AP Success - AP English Language: San Franciso Earthquake

Both the city and the Italian Colony were progressing

steadily when the 1906 earthquake and fire struck. San

Francisco had been razed by fires six times from 1849 to

1851, and each time the ruins had been swept away and the

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city rebuilt in a much finer fashion. This time, however,

the damage was far too extensive. The tragedy was compounded

by the great number of people and buildings which were

concentrated along the path of the fault.

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The destruction caused by the earthquake and the ensuing

fire in the Italian Quarter resulted in the complete loss of

the district. The Italian Quarter, as other parts of the

city hit by the disaster, had been reduced to a knotted,

tangled mass of bent steel frames, charred bricks, and

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ashes. In North Beach, only a small part of the community

remained. The Italians on Telegraph Hill had been luckier

than most, although they suffered losses since insurance

companies were not interested in insuring remote areas of

the Hill. The scattered fire hydrants and water cisterns

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were not to be found east of Dupont Street and the insurance

companies were not willing to gamble. It was reported in the

Italian press that some 20,000 Italians lost their homes in

the conflagration.

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One of the priests from the church of Sts. Peter and Paul

had managed to save the consecrated host, vestments, and

holy vessels and said Mass under the inflamed sky. After the

fires had died, the Italians' quietly returned to North

Beach and tried to find the confidence to rebuild Little

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Italy.

Approximately five to six hundred Italians had definitely

left San Francisco due to this tragic event, while over six

thousand new immigrants arrived and helped the survivors

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clear the ruins. Seven hundred building permits were granted

to North Beach Italian residents and businessmen to expedite

the construction of the Colony. Several real estate firms,

such as the J. Cuneo Company in North Beach, demonstrated

their confidence in the determination of the Italians by

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investing $400,000 in the reconstruction of apartments,

stores, flats, and business offices.

Temporary buildings were cheaply erected for immediate

occupancy, while the leaders of the Colony were busily

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engaged in drawing up plans for a modern Little Italy. The

buildings would be simple, small, neat, and airy, which

combined both functional and classical lines. One writer

described this new architecture as a reflection of the

Italian immigrants' acceptance of American ways. The most

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picturesque features of the flats and apartments were the

roof-top sun decks with flower gardens. Part of the planning

for the new Colony included the renaming of two of the main

thoroughfares of the Italian Quarter. In 1907, one-half of

Dupont Street was renamed Grant Avenue, and by the end of

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1908 all of Dupont became Grant Avenue. By 1910, Montgomery

Avenue was renamed Columbus Avenue and still retained its

fame as "The Avenue." The changes in these street names

denoted a change in the geographic character of the Italian

Quarter.

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"La Infernale Catastrofe de San Francisco," L'Italia, p. 1.

April 1906.

"The Frightful Calamity on the Pacific Coast," Leslie's

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Weekly, 102:418. May 3, 1906.

"La Ricostruzione de San Francisco," La Voce del Popolo, p.

1, May 28, 1906.

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"Facts and Figures Worthy of Consideration," L'Italia, p. 1.

April 12, 1906.

"J. Cuneo Co." L'Italia, July 2, 1906. In deposit, Bank of

America NT&SA Archives, San Francisco.

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"Curious Tour of City Leaves Telegraph Hill for Fisherman's

Wharf," San Francisco Chronicle, p. 12. Feb. 16, 1932.

Peixotto, Scribner's, 48:82. July, 1910.