1906
1906
Photo: UC Berkeley
San Francisco, one day before the 1906 earthquake
View from south of Market Street, looking north toward Angel Island and Marin County
April 18, 1906: The first night of the fires
View from Washington Street at Van Ness Avenue, looking east toward downtown.
Watching the city burn
Photo: San Francisco Silent Film Festival
“In the meantime, the city had started on fire. The water mains had broken, and they had no water, and no hoses long enough to draw water from the Bay.
They had only about a mile of hose altogether. They were in a hell of a fix. The fire started, and nothing could stop it, and it just kept going.”
— Aurelious Alberga (1884–1988), a Black San Franciscan who personally experienced the 1906 earthquake
Firestorms along Van Ness Avenue
View from above the Ferry Building, looking west. The white area indicates the path of destruction as the fires raced west toward Van Ness.
Market Street after the fires
View from Market Street, looking west toward Van Ness Avenue and Twin Peaks. Third Street is on the left, Lotta’s Fountain (at Geary and Kearny) is on the right.
Photo: UC Berkeley
“I don’t think there were any people anywhere else in the world who were as friendly as the old San Franciscans. There was absolutely no question whatsoever.
People were dragging their trunks along the street, and someone would come along and help them.
They’d take someone in their house they had never seen before in your life. People would be yelling out, ‘You want some place to stay, you want some place to stay?’ Very, very fine.”
—Aurelious Alberga