by Frank Dunnigan

Nearly 120 years after the destruction caused by the 1906 earthquake and fire, we tend to forget the length of time that was required to return to a more “routine” way of life throughout San Francisco. Demolition of severely damaged structures took time, and debris removal itself was a lengthy and expensive process. Additionally, obtaining construction materials, laborers, and dealing with insurance companies (many of which had no resources left to pay claims) was also extremely drawn-out. Here are several images from the OpenSFHistory archive that tell the story of the post-disaster era that remained visible to all for nearly 20 years.

View east on Market near Grant, 1907. (wnp27.1773; courtesy of a Private Collector)

One year after the events of April 18-21, 1906, navigating Market Street was still a tricky proposition—whether by foot, horse and wagon, automobile, or streetcar.

View northeast across Dolores Park of earthquake cottage camp, 1907. (wnp14.0614; Dolores Park Swedish Family / Courtesy of a Private Collector)

Thousands of union-built refugee shacks were constructed and several camps were established by late 1906, in advance of the rainy season. Most of the camps, such as this one in the Mission District, remained in place until late 1907. Note two implements of daily life: the galvanized metal washtubs hanging on the exterior walls of the two shacks in the foreground, and the garbage can in the middle.

Looking northeast from the corner of Larkin and City Hall Avenue to City Hall Ruins, 1909. (wnp71.0118; Martin Behrman Negative Collection / Courtesy of the Golden Gate NRA, Park Archives)

Three years after the disaster, there had been only minimal clean-up of the destroyed City Hall structure, with the American flag still flying above the dome of the damaged (but not yet demolished) Hall of Records to the right in this 1909 image.

View northeast from Hyde near Ellis, April 20, 1910. (wnp27.5484; Courtesy of a Private Collector)

By the fourth anniversary of the earthquake and fire, destroyed buildings and vacant lots were still readily visible in the downtown area, such as this view of the Iroquois Hotel on Hyde near Ellis.

Columbus and Vallejo, March 16, 1911. (wnp27.3787; courtesy of a Private Collector)

Five years after the fire swept through North Beach on the third and fourth days of the disaster, St. Francis of Assisi Church, one of the oldest in San Francisco dating back to the 1860s, was still in the very early stages of reconstruction in March 1911.

Elevated view north from Market and 8th, February 10, 1915. (wnp36.00708; photo by Horace Chaffee, SF Department of Public Works / Courtesy of a Private Collector)

Nine years after the earthquake, the remnants of City Hall had finally been removed, though the ruined Hall of Records (with most of the contents lost) was still another full year away from being demolished.

Mission Dolores, circa 1917. (wnp14.4451; Courtesy of a Private Collector)

While the 1791 Mission Dolores adobe building survived both the earthquake and fire, the larger red brick Mission Dolores Church, built to the right of the mission in the mid-1870s, was severely damaged by the earthquake and had to be demolished. A temporary wooden structure was built directly behind the mission church by 1908, and it served the community for a full decade. Construction of a new permanent church building adjacent to the adobe mission began in 1913 and was nearing completion in this 1917 image; it was finally dedicated at Christmas of 1918.

View east from Harrison and 3rd, June 9, 1920. (wnp36.02354; photo by Horace Chaffee, SF Department of Public Works / Courtesy of a Private Collector)

The South of Market area was still displaying the scars of 1906 with incomplete street re-grading and numerous vacant lots some 14 years later in 1920.

Elevated view northwest toward Nob Hill from above Sutter and Stockton, circa 1920. (wnp15.1608; courtesy of a Private Collector)

Temple Emanu-El at lower left suffered severe damage in 1906, but was restored by 1907 (with the exception of its original twin onion-shaped domes). It continued to be used for worship services for an additional 20-plus years until the new temple’s completion in 1926 at Arguello Boulevard and Lake Street. Note that this image still includes some scattered vacant lots and ongoing rebuilding (lower right) in the year 1920—some 14 years after the earthquake and fire.

South side of Merritt near Danvers, September 14, 1923. (wnp36.03120; photo by Horace Chaffee, SF Department of Public Works / Courtesy of a Private Collector)

When the camps containing the refugee shacks were dismantled in late 1907, most residents had their units placed on lots and then expanded and upgraded them—often adding new exterior siding, paint, and additional windows to create permanent homes. Even by the post-World War I era, nearly a full generation after the disaster, these units were still in place and occupied in Eureka Valley in what appears to be fairly original condition.