Earthquake & Fire Centennial

Exhibitions and Programs

The San Francisco Public Library presented a variety of exhibitions, events and programs in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the 1906 Earthquake and Fire.

House of Mirth aka Refugee’s Shack,
Jefferson Square, April 1906
San Francisco History Center, SFPL

Exhibitions - See also more information at Exhibitions at the Library

How to Survive an Earthquake: A Humorous Look at San Francisco, 1906 - Exhibition describes how earthquake survivors used shared humor as a survival tactic, and features first-person and newspaper accounts, artifacts, photographs and ephemera from the San Francisco History Center, as well as contemporary works of humor from the Schmulowitz Collection of Wit and Humor (SCOWAH), Book Arts & Special Collections Center.
Exhibition: From April 1 through May 31, 2006
Main Library, Sixth Floor, Skylight Gallery
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)
News Release - Laughing in the Face of Disaster

Snapshot Chronicles: Inventing the American Photo Album – Featuring Personal Albums Documenting the 1906 Earthquake and Fire
Celebrates the visual creativity, storytelling and social history of early snapshot photograph albums, from 1889 to1935. Exhibition is from the collection of Barbara Levine, organized by the Douglas F. Cooley Gallery at Reed College, and includes materials from the Library’s San Francisco History Center.
Exhibition: April 8 – August 20, 2006
Main Library, Lower Level, Jewett Gallery
Opening Program: Exhibition Walk-through and Book Signing with Curator Barbara Levine,
Sunday, April 9, 2006, 2:00 p.m. 100 Larkin Street (at Grove)
News Release - Snapshot Chronicles: Inventing the American Photo Album

Remembering the Big One, Preparing for the Next One - Includes earthquake preparedness plans, historical photographs, seismic maps and government investigative reports.
Exhibition: March 4 - June 1, 2006
Main Library, Fifth Floor, Government Information Center
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)

Bernal Heights Earthquake Centennial 1906–2006 – Historic photographs and maps of neigborhood. Co-sponsored by Bernal Heights Preservation.
Exhibition: From April 1 through April 30, 2006,
Good Life Grocery Story Windows,
448 Cortland Avenue (across the street from the Bernal Heights Branch Library)
Related Programs: Earthquake Shack Walking Tour (Time TBD), Followed by Ice Cream Social,
Saturday, April 22, 2006,
Bernal Heights Branch Library, 2:00 p.m.;
Earthquake Centennial Picnic,
Precita Park, Saturday, April 29, 2006, (Please call the Bernal Heights Branch Library at 415-355-2810 for the time.)

Marking the 1906 Earthquake: San Francisco Off Balance: Ballet Mori and More - The Bernard Osher Art, Music and Recreation Center and the Business, Science and Technology Center presents a floorwide exhibit of books, documents and photos highlighting earthquake related resources.
Exhibition: Through April 27, 2006
Main Library, Fourth Floor Wall Display Cases
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)

Digging Deep: Underneath San Francisco Public Library – The archaeological remains of a Gold Rush era cemetery and ruins of old City Hall (destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and fire) document the development of the Civic Center area.
Exhibition: Through 2006
First Floor, Grove Street entrance exhibit cases
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)

Postcard
- Refugees watching the burning city.
April 18. 1906, San Francisco, California.
San Francisco History Center, SFPL

Programs

Sunset Branch Monthly Book Club – This month's selection is A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906 by Simon Winchester.
Wednesday, April 5, 7:00 p.m.
Café Kaleo Upstairs Room, 1340 Irving Street (between 14th and 15th Ave.)

Snapshot Chronicles: Inventing the American Photo Album – Featuring Personal Albums Documenting the 1906 Earthquake and Fire
– Opening Program – Gallery Talk and Book Signing with Curator Barbara Levine
Sunday, April 9, 2 p.m.
Main Library, Lower Level, Jewett Gallery
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)

Lesbian to the Rescue: Dr. Marie Equi and the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Relief – Who was the most prominent lesbian/gay person in the story of the 1906 earthquake? Portland doctor Marie Equi rushed from Oregon to help the sufferers of the calamity. She supervised nurses at the Presidio Hospital and earned the acclaim of the U.S. Army and the mayor of San Francisco. Equi was later arrested with Margaret Sanger, jailed with women strikers and sent to San Quentin for opposing World War I. Here is an opportunity to celebrate a lesbian in our centennial of the 1906 earthquake with this one-hour slide review of “the stormy petrel of the Northwest” by Michael Helquist.
Tuesday, April 11, 7 – 8:30 p.m.
Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial Branch Library,
1 Jose Sarria Court (near Market)

Chinatown is Burning! Charlie Chin, renowned Chinese American performer and storyteller, presents a Chautauqua performance invoking the persona of 1906 earthquake survivor Hugh Liang. Liang (1891-1984), a real historical figure, was a teenager living in Chinatown at the time of the 1906 earthquake. He survived the earthquake and great fires, to witness the rebuilding of his community. Co-sponsored by the Chinese Historical Society of America.
Saturday, April 15, 2 – 3 p.m.,
Main Library, Lower Level, Koret Auditorium,
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)

1906 Earthquake and Fire Online Resources - Please join us for an exploration of web sites and databases depicting how the major natural disaster affected the people and development of San Francisco.
Tuesday, April 18, 12:10 – 1 p.m.
Main Library, Fifth Floor Training Room
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)
1906 Earthquake and Fire Online Resources

San Francisco is Burning: The Untold Story of the 1906 Earthquake and Fires - The April 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire was one of the worst urban disasters in American history. But while nature dealt the first blow, the tragedy that followed was mostly manmade. Join us when Dennis Smith, author of San Francisco is Burning discusses the 1906 quake and its aftermath.
Tuesday, April 18, 6 – 8 p.m.
Main Library, Koret Auditorium
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)

We Were There: Voices from the Earthquake and Fire of 1906 – Malcolm Barker, editor of Three Fearful Days: San Francisco Memoirs of the 1906 Earthquake, and author Joanne Lafler present first hand accounts from 1906 San Francisco earthquake survivors. The earthquake experience comes alive through photos and readings from letters, journals and unpublished memoirs.
Wednesday, April 19, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Main Library, Lower Level, Koret Auditorium,
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)

Earthquake Shack Walking Tour of Bernal Heights – Begins at 11 a.m. from 43 Carver Street. Followed by Colloquy and Ice Cream Social at the Bernal Heights Branch Library at 2 p.m. Co-sponsored by Bernal Heights Preservation.
Saturday, April 22, 11 a.m.,
Bernal Heights Branch Library,
500 Cortland Avenue (near Moultrie)

Rebuilding San Francisco: The Workers’ Story – In the weeks following the 1906 earthquake, thousands of tradesmen converged on San Francisco. Using their hands and simple tools, these men would rebuild the city. After 100 years, we hear their stories in this soon-to-be released television documentary. To be followed by a panel of workers in the building trades.
Thursday, April 27, 6 – 7:45 p.m.,
Main Library, Lower Level, Koret Auditorium,
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)

Earthquake Centennial Picnic at Precita Park – Hear stories about original earthquake shack dwellers and meet actual shack dwellers. Dress in Edwardian costume. Help build a recreation of an earthquake shack! Cosponsored by Bernal Heights Preservation.
Saturday, April 29,
Precita Park (between Folsom and Alabama streets).
Please call the Bernal Heights Branch Library at (415) 355-2810 for the time.

Other Related Items:

On the Same Page: San Francisco Reads
April Selection: A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906, by Simon Winchester.

San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection - Photos of the Great Fire and Earthquake of 1906
The San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection contains over 1,700 digitized images of the 1906 Earthquake and Fire. These images depict scenes taken both during and after the three-day event, and include neighborhoods, buildings, refugee camps, and the process of reconstruction.

1906 Earthquake and Fire Online Resources
An exploration of websites and databases depicting how the major natural disaster affected the people and development of San Francisco.

All exhibitions and programs at the Library are free.
Call (415) 557-4277 for more information.