LOOK BACK: Blackout of 1965 plunged 30 million into darkness, including NYC

By Eyewitness News and The Associated Press
Monday, November 9, 2020
Archive video shows the blackout that affected New York City on Nov. 9, 1965.
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Within minutes, 30 million people were in the dark. A power failure originating at a Canadian station near Niagara Falls spread the evening of Nov. 9, 1965, leaving most of the Northeast U.S. and parts of Canada without power for hours.

At its peak, the outage covered 80,000 square miles. In New York City, the plunge into powerlessness came at 5:27 p.m., at the height of the evening commute, trapping hundreds of thousands of subway riders in their train cars, stranding others in building elevators, wreaking havoc with traffic and forcing airplanes to divert.

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Check out the archive video above, which shows the scene around the city. This was shot on film, before video tape recording was used in news gathering. It shows dark subway stations, dark streets and even a portion of a news conference. The clip also shows people holding candles in what appears to be a subway station.
Grand Central Terminal became an ad-hoc bedroom for commuters who couldn't get home. For most of New York City, the brightest light available was that of the moon.

Here is a photo gallery showing different images from that day around the city:
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Stranded New York workers wait patiently in a long line to use a phone booth to call home, during the massive power failure of Nov. 9, 1965.none
New Yorkers burn papers in a litter basket to illuminate a street corner in the midtown Manhattan section of the city, Nov. 9, 1965.none
In this view from the RCA building, New York buildings are blacked out by a power failure, Nov. 9, 1965.none
Candles light the way for workers at the Crowell-Collier building on New York's Fifth Avenue after the city was blacked out by a massive power failure.none
Turnstiles are crowded with hopeful passengers waiting for word that the trains are back in service following the massive power failure, Nov. 9, 1965.none
People sleep sitting and lying down at Grand Central Station's main waiting room in New York, during the massive power failure, Nov. 9, 1965.none
Commuters stranded by the power failure settle down for a long wait on the steps of an entrance to New York's Commodore Hotel, Nov. 9, 1965.none
Passengers sit patiently in near-darkness in a stalled subway car at West 4th Street in the Manhattan section of New York, Nov. 9, 1965.none
The moon shines over Manhattan during an electric blackout on Nov. 9, 1965.none
In this Nov. 9, 1965 file photo, New Yorkers eat dinner by candlelight in an automat in Manhattan in New York during a massive blackout 50 years ago.none
New York City during the massive blackout as seen from Long Island City on November 9, 1965. The buildings with lights have emergency power generators.none
Stranded commuters crowd the ticketing and waiting room at New York's Grand Central Terminal after a blackout that halted train service on Nov. 9, 1965.none
A policeman stands in front of a pawn shop in the Bronx area of New York that was looted Nov. 9, 1965 during a massive power blackout.none
Manhattan skyscrapers and apartment buildings are dark shortly after 6 p.m. Nov.9,1965 during New York City's massive blackout.none
Generator-powered search lights used to publicize movie premieres and supermarket openings are put to use in New York's Times Square during the blackout on Nov. 9, 1965.none
Forty-second Street in New York City is lit by floodlights and automobile headlights during the massive power failure, Nov. 9, 1965.none
In this Nov. 9, 1965, file photo, Manhattan skyscrapers and apartment buildings seen from across the river in New Jersey are dark shortly after 6 p.m.none
FILE - In this Nov. 9, 1965, file photo, cars move slowly on 42nd Street in New York, after a massive blackout in the northeastern United States.none
FILE - In this Nov. 9, 1965 file photo, stranded commuters crowd the waiting area of the Long Island Railroad in New York's Pennsylvania Station during a massive power failure.none
In this Nov. 9, 1965 file photo, stranded commuters crowd the ticketing and waiting room at New York's Grand Central Terminal 50 years ago, after a blackout halted train service.none
Front pages of evening newspapers in London tell the story of the massive power failure that plunged the NE U.S. and parts of Ontario, Canada, into darkness, Nov. 9, 1965.none


Largely, though, people remained calm, stepping in to help where they could, such as directing traffic. Hospitals were able to use generators to keep functioning. Over the next few hours, power came back - in Canada by 8 p.m., upstate New York by 9 p.m., Massachusetts by 10 p.m.



New York City waited the longest, with power starting to come back around 3:30 a.m. Nov. 10.
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