 In a brief 24-hour period spanning January 27–28, 1922, a massive storm dropped 26 inches of snow on the city, causing the fragile roof of the Knickerbocker to collapse.Few of the patrons who had filled the theater that evening for a screening of the comedy hit "Get Rich Quick Wallingford" escaped unharmed.In the heaped rubble of the auditorium, 98 people were found dead and 136 injured.