Greenwich Village townhouse explosion

The townhouse you are looking at sits on a site that was once the scene of a violent, accidental catastrophe. On March 6, 1970, the original 1845 row house at 18 West 11th Street was leveled when a large cache of dynamite, stored in the basement by members of the Weather Underground, detonated prematurely. The group had been using the home as a bomb factory, intending to target a noncommissioned officers dance at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and the administration building at Columbia University. The explosion killed three members of the cell instantly, while two others escaped the wreckage and fled. Investigators initially suspected a simple gas leak, but the discovery of unexploded dynamite and sophisticated timing devices in the debris quickly revealed a far more dangerous reality.