Browse Items (40 total)

While initially dealing with the accusations of the mother of one of the MOVE members killed in the bombing, this article also touches on the tactics of MOVE leading up to the bombing. The author never explicitly says it, but this article reads as a…

Local news stations showed the siege and the bombing in real time. This image was taken from a WCAU Channel 10 broadcast. After the bomb was dropped, cameras caught the fire spreading from the MOVE compound to surrounding properties. This event stuck…

Police dropped the bomb from a state police helicopter as it flew over the compound. The target was a fortified bunker on the roof, which police planned to enter through once it collapsed. Lt. Frank Powell was ordered to drop the bomb. At about 5:30…

Investigators spent days searching the debris for bodies. In all, eleven people were found dead and sixty-one buildings were burned down. From this angle, viewers can get a better understanding of just how much was lost in a very brief period of…

Residents were devastated to find that all their possessions had burned along with their homes. Here, unidentified residents weep at the sight of what is left of their neighborhood. While the city promised to rebuild, what residents received were…

As the fire spread to the entire block, police and fire crews watched it burn. Here, a police officer watches the fire from a nearby rooftop. While a later investigation would reveal that Police Commissioner Gregore Sambor and Fire Commissioner…

Philadelphia Police and Firefighters take cover during a shootout with MOVE on August 8, 1978. Police arrived that morning to serve arrest warrants for several members of MOVE. What ensued was a violent shootout, the first armed confrontation between…

Even as recently as 2010, many of the rebuilt homes on Osage Avenue remain unoccupied. The buildings were so poorly constructed that residents sued the city, but the city later dismissed the lawsuit. This photo shows what the neighborhood looked like…

Despite being evacuated from their homes, many residents watched as the fire spread to their properties. Due to the row homes being physically connected, it was very easy for the fire to spread from one home to the next. It took until about 11:00pm,…

After talks to resolve the issue peacefully failed, police were given the order to advance on the compound. Commissioner Gregore Sambor addressed MOVE via megaphone: "Attention, MOVE! This is America." After one final attempt to convince the MOVE…