Shortly after 11 p.m. on Halloween night 1963, a gas explosion tore through the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum during a performance of Holiday on Ice. More than 4,000 spectators had gathered for the show when propane leaking in a concession-area storeroom beneath the seating ignited, destroying sections of the stands.
The disaster claimed 81 lives, according to sociologist Thomas Drabek’s account, and injured approximately 400 others. This photograph records the devastation left behind, preserving a stark reminder of the lives lost and the many others forever changed that evening.
Image: The damaged interior of the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum following the October 31, 1963, gas explosion in Indianapolis, Indiana.
