Streetwise: Post-Earthquake Scenes in the Western Neighborhoods
by Frank Dunnigan
April 2025
Frank Dunnigan, WNP member and columnist. - The aftermath of the 1906 earthquake in the western neighborhoods was less dramatic than in other parts of San Francisco because of fewer and more resilient buildings (more wood-frame structures and far less unreinforced masonry construction). Also, there was a great deal more open space, as well as the absence of any massive post-earthquake fires. Still, recovery took several years, while the damage remained clearly visible to one and all.
Hahnemann Hospital, California Street near Maple, 1906 - Courtesy of a Private Collector.The new Hahnemann Hospital had just opened on California Street near Arguello the week prior to the April 18, 1906 earthquake. It was eventually rebuilt, and the site was acquired by Children’s Hospital in the 1920s, with Hahnemann constructing a newer facility nearby. In the 1970s, Children’s Hospital acquired that newer facility as well, before Children’s Hospital itself was taken over and renamed California Pacific Medical Center. The entire California Street site that was home to both hospitals is now under renovation as new housing.
Looking north on 3rd Avenue near Clement, April 1906 - Courtesy of a Private Collector.Cooking in the street remained the norm for many months, as seen here on 3rd Avenue in the Richmond District, until chimneys could be inspected and declared safe for use.
Earthquake refugee children posing in Camp 5, near Children's Playground in Golden Gate Park, 1906 - Courtesy of a Private Collector.Prior to the construction of refugee cottages, many people lived in army-issued tents, such as at this camp in Golden Gate Park, in the months immediately after the earthquake.
Odd Fellows Cemetery, 1906 - Courtesy of a Private Collector.This toppled grave marker was part of the Odd Fellows Cemetery at Geary and Arguello. Unrepaired damage such as this, combined with laws restricting new burials and overall lack of maintenance in all the cemeteries, led to public support for cemetery closures and the mass grave removals that eventually took place in the late 1930s.
Children's Playground, Golden Gate Park, 1906 - Courtesy of a Private Collector.The Sharon Building at Children’s Playground in Golden Gate Park suffered extensive damage, but was eventually rebuilt and is still in use today.
View west from 4th Avenue & Cornwall, circa 1907 - Helen Sjoberg Collection / Courtesy of Vicky Walker, Bernal History Project.The community of Carzonia, utilizing old transit vehicles, sprang up in the Richmond District in 1906 as emergency housing units. It lasted until 1910, including this row at 4th Avenue and Cornwall Street, photographed in 1907.
Read more about Carzonia.
Spreckels Temple of Music in Golden Gate Park, circa 1906 - Marilyn Blaisdell Collection / Courtesy of a Private Collector.The Spreckels Temple of Music, also known as the Golden Gate Park Bandshell, was seriously damaged in the earthquake and was undergoing extensive repairs during the following year in this image.
Memorial Museum in Golden Gate Park, 1906 - Courtesy of a Private Collector.East wall earthquake damage to the Memorial Museum in Golden Gate Park is still clearly visible in this 1906 image, though repairs were made later. The building was eventually demolished in 1929 to make way for an expanded de Young Museum.
Sweeny Observatory in Golden Gate Park, circa 1910 - Marilyn Blaisdell Collection / Courtesy of a Private Collector.Inner Sunset District resident Dr. Thomas Sweeny believed that nearby Golden Gate Park needed an observatory from which the public could view the surrounding neighborhoods so he donated one to the park’s commissioners in 1891. It was severely damaged in the earthquake, as shown here in 1910, and was never rebuilt, continuing to crumble and fade away slowly over the years. Park maintenance staff and gardeners sometimes used the stones for border walls in the park.
Read and see more about the observatory on OpenSFHistory.
View northerly from Great Highway of Carville, January 1910 - Marilyn Blaisdell Collection / Courtesy of Molly Blaisdell.Carville, which existed near Lincoln Way and Ocean Beach before the earthquake and fire, attracted additional residents after the disaster, and the bohemian community built of streetcars continued on for several years afterwards. A ceremonial burning of several cars in 1913 marked the beginning of the end of the settlement and it was mostly gone by the early 1920s, though some of the makeshift homes were eventually incorporated into permanent structures in the area. You can purchase Woody LaBounty’s book, Carville-by-the-Sea,
in the WNP online shop.
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