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March 1942. Statue of Liberty during a blackout designed to help conserve energy during World War II.
As noted in our newsletter today, 32 years ago tonight, at 8:37 p.m., the blackout of 1977 began. On its 30th anniversary, we did a full recap of the night. The evening has been well-documented elsewhere as well—here are some more images—but the LIFE database actually has plenty photographs from other blackouts in the city's past (1942, 1959, 1965 and 2003). In 2003 the NY Times looked at how the '65 and '77 ones shaped our history. While the former showed people coming together, proving "reassuring and exhilarating," they sum up the latter with a quote a priest named Gabriel Santacruz from St. Barbara's Church in Bushwick. He said the Sunday after the '77 blackout: "We are without God now."
What years do you remember the lights going out?
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I remember 1977, sitting in my house in Brooklyn and listening to my dad's police scanner about all the looting going on a few miles away.
That black-out was so cool! Except for the looting and the heat... Oh, to be young again. I and a bunch of my brother's friends drove around the city drinking pina coladas made with Gray's Papaya pina colada, checking out the sights. The next day it was a bit discouraging that the electricity was still out, tho'.
I was in NY Hospital, only 2 days old during the '77 blackout...I remember thinking...'I have to poo. I'm hungry. Where am I?'
Happy belated!
Haha, happy bday to you!
Thanks jibbly and Jen S!
Oh, the '77 blackout. It was horribly HOT. My Mom was working for Con Edison and I didn't see her for two days.
There wasn't much looting in the Village. It was kind of fun at first. I spent the day trying to find some ice and relief from the unbearable heat. I rode my bike up from the village to pick up my passport and finally found a hot dog vendor where I purchased the best ice cold soda that I ever had! I flew off to Europe two days later. The lights were still out in much of the city.
'77 was certainly a memorable night. Not sure I would call it "cool" or "fun." But I was bummed that I wouldn't get to watch Charlie's Angels that night, even if it was a rerun.
I remember getting smacked for opening the door to see how dark it was.
and Carvel was giving out free ice cream. high rises didn't have water and saw people pulling up buckets of water.
too young to do any real troublemaking.
I was 4 when the '77 blackout happened. I remember my mother taking me out the next morning to survey the neighborhood and seeing every establishment in Prospect Heights totally trashed. It looked like a warzone. Probably the most surreal experience of my life.
I was 10 and trapped in traffic coming off the Verrazano back from my little sister's birthday party at Great Adventure. The skyline just went black. That same day the year before, orangutans attacked and ripped the trim off my dad's beloved '72 Monte Carlo at Jungle Habitat. I loved going to New Jersey.
I remember the crazy traffic too! And the crowds in the street just walking around like the day after a blizzard.
Having lived through both blackouts it appears the culturally deficient dumbfucks living here in NYC learned from their culturally deficient dumbfuck tribal members out in LA after the August 11, 1965 riot in Watts, along with the Newark and Detroit riots later in the decade that being stupid and total assholes is what their culture stands for.
I don't know how many of you remember when the president of Con Ed said about a week or two before the 1977 blackout that another blackout wasn't possible.
oh gampy, tell us another story about the culturally deficient tribal total assholes stupid president of Con Ed culturally deficient in NYC Watts dumbfuck Detroit 1977 their culture blackout stupid and total remember when Newark 1965 dumbfucks their culture dumbfuck another blackout and another blackout and total assholes,pleeeeease!!
In 2003 I visited New York and Washington D.C. for the first time as part of a week long trip, spending the longer part in Manhattan. The day we caught our plan back to England happened to be THE day before the Northeast Blackout... talk about incredible luck.
I was away at camp in the Catskills. When the transformer blew, we saw the flash in the sky, and then the normal dim glow of the City on the horizon was gone. Very cool at the time, but I'm sure harrowing for parents.
I was away at camp in the Catskills. When the transformer blew, we saw the flash in the sky, and then the normal dim glow of the City on the horizon was gone. Very cool at the time, but I'm sure harrowing for parents.