1 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:05,560 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. Coming up soon, we have an episode on 2 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:08,160 Speaker 1: someone whose life took a big turn thanks in part 3 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:11,800 Speaker 1: to the earthquake and fires that struck San Francisco in 4 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:16,239 Speaker 1: nineteen oh six, although that happened before this person was born, 5 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:19,440 Speaker 1: and he also was not born in the United States. 6 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:22,599 Speaker 1: So we are bringing our episode on this earthquake in 7 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:26,760 Speaker 1: fires out as Today's Saturday Classic. This originally came out 8 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:33,000 Speaker 1: November thirteenth, twenty nineteen. Welcome to Stuff You Missed in 9 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 1: History Class, a production of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to 10 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:47,159 Speaker 1: the podcast. I'm Holly Frye and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. Tracy. 11 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:49,840 Speaker 1: As you know, I recently took a couple days off 12 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:52,040 Speaker 1: sort of. I still did some work, but I went 13 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:56,320 Speaker 1: to one of my very favorite cities, San Francisco. Uh huh. 14 00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 1: I go to San Francisco with some regularity, and this 15 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:01,360 Speaker 1: has not happened to me before, but I noticed on 16 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:05,400 Speaker 1: this recent visit one of the city's historical moments kept 17 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:08,399 Speaker 1: coming up in conversation in a variety of different places, 18 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 1: like with our lift drivers, or like someone would bring 19 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:13,280 Speaker 1: it up at dinner and I was like, did somebody 20 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:16,960 Speaker 1: run an article and it also came up at the 21 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,319 Speaker 1: bed and breakfast where I like to stay when I'm 22 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 1: in San Francisco, which is the Monte Cristo, which I'm 23 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:24,639 Speaker 1: in love with, and that BnB has its own really 24 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 1: fun history. It was a bordello and a saloon and 25 00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:30,320 Speaker 1: then a speakeasy before it started its life as a hotel. 26 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:32,480 Speaker 1: But one of the interesting things about it, and what 27 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:34,839 Speaker 1: had come up in conversation with one of the staff 28 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 1: while I was eating breakfast, was that it had been 29 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:39,240 Speaker 1: built in the eighteen seventies and it was one of 30 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,080 Speaker 1: the buildings that survived the nineteen oh six earthquake and 31 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:45,039 Speaker 1: fires that destroyed so much of the city, Like it 32 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:47,880 Speaker 1: came very close to this building, but it remained intact. 33 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 1: And in two thousand and one, previous host Sarah and 34 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 1: Deblina did an episode called History's Unforgettable Fires, and on 35 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: that episode they talked about a handful of significant fire incidents, 36 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:01,920 Speaker 1: including the fire that ravaged Sam Francisco in nineteen oh six. 37 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: But today I thought it might be worth giving this 38 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:07,200 Speaker 1: particular incident a little bit more attention, because whenever you're 39 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: doing one of those survey episodes, you can't get really 40 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:13,600 Speaker 1: in depth on anything, the earthquake itself remains geologically significant 41 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:15,640 Speaker 1: in terms of resulting learnings, and we're going to talk 42 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 1: a little bit about that coming up and the devastation 43 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: that followed. It really does serve as a terrifying example 44 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:25,360 Speaker 1: of just how quickly a really well established city and 45 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: its infrastructure can be completely leveled. And the city was 46 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: so damaged by this whole series of events that Jack 47 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:35,840 Speaker 1: London wrote after all of the events we're talking about today, quote, 48 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:38,959 Speaker 1: surrender was complete, essentially, like the city was just gone. 49 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:43,120 Speaker 1: And there is also an important story here about the 50 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:47,079 Speaker 1: city's immigrant population, specifically the residents of Chinatown, which had 51 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 1: grown into a very well established and very prosperous community 52 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:52,720 Speaker 1: by nineteen oh six, And we are going to get 53 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:55,120 Speaker 1: to all of that, but first, to set the stage, 54 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:56,960 Speaker 1: we're going to talk just a little bit about San 55 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: Francisco's beginnings as a city. Of nineteen oh six, San 56 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:05,440 Speaker 1: Francisco had an estimated population of about four hundred thousand people, 57 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 1: so it was a pretty bustling city, but like a 58 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:12,040 Speaker 1: lot of cities, it did not start with a lot 59 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:14,800 Speaker 1: of planning. Of course, there were native people in the 60 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: area long before any Europeans got there, but Lieutenant Jose 61 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:23,640 Speaker 1: Joaquin Moraga, who Spanish, was working with Reverend Francisco pau 62 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:26,920 Speaker 1: and they're credited with establishing a military post at the 63 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:30,080 Speaker 1: tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in seventeen seventy six, 64 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: and over time that the outpost evolved into the Presidio. 65 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: William Anthony Richardson, an Englishman, is cited as putting the 66 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:41,480 Speaker 1: first dwelling in the area, and that happened in eighteen 67 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:46,040 Speaker 1: thirty five, So sometime after that initial military post, that dwelling, 68 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 1: as it's sometimes referred to, was really just a simple tent, 69 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 1: but a settlement kind of grew around Richardson's tent, and 70 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:56,080 Speaker 1: that settlement was known as Yureba Buena. And the US 71 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 1: government was already well aware of the potential importance of 72 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: California It's the Bay area, because it is very good 73 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:06,040 Speaker 1: place to do trade from because that same year that 74 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:09,280 Speaker 1: Richardson started his settlement, the US was trying to buy 75 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:12,680 Speaker 1: that land from Mexico. The United States gained control of 76 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:16,440 Speaker 1: northern California eleven years later during the Mexican American War. 77 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:20,320 Speaker 1: Here Ba Buena was renamed San Francisco. In early eighteen 78 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:22,479 Speaker 1: forty seven, and then, of course, two years later the 79 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 1: coastal town was gripped by the gold rush. That led 80 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: to a huge growth period as thousands of people relocated 81 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:31,000 Speaker 1: to the city in a very sort of amount of time, 82 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:34,080 Speaker 1: hoping to strike it rich. Yeah, that's come up on 83 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: the show a number of times, just how quickly there 84 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:39,960 Speaker 1: was this huge population influx to San Francisco and the 85 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:43,839 Speaker 1: surrounding areas, and that haphazard nature of the city's growth 86 00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:46,880 Speaker 1: meant that it was pretty organic in its structure. More 87 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:48,840 Speaker 1: to the point, there just really wasn't much in the 88 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:52,039 Speaker 1: way of city planning, so things like utilities and neighborhood 89 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:55,440 Speaker 1: layouts were developed over the years on the fly, and 90 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: this was something that people recognized as risky. For example, 91 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:01,479 Speaker 1: if you listened to our episode on Levi Strauss a 92 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 1: while back, who died several years before the events that 93 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:06,920 Speaker 1: we're talking about today, you might recall that he was 94 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:11,599 Speaker 1: already in his lifetime advocating for building regulations that would 95 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:14,000 Speaker 1: reduce the risk of fire spreading in the city of 96 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:17,039 Speaker 1: a fire broke out, because they already recognized were kind 97 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:20,320 Speaker 1: of tightly packed and not really well planned out. So 98 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:22,919 Speaker 1: this was an issue that was being discussed among city 99 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:26,279 Speaker 1: and business leaders long before the precarious nature of the 100 00:05:26,279 --> 00:05:30,400 Speaker 1: city's infrastructure was so deeply challenged and ultimately collapsed by 101 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:33,359 Speaker 1: the nineteen oh six quake. On the morning of April eighteenth, 102 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,280 Speaker 1: nineteen oh six, an event happened that lasted less than 103 00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:39,599 Speaker 1: a minute but changed the city really forever. At five 104 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:42,640 Speaker 1: twelve am, the earthquake started and it was over at 105 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:46,240 Speaker 1: five point thirteen. The actual length of the quake is 106 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 1: listed as forty five seconds to a minute, depending on 107 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:51,800 Speaker 1: the source and where the report was coming from. The 108 00:05:51,839 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 1: epicenter of the quake was offshore, and shocks were felt 109 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:56,640 Speaker 1: as far north as the mid Oregon coast all the 110 00:05:56,640 --> 00:05:59,440 Speaker 1: way down to Los Angeles, and it also traveled inland 111 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:02,440 Speaker 1: all the way in its full length of the rupture. 112 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:05,280 Speaker 1: That's the area of slip on the Earth's crust that's 113 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 1: been determined to have been two hundred ninety six miles 114 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 1: or four hundred and seventy seven kilometers, and the magnitude 115 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:15,160 Speaker 1: has been estimated at a number of different numbers, from 116 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:17,840 Speaker 1: seven point seven to eight point three on the Richter scale, 117 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:21,799 Speaker 1: and there were immediate collapses of buildings throughout the city. 118 00:06:21,839 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 1: When this quake happened, the California Theater and Hotel on 119 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:28,760 Speaker 1: Bush Street lost structural integrity and its dome fell into 120 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:32,680 Speaker 1: the nearby fire station. It mortally wounded the fire chief engineer, 121 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 1: Dennis T. Sullivan. He died several days later of his injuries. 122 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:39,760 Speaker 1: Another fire station on Howard Street also had part of 123 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:43,320 Speaker 1: a hotel collapse into it, killing fireman James O'Neill, and 124 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:45,720 Speaker 1: there were a lot of other fatalities as well as 125 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:49,280 Speaker 1: buildings went down, but losing fire personnel would prove to 126 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:53,600 Speaker 1: be a particularly devastating problem. So the quake caused structural 127 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:57,400 Speaker 1: damage all through the city, but the situation became exponentially 128 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:01,400 Speaker 1: more grave immediately afterward. The city's gas lines had been 129 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:04,880 Speaker 1: ruptured and that set off a series of fires. To 130 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:08,360 Speaker 1: make matters worse, San Francisco's water mains had also been 131 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:11,559 Speaker 1: seriously damaged in the quake, and that made the task 132 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:14,920 Speaker 1: of fighting the fire just that much more difficult. Plus, 133 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,480 Speaker 1: the city had lost a lot of firemen in the earthquake. Initially, Yeah, 134 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:20,080 Speaker 1: we're going to talk about it a little bit later, 135 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:23,960 Speaker 1: but Sullivan in particular was a particularly hard loss. Two 136 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:27,080 Speaker 1: fires started right after the quake, one south of Market 137 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:29,200 Speaker 1: and the other north of Market Street near the water. 138 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:32,640 Speaker 1: And the following day two additional fires began, one on 139 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:36,520 Speaker 1: Hayes Valley and another inner restaurant, And when the conditions 140 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 1: really helped, these various fires spread to the west and 141 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 1: then from there they got a stronghold and they just 142 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 1: kept spreading. At six thirty am on eighteenth, which was 143 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:47,840 Speaker 1: a little more than an hour after the quake started, 144 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:51,240 Speaker 1: all the troops from Fort Mason were requested to report 145 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:55,680 Speaker 1: to the Mayor, Eugene Smith's immediately. Within about thirty minutes, 146 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:58,360 Speaker 1: army soldiers were arriving at the Hall of Justice and 147 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:01,760 Speaker 1: were assigned patrol duties around the city to assess damage 148 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 1: and to offer help. Just as the troops were getting 149 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 1: started with this effort, an aftershock hit at eight fourteen am, 150 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:10,960 Speaker 1: and a lot of buildings that had remained standing after 151 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,320 Speaker 1: the main quake a few hours earlier had sustained significant 152 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:18,320 Speaker 1: structural damage and they collapsed in this aftershock. Then at 153 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: ten am, more troops arrived. These were coming from Fort 154 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:25,280 Speaker 1: McDowell on Angel Island. The US Navy cruiser the USS 155 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:28,800 Speaker 1: Chicago received word around the same time about the situation. 156 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:31,760 Speaker 1: That was unfolding in San Francisco, it made its way 157 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:34,160 Speaker 1: to the city. This was the first use of a 158 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:38,680 Speaker 1: telegraph to communicate a natural disaster. The USS Chicago would 159 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:42,200 Speaker 1: become instrumental in the evacuation of the city's residents, and 160 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:44,520 Speaker 1: then the USS Prebble made its way to the city 161 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:48,920 Speaker 1: too to offer medical assistance. Fires continued to claim buildings 162 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:53,600 Speaker 1: throughout the city, including government buildings, the financial district, fire stations, 163 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:57,720 Speaker 1: and hospitals. As the fire spread, crews worked frantically to 164 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:00,599 Speaker 1: try to move people to safety and combat blazes that 165 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:04,079 Speaker 1: were starting at this point all over the city. Coming up, 166 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:06,640 Speaker 1: we are going to talk about a really bad move 167 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:08,720 Speaker 1: that was made in an effort to combat the fires, 168 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:10,560 Speaker 1: and we'll get to that after we have a quick 169 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:23,400 Speaker 1: sponsor break. In the afternoon of April eighteenth, so at 170 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:25,679 Speaker 1: this point several hours had passed since the quake and 171 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:28,800 Speaker 1: the fires were beginning. A decision was made which has 172 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:31,120 Speaker 1: come to be seen pretty clearly as one of the 173 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:35,720 Speaker 1: worst possible moves. The plan was to dynamite some buildings 174 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:37,960 Speaker 1: in the city to create a fire break. So the 175 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:40,720 Speaker 1: idea was that if some buildings were destroyed before the 176 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:43,480 Speaker 1: fire got to them, They then could not catch fire 177 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:46,760 Speaker 1: and continue to spread the fire, and thus a barrier 178 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:49,280 Speaker 1: around the blaze would be created. This was actually an 179 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:52,160 Speaker 1: approach that the fire chief engineer, Dennis T. Sullivan that 180 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:54,640 Speaker 1: we talked about earlier, had been an advocate of. He 181 00:09:54,679 --> 00:09:57,560 Speaker 1: had been talking about this long before this incident happened 182 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:00,400 Speaker 1: as a way to potentially fight big fires, and he 183 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:02,960 Speaker 1: would have been the one to execute such an idea, 184 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:06,199 Speaker 1: but because he was dying, he could not, and there 185 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 1: weren't other people on hand with his level of expertise, 186 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:13,160 Speaker 1: so proceeding without him and without a real understanding and 187 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:16,240 Speaker 1: knowledge of how to do this turned out to be disastrous. Yeah, 188 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:18,160 Speaker 1: and this, like, this is not a technique that he 189 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:20,079 Speaker 1: was just making up. This is something that had been 190 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:24,600 Speaker 1: used in other historical fires, in some cases successfully. Yeah, 191 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:26,880 Speaker 1: and he had done a lot of research about it 192 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:30,800 Speaker 1: to figure out how it would work in their city. Right, So, like, 193 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:33,840 Speaker 1: the core idea of it was not the issue. The 194 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:37,640 Speaker 1: Army had provided the fire department with explosives, but the 195 00:10:37,679 --> 00:10:41,200 Speaker 1: type of explosive that was provided was black gunpowder, and 196 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:44,600 Speaker 1: the novice use of those explosives did not really level 197 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:47,400 Speaker 1: the buildings as intended. It was more like it blew 198 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:50,520 Speaker 1: them apart, and it sent burning shrapnel through the air. 199 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:53,800 Speaker 1: That was in a city that was already engulfed in flame, 200 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:57,400 Speaker 1: with water nearly impossible to come by. It's easy to 201 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:00,600 Speaker 1: see how this really went wrong. And some cases the 202 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:03,880 Speaker 1: soldiers who were tasked with facing the blaze took out 203 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:09,040 Speaker 1: buildings using artillery. These incorrect methods just kept being used 204 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:12,000 Speaker 1: while the city was burning, so as the firefighters and 205 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:15,720 Speaker 1: the soldiers retreated from the spreading flames, they kept trying 206 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:18,719 Speaker 1: to blow up the areas they had just left, not 207 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:22,800 Speaker 1: realizing that they were making the whole situation worse. Yeah, 208 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:25,240 Speaker 1: it's one of those things where it's a directive given 209 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:28,440 Speaker 1: to people who don't have any training. So it's not 210 00:11:28,559 --> 00:11:32,000 Speaker 1: as though they understood right why, like, oh, this is 211 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:34,120 Speaker 1: the wrong way to do this, Like nobody really knew. 212 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:37,120 Speaker 1: They were really grasping at straws, and the fire made 213 00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:40,120 Speaker 1: its way through knob Hill and Chinatown, North Beach and 214 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:43,880 Speaker 1: the Mission District. As residents fled, often with nothing but 215 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:46,920 Speaker 1: the clothes that they wore. The dead that could be 216 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:50,280 Speaker 1: collected that were not trapped in buildings were brought to 217 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:53,480 Speaker 1: public squares and parks. Some were buried in those same 218 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:56,320 Speaker 1: spaces because there was just nowhere else to take them. 219 00:11:56,440 --> 00:12:00,360 Speaker 1: As the casualties mounted. Charles B. Sedgwick, who was editor 220 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:03,720 Speaker 1: of the periodical The British Californian, wrote an account of 221 00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:06,520 Speaker 1: his experience in the earthquake and fire in the nineteen 222 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:10,160 Speaker 1: oh six American Builder's Review, and his account is really fascinating. 223 00:12:10,559 --> 00:12:13,880 Speaker 1: He writes candidly about the severity of the destruction and 224 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:17,480 Speaker 1: his personal revelation that what was happening was a historic 225 00:12:17,559 --> 00:12:21,720 Speaker 1: level tragedy. He mentions like other historical moments where cities 226 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:23,800 Speaker 1: have been destroyed, and kind of being very aware that 227 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:27,360 Speaker 1: this was happening where he was. But he also writes 228 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:29,960 Speaker 1: this quote that night I climbed to the summit of 229 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:33,120 Speaker 1: Russian Hill to view the conflagration, and never shall I 230 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:37,120 Speaker 1: forget the sight. It was weirdly beautiful. A thousand banners 231 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:40,120 Speaker 1: of flame were streaming in the cloudless sky from spires 232 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:43,560 Speaker 1: and domes and lofty roofs, the underseene being a sea 233 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:47,360 Speaker 1: of glowing gold and tumultuous but brilliant, beyond anything I 234 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:51,160 Speaker 1: had ever seen or conceived of, and magnificent in the 235 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:55,320 Speaker 1: irresistible power, its great flaming waves, leaping upon or dashing 236 00:12:55,320 --> 00:13:00,600 Speaker 1: against the strongest creations of man and obliterating them. As 237 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:03,680 Speaker 1: of one hundred battles in progress with myriad giant guns 238 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:07,439 Speaker 1: in play, told of the fierce, relentless destruction as towering 239 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:12,160 Speaker 1: buildings eaten loose, toppled and fell, or were lifted skyward 240 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:15,840 Speaker 1: by thundering dynamite to then scatter and drop, throwing up 241 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:19,640 Speaker 1: huge fiery splashes from the burning sea. But he also 242 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:22,200 Speaker 1: writes in this account that during the fires and even 243 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:25,960 Speaker 1: during the evacuation, most people seemed pretty upbeat and cheerful. 244 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:28,240 Speaker 1: They helped each other out as much as they could. 245 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:31,760 Speaker 1: This was almost undoubtedly because they were in shock and 246 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:35,319 Speaker 1: having to focus on the basic tasks of rescue and survival, 247 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:38,199 Speaker 1: and Sedgwick wrote quote, few of the people who went 248 00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:41,439 Speaker 1: through the San Francisco experience will ever again know fear. 249 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:44,280 Speaker 1: I think. He also wrote that in the aftermath, when 250 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:47,680 Speaker 1: the fires were finally put out, then the emotional crash 251 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:50,240 Speaker 1: came as people saw how much they really had lost. 252 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:53,360 Speaker 1: But this is a different take on the situation than 253 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:57,480 Speaker 1: most accounts suggest. So other accounts describe the scene in 254 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:01,120 Speaker 1: San Francisco as completely chaotic, not this of oddly pleasant 255 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:05,360 Speaker 1: experience that Sedgwick had, with looting and other lawless behavior 256 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:08,720 Speaker 1: a primary concern. This was so worrying that the mayor 257 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:13,079 Speaker 1: issued the following proclamation on day one of the disaster. Quote, 258 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:16,199 Speaker 1: the federal troops, the members of the regular police force, 259 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:19,840 Speaker 1: and all special police officers have been authorized by me 260 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:23,440 Speaker 1: to kill any and all persons found engaged in looting 261 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:26,680 Speaker 1: or in the commission of any other crime. I have 262 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:29,880 Speaker 1: directed all the gas and electric lighting companies not to 263 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:32,640 Speaker 1: turn on gas or electricity until I order them to 264 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:35,600 Speaker 1: do so. You may, therefore expect the city to remain 265 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:39,960 Speaker 1: in darkness for an indefinite time. I request all citizens 266 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:43,080 Speaker 1: to remain at home from darkness until daylight every night 267 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:47,160 Speaker 1: until order is restored. I warn all citizens of the 268 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:51,080 Speaker 1: danger of fire from damaged or destroyed chimneys, broken or 269 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:55,320 Speaker 1: leaking gas pipes or fixtures, or any like cause. Law 270 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:59,000 Speaker 1: enforcement was so concerned that drunkenness would lead to violence 271 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:02,800 Speaker 1: that many Si Zoon owners found their supply seized and destroyed. 272 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:06,520 Speaker 1: It's estimated that thirty thousand dollars worth of liquor was destroyed. 273 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:08,880 Speaker 1: As this preemptive move to try to keep the peace. 274 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:12,520 Speaker 1: Later on, those saloon owners made claims for restitution to 275 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:15,240 Speaker 1: the government, and by the time the fires were put out, 276 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:18,400 Speaker 1: which only happened after three days of the city burning, 277 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:21,640 Speaker 1: San Francisco was obviously not the city that it had 278 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:25,320 Speaker 1: been on April eighteenth. Before the earthquake, five hundred and 279 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:29,200 Speaker 1: eight city blocks covering four point seven square miles had burned. 280 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:32,160 Speaker 1: More than twenty eight thousand of the city's buildings had 281 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:36,040 Speaker 1: been destroyed by fire, more than three thousand people had died, 282 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:39,320 Speaker 1: and of that population of four hundred thousand that we 283 00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:43,880 Speaker 1: mentioned earlier, two hundred fifty thousand were left homeless. There 284 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:47,120 Speaker 1: was an estimated four hundred million dollars worth of damage. 285 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:50,080 Speaker 1: You'll see various different numbers, some a little higher than that, 286 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:52,760 Speaker 1: but that is nineteen oh six value. That is not 287 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:57,160 Speaker 1: a number adjusted for modern equivalents. The ferry building had 288 00:15:57,160 --> 00:15:59,840 Speaker 1: been saved by the US Navy, so ferries were able 289 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:02,400 Speaker 1: to get people out of the city, and the railroad 290 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:05,320 Speaker 1: suspended fair collection while they took people to other towns 291 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:08,240 Speaker 1: for refuge. A lot of people stayed and started clean 292 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:10,120 Speaker 1: up as soon as they could return to their property. 293 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 1: While this devastation led some to proclaim that San Francisco 294 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:16,640 Speaker 1: was gone for good, that was obviously not the case. 295 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:21,440 Speaker 1: We mentioned San Francisco's founding an explosive and organic growth 296 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:24,480 Speaker 1: at the beginning of the episode. Because of its unplanned nature. 297 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:27,400 Speaker 1: Of course, the city's infrastructure and layout had not really 298 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:31,360 Speaker 1: had much foresought. In the aftermath of the devastation, plans 299 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:34,600 Speaker 1: were made to rebuild with a clearer and grander vision 300 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 1: for the city, but government officials were feeling they need 301 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:40,160 Speaker 1: to prove their city's resilience, and they rushed a lot 302 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:43,960 Speaker 1: of this work. Also, things became mired in bribes and 303 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:47,800 Speaker 1: underhanded dealings during the process that eventually led to a 304 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:51,880 Speaker 1: series of trials known as the San Francisco Graft Trials. 305 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:55,080 Speaker 1: I'm sure outside of the scope of today's episode, but 306 00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:59,520 Speaker 1: Holly assures me it will be a show in a future. 307 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:02,520 Speaker 1: There's no way I can't do it. There's like shots 308 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:05,480 Speaker 1: fired in a courtroom. There's like a crazy It's a 309 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:09,920 Speaker 1: really good story, full of high drama and illicit behavior. 310 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:13,040 Speaker 1: But it is also because of the events of nineteen 311 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:15,840 Speaker 1: oh six that the areas outside of San Francisco grew 312 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:20,600 Speaker 1: significantly Oakland, Fremont, San Jose, and other areas all experienced 313 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:24,240 Speaker 1: population growth, first as people moved there away from the fire, 314 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:26,960 Speaker 1: although San Jose had damage of its own, and then 315 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:30,080 Speaker 1: as the Bay area rebuilt, more people moved there from 316 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:32,240 Speaker 1: outside that had not been there in the first place, 317 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:35,480 Speaker 1: and it really did have this large explosion of population again, 318 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:38,119 Speaker 1: but this time with a little more planning. But this 319 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:41,639 Speaker 1: growth came with its own problems. Racism was pretty rampant. 320 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:44,159 Speaker 1: There were some areas that were very clear that they 321 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:46,800 Speaker 1: were not going to be welcoming to, for example, immigrants 322 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:50,360 Speaker 1: or people of color. So it wasn't as though everything 323 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:54,560 Speaker 1: was rebuilt in a utopia where everybody was cool with 324 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:57,040 Speaker 1: each other. But it was a huge time of growth 325 00:17:57,040 --> 00:17:59,879 Speaker 1: for the Bay area and the city surrounding San Francisco. 326 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:02,159 Speaker 1: The other big thing to come out of this was 327 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:05,080 Speaker 1: a sudden focus on the scientific community on the San 328 00:18:05,119 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 1: Andreas Fault system. The United States first seismographs had been 329 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:12,160 Speaker 1: in use for less than twenty years. Other countries around 330 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:15,199 Speaker 1: the globe had been researching the science of earthquakes, but 331 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:17,960 Speaker 1: outside of a pretty small group of researchers, this wasn't 332 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:20,840 Speaker 1: a significant area of study in the United States. Yet 333 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:24,119 Speaker 1: the earthquake of nineteen oh six changed that though, And 334 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:26,960 Speaker 1: to be clear, some of the seeming slowness in this 335 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:30,080 Speaker 1: space was because seismology, even abroad, was still in its 336 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:34,679 Speaker 1: very early stages. H German scientist Alfred Wegener, who you 337 00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:38,199 Speaker 1: are going to hear more about in coming episodes, was 338 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 1: still six years away from introducing the idea of continental drift, 339 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:45,080 Speaker 1: and the theory of plate tectonics wasn't developed until the 340 00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:48,560 Speaker 1: nineteen sixties. So even though other countries were working in 341 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:52,480 Speaker 1: earthquake study, everyone was still really in the very beginnings 342 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:58,040 Speaker 1: of this science. Yeah, by total coincidence, researching an episode 343 00:18:58,119 --> 00:19:03,120 Speaker 1: on Alfred Beginer right now as we speak, not literally 344 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:05,240 Speaker 1: while we're in the studio, but as soon as we're done, 345 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:08,280 Speaker 1: I'm getting back to it. So following this earthquake, UC 346 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:12,960 Speaker 1: Berkeley Geology Department head Andrew C. Lawson started amassing data 347 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:16,640 Speaker 1: and he was named chair of the State Earthquake Investigation 348 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:21,720 Speaker 1: Commission was established by California Governor George C. Pardy. That 349 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:24,879 Speaker 1: commission published a full report after two years of work, 350 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:27,640 Speaker 1: and that's generally referred to as the laws In Report. 351 00:19:28,359 --> 00:19:31,800 Speaker 1: The report set the bar for scientific investigation and included 352 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:36,080 Speaker 1: work from twenty different scientists. It's a really thorough compilation 353 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:39,159 Speaker 1: of data, including maps and photos of the damage and 354 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:41,720 Speaker 1: measurements of the movement of the earth around the San 355 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:46,000 Speaker 1: Andreas fault. Yeah, as a complete science sidebar, I will 356 00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:49,959 Speaker 1: mention that where the epicenter was determined by research has 357 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:53,960 Speaker 1: shifted a few times over the years as our scientific 358 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:56,920 Speaker 1: knowledge has gotten a little bit more refined along the way. 359 00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:00,840 Speaker 1: But really with the loss and report, all of these 360 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:04,280 Speaker 1: ideas started, and all of this research really began, and 361 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:08,400 Speaker 1: the report formed the basis of earthquake knowledge related to California, 362 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:13,320 Speaker 1: and it also informed future construction and scientific observational guidelines. 363 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:17,240 Speaker 1: So that meant that earthquake hazards were reduced because predictive 364 00:20:17,280 --> 00:20:20,000 Speaker 1: modeling was developed as a consequence to warn people of 365 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:23,880 Speaker 1: impending quakes, and buildings were made to better with stand shaking. 366 00:20:24,119 --> 00:20:26,480 Speaker 1: And it really all goes back to the scientific community 367 00:20:26,560 --> 00:20:29,640 Speaker 1: really rallying right after this event. Coming up, we'll talk 368 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:33,040 Speaker 1: about a very different topic, and that's how racist attitudes 369 00:20:33,119 --> 00:20:36,159 Speaker 1: toward Chinatown played out in the aftermath of the nineteen 370 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:39,000 Speaker 1: oh six quake. But first we will pause and have 371 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:50,119 Speaker 1: another quick word from one of our sponsors. In the 372 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:53,119 Speaker 1: wake of the earthquake and fire, the displaced population of 373 00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:57,240 Speaker 1: Chinatown in particular based a really harrowing situation. The whole 374 00:20:57,240 --> 00:20:59,720 Speaker 1: city was in a bad state. People were displaced, more 375 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:02,119 Speaker 1: than half of the city had lost their homes. Water 376 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:05,440 Speaker 1: was very difficult to get. But Chinatown had a whole 377 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:08,480 Speaker 1: different problem. And we've talked on the show before about 378 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:10,800 Speaker 1: the Page Act of eighteen seventy five and the Chinese 379 00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:13,760 Speaker 1: Exclusion Act of eighteen eighty two, both of which were 380 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:17,520 Speaker 1: intended to stop immigration from China to the US, and 381 00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:20,760 Speaker 1: as the initial swell of the Gold Rush's prosperity had ebbed, 382 00:21:20,840 --> 00:21:24,959 Speaker 1: animosity toward immigrants had swelled, particularly Chinese people that were 383 00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:28,760 Speaker 1: living in California and San Francisco's Chinatown was viewed with 384 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:33,720 Speaker 1: suspicion and outright hostility. This neighborhood was destroyed in the 385 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:37,840 Speaker 1: earthquake and estimated fifteen thousand of its residents lost their 386 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:41,879 Speaker 1: homes in the disaster. It offered city officials this chance 387 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:45,360 Speaker 1: to try to push the residents of Chinatown out permanently 388 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:48,920 Speaker 1: and take over their neighborhood's real estate, which was really lucrative. 389 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:53,760 Speaker 1: Most of Chinatown's displaced population sought refuge in nearby Oakland, 390 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:57,240 Speaker 1: that also had its own well established Chinatown, but the 391 00:21:57,240 --> 00:22:00,760 Speaker 1: people that stayed behind were segregated away from other refugees 392 00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:04,240 Speaker 1: at the presidio. Meanwhile, all the other residents were allowed 393 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:08,480 Speaker 1: to return to their property immediately after the fire was extinguished. Yeah, 394 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:12,080 Speaker 1: but those Chinese residents were not. They continued to be held. 395 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:15,720 Speaker 1: City officials wanted to keep the displaced residents away from 396 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:19,879 Speaker 1: their neighborhood to prevent rebuilding efforts in Chinatown. The city 397 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:24,320 Speaker 1: government established a General Committee for the Chinese Relocation with 398 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:27,159 Speaker 1: the intent to determine exactly what to do with this 399 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:31,000 Speaker 1: entire community of people that the city no longer wanted, 400 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:34,199 Speaker 1: and one possibility was to establish a new area for 401 00:22:34,280 --> 00:22:37,639 Speaker 1: them outside the city limits. But even early on, it 402 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:40,639 Speaker 1: was recognized that this was not the best idea because 403 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:43,280 Speaker 1: there was a lot of business done among the occupants 404 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:46,760 Speaker 1: of Chinatown as well as tourism, and that included taxes 405 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:49,639 Speaker 1: that the city desperately wanted to keep collecting. It was 406 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:51,960 Speaker 1: going to need that money as part of the rebuilding effort. 407 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:55,600 Speaker 1: And while this isn't in any way suggesting that racism 408 00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:57,919 Speaker 1: was not an issue in all of this. There is 409 00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:01,000 Speaker 1: an interesting thing that happens where there's a mentality shift 410 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:04,000 Speaker 1: that's noted. It came up in a paper that I 411 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:08,160 Speaker 1: was reading, where this is the first time on record 412 00:23:08,359 --> 00:23:12,199 Speaker 1: that people kind of acknowledged that instead of thinking that 413 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:15,720 Speaker 1: Chinese immigrants were hurting the economy, they were recognizing that 414 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:18,560 Speaker 1: they were a significant and important part of the city's 415 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:22,680 Speaker 1: financial well being. That was something that Chinatown's residents already knew, 416 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:26,120 Speaker 1: and they weren't passively waiting to see what city officials 417 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:29,160 Speaker 1: would do. They immediately spoke out against what was happening. 418 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:33,120 Speaker 1: Through their relationships with the Protestant and Catholic churches, which 419 00:23:33,119 --> 00:23:37,080 Speaker 1: offered spaces to gather, the residents of Chinatown got organized. 420 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:40,359 Speaker 1: Leaders from the Chinese community gave statements to the press 421 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:42,600 Speaker 1: that made it clear that they would fight efforts to 422 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:46,200 Speaker 1: relocate them and that they were as a community united 423 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:49,240 Speaker 1: in this stance. On May first, nineteen oh six, the 424 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:52,160 Speaker 1: San Francisco Call ran an article. This contained some very 425 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:54,959 Speaker 1: outdated language in terms of how Chinese people were referred to, 426 00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:59,120 Speaker 1: but it reported quote, Celestial landowners hold that they cannot 427 00:23:59,119 --> 00:24:03,000 Speaker 1: be deprived of their rights fifty Chinese owners of property 428 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:06,080 Speaker 1: in Old Chinatown have decided to rebuild on the sites 429 00:24:06,119 --> 00:24:10,119 Speaker 1: where their buildings were destroyed. Legal advisors of the Chinese, 430 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:13,960 Speaker 1: the Chinese Consul General and the Vice Consul King Ao Yang, 431 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:16,719 Speaker 1: gave it as their opinion that the owners or lessees 432 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:20,080 Speaker 1: of land in Chinatown cannot be deprived of the right 433 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:23,400 Speaker 1: to rebuild if they so desired. It has been decided 434 00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:26,199 Speaker 1: to resist any attempt of the authorities to compel the 435 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:30,040 Speaker 1: Chinese to establish themselves at Hunter's Point against the wishes 436 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:33,560 Speaker 1: of those who owned property in the old territory. So 437 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:37,280 Speaker 1: throughout all this conflict, the Benevolent Six Companies, which she 438 00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:40,240 Speaker 1: might see, sided with a number of slightly different names, 439 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:43,080 Speaker 1: including the Chinese Six Companies, or by the name that 440 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:46,679 Speaker 1: it's known by today, which is Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association. 441 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:50,280 Speaker 1: I was vital to the organizational efforts. This group has 442 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:53,400 Speaker 1: its own complex and nuanced history, but by nineteen oh 443 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:56,399 Speaker 1: six it was working essentially as an internal support and 444 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,760 Speaker 1: umbrella organization for the people of Chinatown. We should mention 445 00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:02,520 Speaker 1: that the group had expanded outside of California, but their 446 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:05,920 Speaker 1: headquarters were still in San Francisco, and the Benevolent Six 447 00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:09,520 Speaker 1: Companies organization was able to leverage its position to reach 448 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:12,280 Speaker 1: out to the Chinese government, and as a result, a 449 00:25:12,359 --> 00:25:15,840 Speaker 1: delegation of Chinese officials made a public statement and requested 450 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:19,600 Speaker 1: a meeting with Governor Party, and their statement began. This 451 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:22,159 Speaker 1: is said in the point of view of the person 452 00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:24,919 Speaker 1: giving the statement quote, I have heard the report that 453 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:28,320 Speaker 1: the authorities intend to remove Chinatown, but I cannot believe it. 454 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:31,399 Speaker 1: America is a free country, and every man has a 455 00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:34,159 Speaker 1: right to occupy land which he owns, provided that he 456 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:37,879 Speaker 1: makes no nuisance. The Chinese government owns the lot on 457 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:41,520 Speaker 1: which the Chinese Consulate of San Francisco formerly stood, and 458 00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:44,720 Speaker 1: this site on Stockton Street will be used again. It 459 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:47,000 Speaker 1: is the intention of our government to build a new 460 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:49,679 Speaker 1: building on the property, paying strict attention to the new 461 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:53,320 Speaker 1: building regulations which may be framed. While that statement was 462 00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:56,879 Speaker 1: specifically about the consulate, the officials used their meeting with 463 00:25:56,960 --> 00:25:59,680 Speaker 1: the governor to make the convincing case that Chinatown was 464 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:03,359 Speaker 1: i were of significant tax revenue and trade. There was 465 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:06,480 Speaker 1: also a request that Chinese officials be allowed to enter 466 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:09,520 Speaker 1: the area of the presidio while the city's Chinese refugees 467 00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:12,960 Speaker 1: are being held under guard so those officials could administer aid. 468 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:16,919 Speaker 1: The city of San Francisco also started seeing more and 469 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:20,040 Speaker 1: more just how valuable the economic influence of its Chinese 470 00:26:20,119 --> 00:26:24,080 Speaker 1: residence was. Some business owners just got tired of this 471 00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:26,520 Speaker 1: whole situation and opted to leave the Bay Area and 472 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:29,760 Speaker 1: start over in new cities, often at the invitation of 473 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:33,840 Speaker 1: those cities. Delegates from Seattle and Portland had actually arrived 474 00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:37,320 Speaker 1: in San Francisco to reach out to displace Chinese business 475 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:40,120 Speaker 1: owners and offer them assistance if they wanted to move 476 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:42,879 Speaker 1: to their cities. That was a little bit scary for 477 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:46,359 Speaker 1: the leadership of San Francisco, who realized they were clearly 478 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:48,639 Speaker 1: getting rid of something that other people saw as an asset. 479 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:52,000 Speaker 1: And though this caused a permanent dip in the Chinese 480 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:54,879 Speaker 1: population of the city, one that actually took decades to 481 00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:58,760 Speaker 1: make up, the majority of Chinatown's residents really wanted more 482 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:01,520 Speaker 1: than anything to just continue you their lives in San Francisco, 483 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:04,919 Speaker 1: which they considered their home. At this point, after the 484 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:09,639 Speaker 1: lobbying efforts, protests, and statements that San Francisco's Chinese community 485 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:13,120 Speaker 1: would not just accept relocation, as well as a serious 486 00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:16,760 Speaker 1: realization about the fiscal value of keeping Chinatown inside the 487 00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:21,240 Speaker 1: city's municipality. City officials finally relented and allowed the residents 488 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:23,600 Speaker 1: of Chinatown to go back to their neighborhood and start 489 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:27,119 Speaker 1: rebuilding the new Chinatown. As most of the rebuilt San 490 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:30,080 Speaker 1: Francisco was built with city planning at the forefront to 491 00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:33,160 Speaker 1: make it better than before, and nineteen ten, right up 492 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:36,720 Speaker 1: with the San Francisco Call described the newly rebuilt Chinatown 493 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:40,960 Speaker 1: as quote barbarously gorgeous. Again, we're super not saying that 494 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:44,800 Speaker 1: racism toward the Chinese and other Asian communities was suddenly abandoned. 495 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:47,120 Speaker 1: I mean, the fact the word barbarously is right there 496 00:27:47,119 --> 00:27:51,720 Speaker 1: before gorgeous nods to that. Also, if you would like 497 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:54,680 Speaker 1: to hear more about this rebuilding process, there's a great 498 00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:58,200 Speaker 1: episode of ninety nine percent Invisible that's like specifically about 499 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:03,320 Speaker 1: how they redesigned town. Yeah, it's also interesting there are 500 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:07,040 Speaker 1: that entire article that calls it barbarously gorgeous. It's a 501 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:11,480 Speaker 1: weird series of praise and backhanded compliments where it's like 502 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:14,280 Speaker 1: it's so beautiful and amazing. I hope it doesn't start 503 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,720 Speaker 1: to stink like it did before. Like it's a really wow, 504 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:22,560 Speaker 1: strange horrible. While they're like acknowledging, how like what an 505 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:27,080 Speaker 1: astonishing and absolutely beautiful accomplishment it was in the rebuild, 506 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:30,879 Speaker 1: like they couldn't resist getting in some really grossed racist 507 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:37,240 Speaker 1: barbs along the way. Yeah, it's again fascinating. Even while 508 00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:40,640 Speaker 1: they acknowledge people's value, they still had to like get 509 00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:44,600 Speaker 1: in insults, which is a very strange and dismaying thing 510 00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:49,760 Speaker 1: to read. There is still information today that is surfacing 511 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:54,200 Speaker 1: about the fire and Chinatown. Specifically, in twenty fifteen, while 512 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:56,760 Speaker 1: construction was being done on the Uni light rail line 513 00:28:56,800 --> 00:29:00,560 Speaker 1: from Chinatown to South Market, in archaeological excavation that was 514 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:04,720 Speaker 1: running concurrently discovered a number of industrial showing machines that 515 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:08,440 Speaker 1: were manufactured in the late nineteenth century. That find was 516 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:12,200 Speaker 1: right in front of today's Chinese American Citizens Alliance building 517 00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:15,360 Speaker 1: on Stockton Street, and it offered insight into an area 518 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:18,520 Speaker 1: of the city that wasn't particularly well documented in nineteen 519 00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:22,360 Speaker 1: oh six. Even things in Chinatown that were documented have 520 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:26,440 Speaker 1: been pretty elusive from a historical standpoint, because the documentation 521 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:29,120 Speaker 1: of where things were was largely lost in the earthquake 522 00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:32,280 Speaker 1: and the fires that followed. City Hall, for example, had 523 00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:34,880 Speaker 1: burned to the ground, and with it went the census 524 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:40,680 Speaker 1: records and citizenship documentation. Yes, sorting that whole citizenship status 525 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:46,560 Speaker 1: situation out was its own big mess. There are certainly 526 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:51,080 Speaker 1: some indications that some people took advantage of that situation 527 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:53,000 Speaker 1: and could just say, like, no, I was a citizen, 528 00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:56,560 Speaker 1: but my records are burned. But also people that were 529 00:29:56,600 --> 00:30:00,240 Speaker 1: citizens had no proof either. It was a very strange time. 530 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:04,840 Speaker 1: But because this area was more than eight feet below 531 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:07,760 Speaker 1: the street where they found these sewing machines, that discovery 532 00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:11,640 Speaker 1: indicated that there was probably a basement factory that existed 533 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:14,360 Speaker 1: on that site, and this meant that researchers could use 534 00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:18,080 Speaker 1: that information to try to identify, from what records still 535 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:21,120 Speaker 1: do exist, the garment factory that had been there, and 536 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:25,160 Speaker 1: hopefully eventually identify some of the workers that had been there, 537 00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:28,920 Speaker 1: and thus create a little bit more robust historical record 538 00:30:29,040 --> 00:30:31,920 Speaker 1: of the neighborhood and its citizens. And that's something that 539 00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:35,280 Speaker 1: takes on considerable significance when you consider the treatment of 540 00:30:35,320 --> 00:30:39,440 Speaker 1: the displaced Chinese population after the disaster, and as the 541 00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:42,760 Speaker 1: city continues construction projects finds like these are more and 542 00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:46,920 Speaker 1: more difficult, and pre nineteen oh six discoveries are becoming 543 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:50,320 Speaker 1: ever more rare, but for Chinatown in particular, it's piecing 544 00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:53,280 Speaker 1: together a big, big gap in their record, so it 545 00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:55,960 Speaker 1: becomes more and more important. I don't know what the 546 00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:59,080 Speaker 1: status is on the research into what building was there 547 00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:01,840 Speaker 1: and finding out who the people that worked in that 548 00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:04,720 Speaker 1: factory where I couldn't I did not manage to dig 549 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:06,280 Speaker 1: up more info on it, So I'm not sure what 550 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:10,840 Speaker 1: status that that research is at, but it's fascinating. I 551 00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:15,600 Speaker 1: sure do love San Francisco's Chinatown. The eating I have 552 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:20,840 Speaker 1: done in San Francisco's Chinatown. That ninety nine percent Invisible 553 00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:24,520 Speaker 1: episode I think is called It's Chinatown. It's from twenty eighteen, 554 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:30,040 Speaker 1: I think, and it talks about how they designed that 555 00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:35,400 Speaker 1: Chinatown neighborhood and then how that influenced other cities Chinatown. 556 00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:40,120 Speaker 1: It's really interesting. Yeah, yeah, I mean San Francisco's Chinatown 557 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:47,040 Speaker 1: is often considered like the original United States Chinatown in 558 00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:50,320 Speaker 1: a metro area, and so it has been you said, 559 00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:56,320 Speaker 1: very influential throughout our country and others. Frankly, and again, 560 00:31:56,520 --> 00:31:58,880 Speaker 1: oh the food I have eaten there and I just 561 00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:01,360 Speaker 1: love it. It's really beautiful part of the city. It 562 00:32:01,360 --> 00:32:09,160 Speaker 1: makes me so happy, just to walk around there. Thanks 563 00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:11,840 Speaker 1: so much for joining us on this Saturday. Since this 564 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:13,920 Speaker 1: episode is out of the archive, if you heard an 565 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:16,880 Speaker 1: email address or a Facebook RL or something similar over 566 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:19,560 Speaker 1: the course of the show, that could be obsolete now. 567 00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:25,720 Speaker 1: Our current email address is History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 568 00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:29,400 Speaker 1: You can find us all over social media at missed Dhistory, 569 00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:32,720 Speaker 1: and you can subscribe to our show on Apple podcasts, 570 00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:36,400 Speaker 1: Google podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, and wherever else you listen 571 00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:41,560 Speaker 1: to podcasts. Stuff you missed in History Class is a 572 00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:46,000 Speaker 1: production of iHeartRadio. 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