Rooftop, Haas-Lilienthal House

I have heard the story of San Francisco’s great earthquake and fire in 1906 countless times, but walking around certain parts of the city can still bring the history back to life in unexpected ways. Visiting the California Academy of Sciences in 2016, I entered the earthquake simulator and experienced first the shaking of the Loma Prieta quake in 1989 and then the wild rollercoaster ride of 1906 — that left a deep impression on me. This year I ventured to Pacific Heights to find some of the impressive Victorians that made it through the city’s worst disaster. I toured the inside of the Haas-Lilienthal House on Franklin, but the others I simply admired from the sidewalk. I don’t know the history of some of the beautiful houses I  photographed, but I do know that only those structures west of Van Ness Avenue were spared. Many of the expensive mansions along Van Ness that survived the earthquake ended up being destroyed with dynamite to create a firebreak. It was a desperate measure to contain the fire consuming 4 square miles of the city — but it worked.

“San Francisco in ruins, from Lawrence Captive Airship, 2000 feet above San Francisco Bay” (Photo in SF Maritime NHP Visitor Center)

Wormser-Coleman House, California Street

Sloss-Lilienthal House, California Street

Atherton House, California Street

Belden House, Franklin Street