Beverly Hills: The Anatomy of a Nightclub Fire

by Robert G. Lawson

The Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky, across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, was the preeminent nightclub of the lower Midwest for decades. After struggling financially into the1960s, the club was purchased by new owners in 1969. Over the next several years, the new owners completed numerous improvements, renovations, and additions, creating what they hoped would be the "showplace of the nation." On the evening of May 28, 1977, the lavish club burned to the ground, killing 165 people in the second worst nightclub fire in United States history. Robert Lawson's meticulous study makes clear that the tragedy flowed from the fact that the building had become over time a true firetrap. The renovations and additions completed since 1969 were dominated by multiple fire code violations and very significant design failures for a building that was destined to be occupied by huge crowds of people. Undoubtedly, a more complete compliance with state laws on fire safety would have averted the disaster. No single individual was responsible for the building's shortcomings.The firetrap in the nightclub, which ultimately resulted in the tragic death of 165 people, was clearly created by a combination of personal, professional, and legal failures by owners of the facility, local and state fire officials and inspectors, and others. Looking back, which is always easier than looking forward, it is clear that the real tragedy at Beverly Hills is that very little additional care and caution was needed to prevent some if not all of the deaths that occurred there. Beverly Anatomy of a Nightclub Fire was intended by the author to be an accurate historical account of the whole tragedy and not a sensational description of the event nor a polemic indictment of responsibility. It lays out in careful and complete detail every incremental step in the creation of the firetrap, describes the start and spread of the fire and evacuation efforts, and concludes with a description of the important legal proceedings that followed the fire.

228 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1984

Reviews

[JohnG · Rating 5 out of 5]

The greatest building fire book ever written. So underrated.

[Nattie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book but I didn't want to read it. I first heard about the tragedy ten years ago when I was "into" disaster books, back when I wasn't completely afraid of everything there is in the world, just mostly afraid.

I couldn't get the book out of my head during those ten years, so I decided to go ahead and get it. I only looked at two pictures just incase.

The start of the story was a bit too detailed and dry, as was the ending. I wish it had included a list of the victim's names. When they do that it keeps them from being nameless people to readers. They could have at least mentioned a few of them by name.

I had bad dreams all night and morning long afterwards.

[Theresa Kulenkamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some photos would have been a good addition.

[Shery · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was in law school just after this book was published by Professor Lawson of the University of Kentucky School of Law. I read the book instead of law texts in criminal law and became more interested in the genre of nonfiction books about fires than law itself.

In fact, his class made me quit law school. I was one of only four women in a class where the men routinely made such pronouncements as: "Rapists should not be prosecuted. Women always ask for it." I hope such statements don't go unchallenged today, but Southern women were too frightened then to speak up. I moved to the Graduate School in the department of English and found my calling: I became a teacher instead of a lawyer.

I still read books about fires. When I was a child, my father told me about observing the Winecoff Hotel fire in Atlanta while he worked across the street at a movie theater. His experience watching first responders led him to join the Atlanta Police Department that winter. Each year my older daughter finds a book about fires I have not yet read. This book remains one of my favorites.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

On May 28th, 1977, the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky, burned to the ground, taking 165 lives, and seriously injuring dozens more. Attorney Robert Lawson tells the story of the club's history, including detailed diagrams of the construction over the years that grew into the firetrap that killed so many on the night of the fire.

Even though I had already read a lot of information online about the incident, the book carried me along like a thriller. It was hard to put down, and I read into the night. The tension builds as the club gets more and more crowded, and the outbreak of the fire moves closer.

If you're not familiar with the legal outcome of the disaster, I think you'll be surprised. An excellent book, unfortunately out of print and hard to find.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writer is a lawyer and first quarter of the book is quite dry and he noticeably avoids specifics like peoples names and exact locations. I found it annoying and it felt like poor research (not sure why he did this). Well once it gets into the day of the fire the book picks up and gets much better.