The caption on the front page of the May 26, 1967 Herald Journal said Clinton Street "looked like a bombed-out battlefield."
The entire rear wall of the six-story RKO Keith's Theater Building collapsed onto South Clinton Street, sending tons of debris below.
Chunks of the building piled over ten feet high, and rolled up against the Fire Engine Company 6 building on the west side of the street.
An elderly man, Thomas Fahey, was killed as he drove past in his yellow Mercury convertible. Four other people were injured.
The theater was one of 14 buildings that were being torn down by the S & L Paving Corp. to make way for an $11 million Sibley's department store and parking garage as part of Syracuse's urban renewal plans of the 1960s.
Walter Powell, 36, of Cortland, was taking pictures of the 46-year-old structure, wanting to match photos of the building being demolished with a postcard of it when it was first built.
He said he heard "a cracking, creaking noise, then the building wall buckled and collapsed with a roar. Any screams or shouts were drowned out by the roar of the crashing debris."
"Clinton Street was all full of debris," reported Herald-Journal women's editor Arlene LaRue, who reached the scene shortly after the collapse.
"The light just turned green and the whole thing, just caved in," reported Lt. Robert Griffin, a firefighter stationed across the street.
Mrs. Theresa Bobish was the first car at the light, and just missed by seconds from being caught in the falling bricks and tiles. She had just passed the theater when she heard a terrific crash behind her. She parked her car and ran back to help, but had to be taken to the hospital after being so shaken by the experience.
Firemen had to dig away with their hands huge mounds of debris to get to those trapped in their cars, and had to cut the tops to remove the victims.
Martin Michaels, 40, John Busco, 25 and Earl Belcher, 35 were all reported as injured in the collapse.
Busco said there was no advance warning of what was going to happen, and no time to avoid being caught under the rubble.
None of the firefighters were aware that Martin Michaels and his car were trapped underneath, until a weak voice called, "Get me out of here!"
A squad of firefighters started digging at the spot when suddenly a hand appeared.
A bulldozer was brought in to push back the rubble to clear the street to permit the removal of the cars and to make sure no one else had been caught beneath the collapsing wall. Surprisingly, not a single pedestrian was caught in it.
Mayor William Walsh was on the scene with in minutes and said an investigation would be started immediately.
In a statement Walsh said, "I am shocked by the accident that occurred this morning and I know all Syracusans join me in my deep sympathy for the families of the injured and dead. Our prayers are with them."
He also thanked the rescue workers and their "super-human rescue efforts."
"I have never seen such heroic work." he said.
This feature is a part of CNY Nostalgia, a section on syracuse.com. Send your ideas and curiosities to Johnathan Croyle: Email | 315-427-3958.