‘Dwellings of the Homeless’, San Francisco, 1906

‘Dwellings of the Homeless – shelter built of wreckage, near ruined City Hall, San Francisco, 1906, California’

Underwood & Underwood

1906

San Francisco in Ruins, 1906

‘What an Earthquake can do for a modern city in three minutes, San Francisco’

B. W. Kilburn

1906

 

The Ruins of City Hall, San Francisco, 1906

‘End View of the Magnificent City Hall – Showing Wreck Caused by the Fire and Earth Quake, San Francisco’

Home Office & Factory

1906

 

 

The earthquake and resulting fire that struck San Francisco on 18 April 1906 still counts as one of the country’s most destructive natural disasters. Around 300,000 people were made homeless, a minimum of 3,000 were killed and the city itself was almost completely destroyed. San Jose and Santa Rosa were also badly affected. The remains of the city hall were demolished and a new one constructed two blocks away, completed in 1915. The 1906 earthquake and its effects was one of the first natural disasters to be recorded in great photographic detail.