Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-04-18
THIRD EDITION
SAN FRANCISCO IS
ALMOST WRECKED
Thousands Of Buildings Were
Damaged Or Destroyed This
Morning by the
Earthquake,
CITY HALL Is IN RUINS
| II Cost Seven Million Dollars and Was
a Magnificent Building.
MANY TENEMtNTS DESTROYED
In District South OF Market
Street
/
CITY HALL IS IN RUINS
II Cost Seven Million Dollars and Was
Magnificent Buildllg
MANY TENEMiNTS DESTROYED
In District South OF Market
Street.
FIRES ARE RAGING IN MANY BLOCKS
Associated Press pispatohe, by Special Wire.


Associated Press Dispatches by Special Wire.
San Francisco, Cal. April lS.-San
Francisco was practically wrecked by |
earthquake at $40 O'Clock this morning. |
The shock lasted three minutes. Thou |
sands of buildings were damaged or de |
stroyed. The loss of life is great. There /
is no water, and fires aebuming an over |
the city. An wires, with the exception /
of one, are gone The City Hall, costing |
81 600 900. is IN ruins Modern buildings /
suffered less than brick or frame.
The terror and excitement are indescrib- |
able Many people rushed undressed |
in the streets Buildings swayed and !
crashed, hurying their occupants. There
was panic IN downtown hotels. The
Lick House is badly damaged, but no loss
of lie is reported there The Palace and
st. Francis Hotels stood the shock. People
aocked TO the telegraph offices to send
messages TO friends and were frantic
because there were no wires. The greatest
damage was done to buildings south of
Market street, where mostly they are
frame tcnements. Fires occurred in
every block in that district.
CONFUSION REIGNs EVERYWHERE.
sam m-ln the confusion, which reigns
everywhere. it Is almost impossible TO
| learn details of the disaster caused by
the earthquake In general, it may be
said that tho district living between Mar
| ket and Howard streets from the Bay as
| far west as tho City Hall has been badly
/ wrecked Tho hotels in the vicinity of
/ Third and Market streets were badly
shaken. but there seemed to be no loss
OF life therein. The Call and Examiner
| Buildings. as well as the Western Union
| Building. have been badly wrecked. The
large department stores in the neighbor-
hood were also ruined, but the earth
quake occurred at an hour when they
were empty, and no loss OF life therein
Is reported Farther east on Market
street, toward the ferry slips, is a section
occupied hy cheap lodginghousea and
hotels, and here the loss of life is reported
TO be very great, though the extent OF
IL cannot be nscertained at this hour.
Fires are burning in a number OF places
along Market street and, the water mains
having hunt, the authorities have re-
sorted 90 dynamite 90 check the progress
of the flames. The residence section OF
the city, while badly shaken, reports no
loss of lite or serious damage.
The Valencia Hotel, fve-story frame
building between Seventeenth and Eigh-
teenth streets on Nalccia street, toppled
over into the street hurying 20 persons in
the debris. only the top story remaining
intact A house ON Fourteenth street
near Valencia was wrecked, killing twS
persons Many of the fire houses an
damaged so badly that il is impossible
TO got the fire apparatus out A lodging
house on Seventh street between Howar,
and Mission. known as the Kingsley
entirely collapsed 10 Is ON fire, and Il
10 so people are believed to be buried II
the flaming ruins. Az Twonty-seconi
Z and Mission streets the dry goods stor
: of lipman Is ON fire, threatening the dc
striciion of the entire block. AZ Eigh
toenth and Valencia streets there Is
crevicc IN the street six feet wide, an
the sidewalks are torn up. The stree
ear tracks are badly twisted. All throug
, tho southern section of the city traffic is O
"a standstill.
THE DISASTER GROWING.
S.4Oa. m.-As reports come in the mal
- nitude of the disaster grows.
Fires are raging in all directions, an
l. people are moving out OF the downtoW
section.
The loss of life may reach into the hun
q dreds
u Millions Of dollars worth Of properi
has been destroyed.
S.5Oa. ma disastrous fire has brok,
out on the south side of Market sire
/. and IS within one block of the Pala
.e Hotel. The water mains have bur
,r and the Fire Department Is practical
helpless The utmost confusion exist
~ All business is suspended. AT this m
n ment there is only one wire out OF II
Ne Francisco. a Postal wire. The Post
,r Building is badly damaged. The operatli
II room is a wreck The power OF every kir
IA Is gone. and there are no lights either g
M or electric. Neither the Palace Hotel M
M the ST. Francis is gone; that is, as Tar
'e the outside goes. but the inside plastenf
In IS greatly damaged Between the pos
Office and the water front there has bee
~ great damage by fire, which is burnir
~ fercelv. and there is little or no waite
~ The fire is burning both on the east an
= tbe south sides of the Postal Bull'
C. ing. .Lu,,.t.o %,
- narentlv extends an over the city. III
streets are blockaded with debris, an
buildings are being blown up. The res
dence districts are safe, so lar as hear
from The business section OF the CIT.
rom Market street 20 Mission street an
OF rom tbe bav back, has been almost con
rd nletelv wrecked. The Call and Examine
IL