. A history of the earthquake and fire in San Francisco; an account of the disaster of April 18, 1906 and its immediate results. city; now theWestern Addition, stretching far beyond it, cameinto being. Market street became the mainthoroughfare. On the north, at varying distances,were the hills. Just beyond the site where the CityHall was afterward erected, Hayes Valley, known asHappy Valley until Thomas Hayes began to exploitit, stretched some distance to the west. South ofMarket the city had grown out so far that by igo6the Mission Dolores, once a part of the far-country,seemed almost downtow
. A history of the earthquake and fire in San Francisco; an account of the disaster of April 18, 1906 and its immediate results. city; now theWestern Addition, stretching far beyond it, cameinto being. Market street became the mainthoroughfare. On the north, at varying distances,were the hills. Just beyond the site where the CityHall was afterward erected, Hayes Valley, known asHappy Valley until Thomas Hayes began to exploitit, stretched some distance to the west. South ofMarket the city had grown out so far that by igo6the Mission Dolores, once a part of the far-country,seemed almost downtown. Far beyond it lay blocksand blocks of close-built residences. Everywhere the houses were wooden; here, too,the city showed its serene indifference of marvelled at the great frame city. Insur-ance men shook their heads, foretelling a tremendousconflagration some day—a conflagration that wouldalmost blot out the memory of the great fires of thepast — London, Moscow, Chicago, Boston — in itsgreater vastness. San Francisco had had plenty of experience ofthe fate that was to overtake it. Five times in the. Pliotos by Waters & Hecht Skyscrapers Before the Fire 12 THE OLD SAN FRANCISCO early days it was devastated by fire, and five timesit was rebuilt. It was with grim pride, therefore,that the city made the legendary Phoenix a part ofthe design of its official seal, in 1850, but withoutany idea of the task the Phoenix city would laterhave to perform. II THE EARTHQUAKE April, 1906, found San Francisco living its lifeintensely, pulsating with the vigor of achievementand hope, full of the joy of living. The year hadbeen one of unexampled prosperity; trade had neverbeen so brisk, business never so good before. Againand again the real estate sales, the building opera-tions, the volume of business, had surpassed all rec-ords. Population was increasing with wonderfulrapidity. Never had the citys future seemed sobright, its destiny so certain, as in those early daysof
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