On Saturday at 6:47 p.m., parts of Midtown Manhattan and the West Side went dark.

Pedestrians used their cellphones as flashlights to cross the streets, Broadway shows were disrupted and commuters scrambled to find alternative ways home after subway stations were shuttered.

A little more than three hours later, Con Edison announced that power was being restored.

On a steamy July night in 1977, exactly 42 years ago, the same thing happened: New York City plunged into darkness, but that time the city was left without power for 25 hours.

It became a defining event. Looting and arson spread through the streets, resulting in 3,800 arrests and millions of dollars worth of damage.