US40 #13 SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA (Fire Damage, 1908) |
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| Date: | 1908 |
| Author: | Punnet Bros |
| Dwnld: | Full Size (7mb) |
| Source: | Library of Congress |
| Print Availability: | |
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| See our Prints Page for more details | |
This map is part of a series depicting the 40 largest cities in the United States (as ranked by CBSA). This series will run through the month of July.
Here's a map of fire damage -- and reconstruction -- two years after the great earthquake in San Francisco, California [gmap].
Well, even a midwestern hick like me had heard of SF's 1906 earthquake... I guess I didn't know the extent and effect of the subsequent fires.
(Not bragging or nothing, but my hometown's never had any big, cataclysmic fire that I know of. Probably because we're built, almost entirely, from the most beautiful brick in the world, and because we have such placid, even temperaments. Also: no earthquakes. Y'all can keep that bullshit.)
The Big Map Blog has got plenty more bay area maps, if you're interested. SF, or Oakland, or San Jose, you name it. I hope you enjoy them.
For more map resources and imagery from this period in San Francisco's history, check out the California Historical Society's website.
Just to remark – in your note about brick buildings and no earthquakes. That’s a good combination; brick buildings don’t do well in earthquakes!
Actually, there was a huge coverup at the time. They tried to disassociate the fire from the earthquake, because people knew, understood, and had insurance for fire. So they wanted it all categorized as fire damage rather than earthquake damage.