A Patch of History
20 Years Ago Today, Gas Explosion Rocked Downtown Rochester
Where were you on May 20, 1992? It was a day of destruction — and death — in our downtown's history. 'That tragic event changed my thinking about what’s truly important in life,' one business owner recalls.
It was the blast heard around the city and for miles away. Some likened it to a bomb exploding and in many ways they were right. On May 20, 1992, a fatal natural gas explosion at the southeast corner of University Drive and Main Street in downtown Rochester leveled two stores, some second-floor apartments and a huge portion of the historic J. W. Smith/Crissman building, where Talmer Bank now stands. Here's the story of what happened on that tragic day in our town's history, gleaned from a variety of published reports of the event. It was a bright, sunny Wednesday afternoon. Like most days, merchants were busy in their stores and shoppers strolled down the sidewalks. But later that afternoon, store personnel, office workers, residents and…
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Tiffany Dziurman Stozicki
9:10 am on Friday, May 25, 2012
What an amazing story, David. Thank you so much for sharing it. more ›