The day Baltimore’s 5th Regiment stands collapsed | READER COMMENTARY

A 1952 figure skating show turned disaster for about 300 Baltimoreans.

Running alongside the recent obituary for longtime Baltimore Sun photographer Walter M. McCardell Jr. was an image from 1952 he took of the collapsed stands at the 5th Regiment Armory (“Walter M. McCardell Jr., Baltimore Sun photographer whose career spanned more than 4 decades, dies,” June 23).

I was among those in the collapsed portion, having been taken there by my grandmother to see the Sonja Henie figure skating show. Fortunately for me, I was not injured, but my grandmother was, having broken her leg. Boards and debris were on top of us. It happened so quickly you didn’t have time to be afraid.

Louis Huppman, a nearby resident, drove my aunt and me back to my house in the neighborhood. He was ultimately awarded a medal by the city of Baltimore for helping out that evening.

— Merry Rogers, Baltimore

 

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