimated 3,000 looting suspects
Firemen battle flames at a store in the Bronx borough of New York, one of many fires that broke out during the massive power failure that crippled the city for more than 24 hours, seen July 14, 1977. Firemen answered 1,500 alarms, 400 of which were actual fires. Forty of the fires were termed serious.AP Photo
Here firefighters battle a blaze above a row of looted stores in Brooklyn.
Firemen fight a blaze above a row of looted stores in New York's Brooklyn borough, July 14, 1977, the day after the power failure. The stores were looted during blackout. (AP Photo)AP Photo/Suzanne Vlamis
New Yorkers woke up to headlines explaining the power failure's cause next to reports of looters and trapped commuters.
The front page of the New York Times on the morning after a blackout hit New York CityNew York Times via Times Machine
When the sun finally rose 12 hours into the outage, streets were littered with people and debris.
A street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn is full of people and debris, July 14, 1977 following last night's massive blackout in New York City.AP Photo
Wednesday's morning rush hour was almost silent. The Long Island Expressway and approach to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel was deserted.
This is an aerial view from New York's borough of Queens, looking toward mid-Manhattan, showing a virtually deserted Long Island Expressway and entrance to the Midtown Tunnel, July 14, 1977, in the wake of last night's massive power failure. Tunnels to Manhattan were closed because ventilation fans were inoperable without electric power. ()AP Photo/Dave Pickoff
Streets that were normally clogged with traffic, like Manhattan's Madison Avenue, were completely devoid of traffic.
New York's Madison Avenue is devoid of traffic during the power failure that began Wednesday night, July 13, shown July 14, 1977. The street is normally wall-to-wall people and vehicles but in declaring a state of emergency Mayor Beame urged all who did not have vital business in the city to stay home.AP Photo
Good Samaritans like this man helped keep the few remaining motorists safe by directing traffic.
A young man directs traffic in midtown Manhattan, July 13, 1977, after New York City was hit by a major power blackout. (AP Photo)AP Photo
Here a cyclist takes advantage of a car-less Fifth Avenue, which would have normally been a parking lot at this time of the afternoon.
A lone cyclist pedals at leisure down New York's Fifth Avenue at about 4:30 P.M., July 14, 1977, a time the avenue usually is clogged with rush hour traffic, July 14, 1977. One of the effects of the power failure that hit New York Wednesday night, July 13, was a drastic cut back in downtown traffic.AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler
Wall Street was also empty after the New York Stock exchange was forced to close because of the power failure.
New York's Wall Street is deserted Thursday, July 14, 1977, after a massive power failure that lasted overnight from Wednesday forced the closing of the New York Stock Exchange. (AP Photo)AP Photo
This subway platform at Rockefeller Center was empty at 5 p.m., when it would have usually been jam packed with rush hour commuters.
The subway platform at 50th Street under Rockefeller Center was empty of travelers at 5 P.M., July 14, 1977, when it would normally be jammed with rush hour commuters. Subway service in New York City was only partially restored by 5:30 P.M. in the aftermath of the massive power failure which hit the city last night, July 13.AP Photo/Suzanne Vlamis
Eventually, night fell once again on the powerless city, but resilient New Yorkers knew how to keep spirits bright.
People playing a game of cards by candle light during the New York blackout.Brian Alpert/Getty Images
Power was finally restored just over 24 hours after the blackout began. Even without power, the view of Manhattan over the East River is a magnificent sight.
