WAS THAT AN EARTHQUAKE? IN NYC!?! (2024)
Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes.
The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations.
Do you know the history of YOUR house?
********************************************************************************************************************************
Startling!
At a magnitude of 4.8 on the Richter Scale, the earthquake we just experienced in New York City was the 4th largest in history, according to Columbia University.
Only three were bigger:
1) A 5.2 magnitude in 1844 – whose epicenter was determined to be located in Brooklyn – accounts varied from broken crockery to an actual claim of death from fright;
2) a 5.2 magnitude in 1737 – terrified New Yorkers reported cracked chimneys and plaster, broken windows and objects thrown from shelves throughout the city; and
3) a 4.9 magnitude in 1783 – although this earthquake awoke many people in City of New York, George Washington, who was staying at the Fraunces Tavern at the time, was not one of them.
Each of these three earthquakes reportedly “threw down chimneys!”
Take a look at this graph from Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Observatory.
———————————————————————————————————————–
Brownstone Detectives is an historic property research agency. Our mission is to document and save the histories of our clients’ homes. From our research, we produce our celebrated House History Books and House History Reports. Contact us today to begin discovering the history of your home.
