The Hawaiian gazette., 1906-04-20
LOWLANDS OF
SAN FRANCISCO

The country affected by the disaster
that has visited San Francisco must
comprise, in greater or less degree, all
the region that lies about the Bay.
This would be true If there had only
been a landslip and no earthquake
shock at all. All that region depends,
physically and materially, upon San !
Francisco. 1t is, in the largest meas |
ure, suburban TO the great city.
1t is an old story that in 1S49 the
water came up TO Montgomery street"
AS explanatory of the disaster that
has befallen San Francisco. 1t may be
stated briefly that the water has come
D.ck to its own
Very briefly, all that portion of San
Francisco lying east of Montgomery
street on the north side of Market. and
east of line running from Spear and
Stuart to First and Market on the
south side, was formerly under water.
The tide ebbed and flowed there, and
when the gold rush came great ships
rode at anchor where before yesterday
there stood massive business blocks of
stone and brick and iron.
The old water line, commencing at
about where Stuart street meets the
bay at the Merchants Drydock, ran in
a northerly and westerly direction to Il
point little below the junction of
First and Market streets, thence across
Market TO Sansome and through the
intermediate blocks in pretty straight
- line, gradually inclining toward Mont /,
gomery street, to what is at present
the meeting point of Montgomery street
and Montgomery avenue At this
point, DETECTED sharply to the east
ward by the rocky spurs of Telegraph
Hill, the water washing the base of
that peak, the line ran down as far as
Battery street, and continued in
northerly and westerly direction to the
junction of Kearney and Bay streets.
Beyond this point a more modern MI,
protected by the seawall runs out to
the old Selby Smelling Works, and
beyond that is another made or begun
by the late James Fair, which em-
braces the lands at the sea front of
Van Ness avenue, and out toward the
Preside.
This line. it will be understood is
approXimate-but it is pretty nearly
correct. Going back now to the foot
of Spear street on the south side of
Market, there is a fill extending toward
South San Francisco and taking in
Mission. Flats and the Southern Pacific
Railway yards, or a large portion of
them. The Union Iron Works, on low
lying lands. is still not on the fill. In
this part of the filled land below Mar
ket street is the manufacturing dis
trict of San Francisco and the rail-
way yards, the Santa Fe freight offices
being at Spear and Harrison streets,
and the Southern Pacific freight Of
fees at Fourth and Townsend streets,
while its passenger depot for the main
line to Southern California and New
Orleans is at Third and Townsend.
The Central main line starts from the
ferry on the Oakland side, as the
Santa Fe starts from Emeryville ana
San Pablo.
In that part of the submerged dis
trict which lies north of Market street
is the entire wholesale district, the
business heart of the great CONNER
yial city of the Pacific Coast Every
bte business house in the city has its
store and every man doing big busi-
ness in the city has his office there,
almost, be the agent or broker or what
not. All the banks are in that dis
trict, every insurance office of any
note, and many of the largest hotels
are there.
IL this district is in ruins, the COM
mercial metropolis OF the Pacific Coast
is In ruins. And II fire has added it's
horrors to the horror of the earthquake,
the loss is almost irreparable. The loss
OF life has been heavy, without any
doubt and the money loss viii foot up
into the hundreds of millions. The real
estate itself even is gone, and no in
surance can be collected.
The Palace and Grand Hotels, which
are reported To have been burned, stood
west OF the old water line along First
street ON the south side OF Market
street, and in a mere tidal wave would
have escaped destruction but that they
were thrown from their foundations by
the cleavage caused by the earthquake
being above them, They were pruh-
ably shaken by the hrst shock, and
when The ground began 90 slide, IN,
bursting gas pipes in the hotels ol
the Goals from the crate fires. com'
mon 40 lhis tlme of tho year n san
Francisco, were thrown Out ana com
muniraied 10 the woodwork bon ihl
rooms A. che earthquake shocks ha,
burst The city water plprH, of tpurH'
there Mas probably np way to cuntru
ihe names
This same condition would obtain h
the Hobart building Goa Markpt riror
belOw Montgomery, whore the cahln nf
Noe IA, and when the iiuhau building
want, The Union Trust Company
building Nherr ihe Southern rhrIh
oihpes NsTu formerly probably sent %
ihe aapf illnr, a ~ nnl stated iha
ib0 FsamineF ana rhrNnlrls hpNdlng
ais Hplrl pNl bVlh lhpsp Alr hflNspl