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The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906
During the Gold Rush Period many of the immigrants passed through San Francisco with the intentions of going to the mines. At that time there was no indication of its becoming a city. However, some of the immigrants saw the possibility of its growth, so thew started businesses of some sort and settled there, while others moved to the mines.
As San Francisco always was a gay, pleasure loving city amusements of all sorts sprang up. The miners would come down and spend their diggings on amusement.
Almost from the beginning there were concerts and theaters as well as the dives and saloons. Even at that early date people who became nationally and world famous made their debut in San Francisco. On the night of April 16, 1906, the Metropolitan Opera Company opened the season in San Francisco with a performance of the Queen of Sheba. Conreid was the manager and such stars as Caruso, Fremstadt, Eames, Scotti and Companero were heare [sic] there. On the night of April 18, Caruso was to have sung in "Il Pagliaci."
At five in the morning of April 18, all was well. The majority of the City's population were peacefully asleep. Most San Franciscans slept souldly [sic] in the early morning as San Francisco was always a gay City given to late hours. The people were in the habit of retiring late and rising late. However, the artisians [sic] and mechanics living in homes and lodging houses south of Market were astir in the early morning hours. Oil stoves were lit, and the smoke came lazily out of the chimneys.
At 5:13 in the morning of Wednesday, April 18, one of the most severe earthquakes recorded visited San Francisco. Several other slight earthquakes took place during the day. However, the early morning one was the severe shock and lasted forty-eight seconds. It was the cause
There were many filled in areas near the bay in San Francisco. As a result of this the streets cracked in these portions of the City due to the unsubstantial nature of the fill. The largest portions of these sections were located along the creek in the Mission District and that section of the City from Montgomery Street to the Ferry Building. There were other sections of the City that showed signs of the damage done by the earthquake too.
Statistics show that California has a bad earthquake about every twenty years. Despite the concensus [sic] of opinion, destruction caused by earthquakes are considerably less than the destruction caused by tornadoes or thunderstorms.
Shortly after the disaster occurred some of the people became bewildered and rushed out into the street in their night clothes. As they saw only some fallen masonry, these people returned to their homes to get decently dressed.
A large portion of the population were unaware of the fires that started in different sections of the City. They were mostly the people who resided in that section of the city west of Van Ness Avenue. It is said that fifty-seven fire alarms were sent into the Fire Department within the first half hour after the earthquake. Most of the fires had started as a result of the cracked or broken chimneys. Other fires started because of broken wlectric [sic] wires which caused high tension or improper insulation of power wires.
The largest portion of San Francisco is built on Sand dunes. However, there are some filled in sections and many of the hills consist of rock construction. The earthquake caused the sand to shift under
As the City began to burn clouds of smoke could be seen as far as Santa Cruz, a distance of more than fifty miles from San Francisco. The poor hurried out of their cracked houses, leading their children by the hand. They carried what belongings they were able to on their backs or in wheel barrows. One saw little children carrying all that they were able to, or dragging them along. In their excitement, people saved some of the oddest things.
The rich too, rushed out of their homes. They were in the same disarray. These women were also clutching their children and carried their jewel boxes, hats, bird cages and cats. Painted women from the underworld and the ladies who were in the habit of riding in their carriages, walked together and conversed glibly as they wended their way. Unter [sic] the stress of the situation, cast and social standing meant nothing.
The fire rages for three days, but our fire department was helpless
Despite the opinion of many people, there was comparativelylittle [sic] loss of life as a result of the catastrophe. Statistics show that a little more than three hundred people were killed and about the same amount were unaccounted for.
The fire was the cause of the greater part of the destruction and not the earthquake as many people believe. Up to that time the only other fire of any consequence in the United Stats [sic] that was comparable to the one that followed the San Francisco earthquake was the great fire of Chiacago [sic] of 1871. The real estate losses of the San Francisco fire could be estimated, but there was no way of valuing the losses of rare libraries, paintings, valuable papers and antiques of all kinds.
If, as they say, God spanked the town, — For being over-frisky, Why did He burn all the churches down And spare Hotalings whiskey?
When the populace residing in the burning area realized what the situation was, they left their homes and started moving. Some went to Golden Gate Park, the Presidio or some of the public squares, while others went down the Peninsula or across the Bay. Those people who
There were about thirteen blocks saved in the stricken area. Parts of Russian Hill were saved. Because of its height Russian Hill is somewhat isolated. A reservoir which is still standing there contained a small supply of water which was used. About eleven blocks were saved on Telegraph Hill. Telegraph Hill, too, is isolated due to its height and location. This Hill is of solid rock construction and rises directly from the Bay. Water has been sprayed from the tug boats and the fire boats that were in the Bay. There were cold storage plants in this vicinity, and they, too, used the supply of water they had on hand. The Italians helped in saving this hill by taking the wine from their homes and pouring in on their homes.
The Army fought and was able to save most of the Federal Government buildings. These buildings included the United States Post Office at Seventh and Mission, the Custom House on Kearyn [sic] and Clay, and the Old Mint building on Fifth and Mission. The Army and Navy also fought and were successful in saving the Ferry Building, and the piers along the waterfront. The Main Post Office, however, was damaged by the earthquake, as the ground on which it was erected was a thin layer of sand overlaying a marsh.
From the Ferry to Van Ness you're a God forsaken mess, But the damdest [sic] finest ruins, nothing more and nothing less...
Will Irwin
Although never officially proclaimed, the City was placed under Martial law from the morning of the earthquake until the middle of May. Besides the Federal Troups [sic], a naval patrol, State Militia and the Local Police Force, a Citizens Committee was appointed to patrol the City. As soon as the National Red Cross was contacted, they, too, came to the aid of San Francisco. The Associated Charities played a large part in aiding in the catastrophe. As soon as the Red Cross stepped in, the Associated Charities gave up its own identity and acted as an agent of the Red. Cross. Funds were raised throughout the Country for the urgent necessities.
For two months following the earthquake and fire the different elements of the City worked together in jovial accord. During this period it was the best behaved City in the United States.
The Wells Fargo Express Company was among the first to turn over its trucks and horses to be used for necessary transportation. The American Express, United States Express, Adams, National and Pacific Express companies alro [sic] arose to the emergency, as they, too, loaned their trucks and horses. Refugees and their belonging were taken to their destination free of charge.
The Union Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroads worked in co-operation with the Express Companies. Food was carried free of charge from other sections of the country into the stricken City. In many instances special cars were furnished on spedial [sic] schedules for transportation. The railroads too, took the refugees free of charge from the City to their destinations. The Postal Telegraph and Western Union franked the telegrams free of charge. The American Telephone and Telegraph Company also arranged free transmission of long distance calls.
As soon as possible a start was made to clean away the debris.
Our residence stood at the corner of Fillmore and Jackson Streets, so was out of the fire limits. The house itself was the usual frame building unique to San Francisco. It consisted of two stories with a basement and an attic.
At the time of the earthquake I was twelve and attending grammar school. As the earthquake occurred during the Easter Vacation, the public schools were having a two week vacation. One of my Aunts, a sister of my Mother lived in Sacramento. She had invited Mother, a cousin my age and me to spend the vacation period with her, and so we were in Sacramento the day of the earthquake. It was felt in that vicinity too, but the damage that was done in Sacramento was very slight.
Later in the morning, when the places of business were opened in Sacramento, Mother tried to make arrangements for us to return to San Francisco that day. The rumors of the tragedy that we heard in Sacramento was very upsetting. After a great deal of investigation on her part, Mother found that no one could enter the City.
As the rest of our family were in San Francisco, Mother wanted to return to them. They consisted of my Dad, my sister Annette, and two brothers - Albert and Leon. Mother was greatly disturbed as there was no way of getting in touch with the family. The telephone and telegraph wires to the City were temporarily disconnected. Consequently we were unable to send or receive messages of any kind. All of this made Mother nearly frantic. It was a couple of days before we had news of any kind at all. My Aunt's house was like a funeral.
Fortunately, my cousin Helen's mother arrived in Sacramento with good news for us. All members of the family were well. We were all overjoyed when we saw her as she was the first one to bring us word of any kind. Aunt Celie assured Mother that our immediate family was alright, as she had seen them. She also knew that all of the other close relatives living in San Francisco were well also as she had seen them too. However, Mother was still uneasy and couldn't be completely passified [sic]. It was her desire to return home. We did not want her to leave, as we were afraid that she would encounter difficulties while trying to enter tye [sic] City. However, when Mother made up her mind no one could change it, and so she left alone for San Francisco. We made her promise to return to Sacramento immediately if she was unable to get into the City. As she did not return within a day or two, we knew that she was successful in her attempt.
Those members of my immediate family who were home were sleeping peacefully too, during the early morning hours of April 18. The earthquake and the noise from the falling chimney awakened the family. There was a carpenter bench in the attic. The impactifrom [sic] the chimney coming through the roof and falling on the carpenter bench, caused one of the
However, as a result of all of the terrific noise my Father arose and went the rounds to see what had happened. He wanted to be sure that no one had been hurt. The only person that Dad heard stirring was my sister. Annette had gotten up too, to see what had happened and if everyone was alright. Neither of them heard my brothers stirring so they were alarmed. When they entered my brothers room and saw that the boys were ready to go to sleep again, my father insisted upon their rising too. He went through the house and found very little damage done other than the chimney. Dad was nervous though, as he wasn't sure what else might transpire, se he felt that the family should be up and dressed.
However, everything quieted down in the house very quickly. As there was no evidence of the realy [sic] disaster Dad decided that they should proceed with their usual routine. So as usual when eight o'clock arrived Dad left home for his place of business. On his way down town, Dad stopped in at a nearby chimney repair shop and put in an order to have the chimney repaired. He also wanted to have the roof mended and the ceiling in my brothers room plastered. As there was no carpenter shop or plasterer in the neighborhood he thought that he would attend to that later. However, the chimney men arrived at our house shortly after eight to repair our chimney so ours was one of the first in the City to be mended.
When Father started for his place of business he was surprised to find that there were no street cars running, so he decided to walk down town. On his way, Dad met several of the neighbors walking down town too, as nobody in our district had any idea that anything unusual was taking place in the downtown area. As the people from the residential district kept arriving, the firemen prohibited them from entering the burning sections and sent them home again, so there was nothing else for Dad to do but walk home again.
Upon his return Dad was advised to leave the house. After some consideration he decided to stay there as long as he could. However, he thought it would be advisable to pack a few belongings to have ready in case they were forced to leave. The silver and a few other things were buried in the back yard over the excitement it had been forgotten and lay buried for weeks. As the strain was too much for my sister Annette, she left San Francisco almost immediately and went to Berkeley to stay with friends of hers and she remained there for several weeks.
Later in the morning some family friends started to arrive at our home. Several of them were living in hotels in the downtown section of the City, while others resided in the vicinity of Van Ness Avenue. A married couple whom we knew was living at the Palace Hotel at that time. The Palace was among the first buildings in the City to catch fire. Mary and Charlie were able to get transportation as far as our house. In their excitement they managed to save some of their possessions which they brought along. Among their belongings were Mary's diamonds. Upon their arrival the first thing that Mary did was to give her diamonds to Dad to put away for safe keeping. Since Dad was busy, as he wanted to make his friends as comfortable as possible as they kept arriving, he had no time to worry about the diamonds. In
For a few days there were twenty-four people staying in our house. This included the members of the family that were home. Some of the people were sleeping on the spring mattresses that were on the beds. The top mattresses had been removed from the beds and put on the floor for others to sleep on. A few were sleeping on the bare floors.
At that time a friend of Mothers was in the St. Francis Hospital. She had been operated on for an appendoctemy [sic] the day before the earthquake. The hospital was on Bush and Hyde Streets where it stands today. As the Hospital was within the fire limits the Doctors decided that it would be best to have all patients moved. As Adeline's home was on Ellis Street near Van Ness Avenue, her physician was afraid to have her taken there. He felt that it was too near the fire limits. The daughter suggested that she be brought to our house, so Adeline was brought in on a stretcher.
There was a sofa in the parlor and Adeline was placed on it. However, later in the day her doctor made arrangements for Adeline to be moved to Letterman Hospital. As Letterman Hospital was situated in the Presidio it was considered as safe as possible under the circumstances. If the fire reached that area the whole city would be gone. Dad was afraid that she was being moved too much, and wanted her to remain at our house. He suggested that she be taken to the bedroom floor and placed comfortably in one of the beds. However, her Doctor thought that Adeline would have proper medical attention as well as quiet and safety in the hospital. Due to the circumstances there was a great deal of unavoidable bustle in the house, which was too much
The Banner Family's residence was on the east side of Van Ness Avenue and O'Farrell Streets. Their home was situated directly opposite Saint Mary's Cathedral. As soon as the Banners realized that they were within the fire limits, the son decided to move some of their household belongings and placed them under the steps of Saint Mary's Cathedral temporarily. As soon as Milton was able to get a truck, he had the articles moved to our house. Among their possessions was his piano. Of course it was brought along with the rest of their belongings. Of all the peculiar things to bother about at a time like that made the situation very amusing. The movers stupidly placed the piano in the backyard instead of bringing it into the house. During the night there were showers, and so the piano was soaked. The following morning my brothers brought the piano into the house.
Previous to the earthquake my father had been in the tobacco business. While he was in business Dad had a great deal of business dealings with the Chinese and consequently had many friends among them. When the earthquake occurred one of Dad's Chinese friends came to the house and asked Dad if he and some of his friends could have shelter for awhile. As Dad said "Yes," John brought his friends and they slept in the basement. Dad wanted to make the necessary arrangements for them to have provisions too. But John said that everything had been taken care of already. They were able to rpovide [sic] for themselves. All that they needed was shelter.
Around eight o'clock in the morning Dad would go to the basement to see if they were comfortably fixed, or if they needed anything, but by this time the Chinese had already gone. Every night from seven o'clock on, Dad would hear them returning - one by one. He never knew where they were during the day, nor did he know how many Chinese were actually sleeping in the basement. Dad thought that there must have been from seventy-five to a hundred Chinese there, which was probably an exaggeration. None of them ever came upstairs, and Dad never told anyone in the house that there were Chinese in the basement.
After a week elapsed, conditions began to queit [sic] down a bit. When the fire ceased, our friends gradually made other arrangements. Those whose homes remaine [sic] standing returned to them. Others went out of town until the building situation was under way and some hotels and apartment buildings were erected in San Francisco. John came up one morning to see my Father. He told Dad that he and his friends were leaving as they had found living quarters. John thanked Dad and said that he had One Hundred Dollars in his possession, and wanted Dad to take it. Dad refused to accept the money however.
Two of the Chinamen stayed with us for several months. One of them had been a cook in one of the rich San Francisco family homes. The other had done the second work in the same house. When the catastrophe was over these two Chinamen wanted to go back to their employers, but were unable to locate them. John and Jim wanted to stay with us until this family could be found or other arrangements made. As we were willing to have them stay, they did the cooking for our family in return for their room and board. We were living high while they were with us, as both were good cooks.
Shortly arter [sic] Mother left Sacramento, I began getting lonesome
Conditions, naturally were far from being normal when I arrived in San Francisco. There was still a shortage of food and water. A bare start had been made to clear away the debris from the burned area. The cooking was still being done in the street. Mother was disguisted [sic] that I came home to all of this confusion. She thought that I would be better off if I went to Berkeley to stay with Annette and her friends for awhile. I went rather reluctently [sic]. When I arrived in Berkeley I was utterly miserable. Annette being fifteen years older than I had authority of looking after my welfare. After being in Berkeley for two days I wanted to go home. I guess that I made her pretty unhappy, as she gave me a dollar and told me to go home. I don't believe that she thought I'd do it, but I did. When I showed up at home Mother was fiabergasted [sic] as she didn't expect me. Her intentions were good and she thought that she had looked after my comfort, but she let me stay home
My cousin Helen was still at our house when I returned. I was pleased as she and I were companionable and we were perfectly content together. We enjoyed wandering among the ruins. As Mother allowed us to go, we explored the burned area almost every day. Shortly after the catastrophe, Maskey's erected a shack on Kearny Street near Post. Before the earthquake they had a candy store on that spot for many years. As the Maskey's owned the property it was their intention to rebuild on that site again. After our walks we never failed to wind up at Maskey's for a soda. One day after we roamed around for awhile, we went to have our usual treat. While we were sitting at the counter, waiting to be served a man came in and sat at the counter near us. After he was served to took out his false teeth and put them in his pocket, and proceeded to drink his soda. Helen and I both felt sick to our stomachs when we saw him. We left the place with our sodas untouched.
For several months after the earthquake no one was allowed to cook in their kitchens. It was some time before the water pipes had been repaired and all of the fallen chimneys mended. Despite the fact that our chimney had been put in order immediately we weren't allowed the use of the kitchen stove until the chimney had been inspected. Then, too, we would have to be given a permit. There was a small cook stove in our basement. It was taken out and placed on the sidewalk. All of the cooking was done from there and brought into the house already prepared. Everyone in the unburned residential districts had a stove of some kind which they too placed on the sidewalk. During meal times one saw the entire neighborhood out on the street doing their cooking. It was an interesting and congenial sight.
Over the entire period neighbors were freidlier [sic] than they had ever
Dad's place of business was in the burned section of the City and consequently it was completely demolished by the fire. As soon as people were allowed to go downtown, Dad went to the site where his place of business stood. As the safe was covered with debirs [sic], he was unable to get near it. After having the debris removed, Dad found the papers had either been burned or badly charred from the heat. My birth certificate was in the safe and was among the burned papers. However, he brought home what was left of the papers.
For several months Dad's business was transacted from our house. Consequently, there were several people around the house during the best part of the day who were not members of the immediate family. As there were no restaurants in the neighborhood, lunch was provided for those people who happened to be around. Often there were as many as twelve or fifteen people for lunch. As a result of so many people having come and gone during this period the carpets became shabbier and shabbire [sic] while the floors became dustier and dustier. The leg of the carpenter table was still dangling from the ceiling of my brothers' room. The dining room was being used as an office, and so it went. The house was in a continual state of disruption and getting quite dilapidated looking from wear and tear.
Slowly, conditions did straighten out once more and everything
Earthquake Bibliography
Attrocchi, Julia Cooley The Spectacular San Francisco
Atherton, Gertrude
Adventures of a Novelist
My San Francisco
Bound Pamphlets Earthquake and Fire
Burton, Jean Katherine Felton - Her Social Work in San Francisco
Dana, Julian A. R. Giannini
Hungerford Wells Fargo
Jordon, David Starr California Earthquake and Fire of 1906
Older, Freemont [sic] My Own Story
O'Brien, Robert This is San Francisco
Reisenberger, Felix Jr. Golden Gate
Welty, Endora Reading and Writing of Short Stories
Writers Project San Francisco
Woodford, Jack How to Write and Sell a Novel
People
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People
- Pomer, Dr. Lawrence
- Rosenshine, Annette
Courtesy of The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-6000; http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb4k40075m&brand=oac4
Title: Edith H. Rosenshine writings: The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906
By: Rosenshine, Edith H.
Date: [after 1906]
Contributing Institution: The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-6000; http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
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