The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-05-08
BERKELEY PRACTICALLY
ESCAPES DAMAGE.

! BERKELEY, April 18.-Berkeiey
practically escaped serious damage
from the earthquake The college
town shows no signs this morning, eom-
parativeIy of the disaster There are
a few chimneys down. but they are
; not numerous. The principal brick
| buildings of the college town give forth
but little evidence Of the terrible catas-
trophe that has visited this section OF
! the state. Some cornices were wrench
! ed from their fasteninss but the build
ings are still on their foundations, and
, it will require an outlay of but few
thousand dollars to put the town in
as perfect condition as it was before
the visitation.
All of the books of the public library
We're thrown from their shelves and
scattered about the floor; the shelving
was toppled over, and yet there is not
a crack in the walls of the structure.
The same thing happened to the
! library of the University of California,
which is also a brick building 1t will
take considerable time to rearrange
the many volumes that were on the
shelves and which are now piled in
Il shapeless heap in the middle of the
floors. but there is hardly a hundred
dollars damage to the building itself.
There We're many wild rumors in
the town early in the morning, but
when they We're traced to their founda~
ton it was found that they originated
more from fright than from fact.
Members of the police force who had
been struck by pieces of falling plaster
made reports to their chief of wrecked
buildings, but their statements were
found not to be based on fact
There was a statement that the new
building of the West Berkeley Bank
had been RACED, but investigation dem
onstrated that the only damage TO the
structure was the loss of few bricks
from the cornice non the south side.
When the shock came this morning
many of the residents of the college
town packed their belongings and bur
ried to the foothills, leaving behind |
them all of their property that was too !
bulky to carry. Many of them nave
camped there during the day.
The main leading to the reservoir at |
North Berkeley was wrenched by the |
earthquake, and a great volume of |
water shot into the air for a distance |
of several hundred feet. 1t continued |
to squirt water until the water from |
the reservoir had been spread over an |
area of several acres and ran down the |
cutters into the business section TO
Berkeley.
The Berkeley high school suffered
some damage, and the classes for the
dav were not called.
The oil works at West Berkeley took
fire shortly after the shock. The
watchman in charge and the employees
of the plant were so badly frightened
that they made no effort to save the
buildings. They were totally con
sumed.
Miss Emily Meyers, student at the
high school, was on the street when
there was :. slight shock at o clock.
She became so badly frightened that
she tainted and had to be carried to
her home Sac was in front Of the
Berkele7 Bank building at the time.
A cottage at No. 201l Ninth street,
owned by a Mr.. Olsen, was completely
wrecked There was not stick Of
timber in the structure left standing.
The inmates escaped without a
scratch.
There was great grief about the
when it was learned that
this years edition OF the Blue and
Gold was being consumed in the fire
which was sweeping San Francisco.
The loss to the students will be nearly
10000.