The 1981 Hyatt Regency walkway collapse: What you need to know

On Friday, July 17, 1981, 114 people were killed when a pair of suspended walkways above the lobby of the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel collapsed during a tea dance.

If you weren’t living in Kansas City then (or weren’t even born yet) here are the things you need to know:

What happened in the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse?

Shortly after 7 p.m. on July 17, 1981, as the band played “Satin Doll” the hotel’s fourth- and second-floor skywalks tore loose from their suspension rods and crashed down onto dancers below.

The disaster drew scores of rescue crews that frantically worked to free people trapped under the steel and concrete structures. Construction workers with giant cranes came to lift the wreckage in attempts to get to the victims.

Who were the victims of the Hyatt Regency collapse?

All told, 114 were killed and more than 200 injured.

Fatalities included military veterans, teachers, lawyers, homemakers, secretaries, business owners — and one child, a fifth-grader who played sports and the guitar.

What was the cause of the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse?

A critical change in the original design of the Hyatt Regency hotel’s sky walks doubled the stress on that part of the walks that later pulled apart during the collapse.

City records — in combination with visual examination by two experts and photographic evidence — reveal that, at some point, a change was made that doubled the stress on three steel “box beams” supporting the fourth-floor sky walk.

A memorial to the victims of the collapse was dedicated in 2015

The Skywalk Memorial site at 22nd Street and Gillham Road is in the shadow of the former Hyatt Regency, now a Sheraton hotel.

The names of the victims are etched in the memorial, the centerpiece of which is a 20-foot abstract sculpture of a couple embraced in dance. The disaster happened during a big band dance contest.

This story was originally published July 17, 2021 at 1:08 PM.