The sun., 1890-07-20
CALIFORNIA AH,H,1ECrURE.

CdLIFOhNId III" H'1ECIJhE
| A Foolish Fear Of Earthquakes Has
Scared Every Ono but Mr.. DE Young.
Almost the first things that an Eastern man
notices on going into San Francisco are the
dusty streets the cable cars, and the fact I'll at
| tho houses are all built OF wood 1t is not
| strictly accurate, OF course. to say that the
| houses are all built Of wood. but so many OF
them are that the number Is practically all the
| houses there. The houses and buildings are
nearly all built. too, Of the same fretted and
bizarre style OF architecture. They are all
painted alike, too, dull lavender color. At
first sight the buildings seem to be made OF
iron or stone. They look exactly like the
painted iron buildings ono secs sometimes in
the East Probably more people in the
| East who have seen pictures OF California
and Market streets in San Francisco have
| imagined that tho long rows OF solid-lookinR
| buildings were iron or stono. The Eastern
man In California who inquiries about these
peculiarities in building is told several reasons
| for them. He is told. in the first place. that
the reason why the houses are painted alike
| is that they are painted that common color
which Is best adapted to conceal the stains OF
dust. The dust in san Francisco would make
| anything else except a lavender-colored house
! look dirty beyond comparison. OF late years,
people building now homes have got tired of
the old monotonou5 color, and occasionally
one secs in San Francisco house that IL
| painted brown or red or some other novel color.
| But these are comparatively rare.
| No one seems to know exactly why tho build
| in9s arc oil OF the same fretted and ginger
bread" architecture The term gingerbread"
is not used invidiously but only us tho most
| expressive one possible. The architecture is
not unhandsome. 1t is Of that style which
prevailed all over the country shortly after tho
close OF the war and which gradually shaded
into the Queen Anne style.
The buildings are almost all built OF the
famous California redwood. the wood of tho
big trees, and u Kind q wood found no.
whore but In California. The Californian tells
tho Eastern man that he uses this wood be-
cause 1t is really Just as good as iron without
being nearly so extensive. The wood is praG-
thing in the world to get the wood to burn.
and when 1t does burn 1t shoulders away Like
pieco OF punk, II is OF extremely strong and
tenacious FIBRE Will support great weights, aud
ties q any wood IN tic world. It is a. easily
therefore don't cost much, and Is rs cool.
81 ong, and durable as II 1t we're 6ui!t OF stone.
In San francisco anu California are mostly all
built Of wood and that reason, though 1t seems
II very cogent one, the Californian doesn't often
speak about to his Eastern friends. II is tho
fact that there are good many earthquakes
in California, and that when earthquakes come
along the Californian would rather TO in u
wooden house than II stone Vne. Two or three
times earthIuakes have done q good deal OF
fsieNel in California 6 that the there is an earth
quake somewhere in tho state all the time.
This Is not the case. however; and the fear
seoms a little unreasonabe NevertheIess.
they do have this. fear, and they don't like TO
Tho finest building now on the Pacific slope is
the one Just completed by NJ, II. De Young and
FSuSs@ FTancsco Gonicp The t2rdnice % don't nH % oc.
cupy tho entire, building. OF course. but the
building bears the Chr9HC!e,S name. Yet this
building antagoniZes the California traditions
at every point 1t Is built Of stone and brick.
rather than wood it has very many stories.
instead o. the usual ,hree or four. and it is sur
mounted by great. square clock tower that
seems about hnli mile hig.l. Cali,ornians
and the the structure is Indeed the EiTe
Tower OF tho Pacific coast now. Yet the "o!d
Californlans" shuddcr as they admire 1t ard
-" That man De Young is Just tempting Provi-
dence with that build ne. An earthquake will
stone affair and that clock tower in Finders"
The one man on the Pacific coast Who knows
George H. Davidson. the head OF the Govern
ment T Court survey on the Pacific Si9ne and the
there in 1s49., A syN reporter who was. recently |
son about the probable effect OF an earthquake |
upon the throMrie building. and upon build |
inIs like 1t anywhere in the country-in this |
/" think our people and people generally are
undny nertpr6ed on the subject OF Garth
that we can't have nne, tall stone or brick
buildings out here on the Pacific siope because
OF danger from earthquakes is an old and alb
surd tradition. ,Ihore Is no danger to we'll
eonsttructed buildings from, earthquakes In
New York need not be afraid Of your grand
E1uitable ana Washington and Produce EX-
change Gnildings I'm and others ike them. I've
most OF em hpppened out here. OF those earth
quakes only three did any considerable dam
aEe-tho earthquakes Of 1853 and 80 and 1865.
ThoSe earIhquaAes did WRECK, good many
buildings hero. But most Of these build
ings were the old, ilimsy adube structures.
reminlscences OF the Mexican lines. consisting
another. OF course | don't suppose that any
structure can be built so strong rs 10 resist u
great CONFUSION OF nature-a mighty catas-
trophe such as hapDenS only about once in Il
that any stone iron, or brick building, con
structed with moderate care. built in an honest
and decent manner can withstand any ordin-
ary earthquake shock A person can live in
such building in an earthquake country with
absolute safety. in my opinion. The trouble Is
that In tho earthuuako countries buildings arc
not usually constructed with caro- and Irecau-
ton. They are apt TO be built very loosely.
i Is to me a very gratifying thing that Mr..
De Young has had the courage to 20 ahead and
put w a building OF the kind he has.
the NrOn,cie building you know. This idea of
Its SipG t2qt2lhardy p to ppt up big bniIdnGs Is
ences in the former earthquakes have very
lively remembrance of them. But there is no
danger either for New Workers or for CaIifor-
mans In the big buildings
Quick 10 Take "a Hint.