The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1907-02-16


careful census of houses and average
inhabitants there are at present living
In san Francisco 42S,000 people, while
in 1t and the adjacent cities about the
bay there Is total of 10000 or So
600 more than were in the same ter
ritory before the fire.
Inquiries develop the fact that there
are now located In the surrounding
cities ard towns fully 10000 people
who will come back to San Francisco
/ to make their homes as soon as house
room is provided. These houses are
going up as rapidly as men can put
material together, and it is a note
worthy fact tha, they are all rented
before completion. According to In
vestigatons made by the committee
there are 10000 skilled artisans in
the building trades at work In San
Francisco. There are $4,000 teams at
2 NAIh Haa44is 1i iSSoiS'1 GNNapH "NiAi
ana 10000 ordinary laborers in con-
slant employment in the same line.
For two weeks in the latter part
of January heavy and continuous rains
held back some OF the construction
work but since clear weather set in
again the tide Of building permits has
resumed its former magnitude. More
than $4,000, 900 is the value represent
ed in the buildings for which permits
have been issued since the fire, and
when it is remembered that In nearly
every instance the amount expended on
! buildings is at least % per cent more
than the amount estimated in the per-
nit, 1t will be seen that these permits
represent an outlay Of fully $4,000
900.
According to the estimates of arch
itects and contractors there will be
fully s100,000.000 expended during the
year 1907 for new buildings, over and
above those for which permits have
I already been issued. According to this
estimate there will be total expen-
! diture for the twenty months follow
! ing the fire OF $15O.O00, 900 on buildings
; alone. These figures give some COM
prehension OF how rapidly San Fran
cisco is recovering from the effects Of
the disaster, and they also give line
for computations as to how long i'll
will take to rebuild the city.
Reasoning from these figures 1t may
! be stated that the Market street CEN
ter, including the debouching streets
of Sutter, Post, Geary, O'Farrell, Ellis,
Eddy, Turk. Third and Fourth and
Mission street from the waterfront toI
Fourth street, will he entirely rebuilt
| by January !, 1903. Going at the same
rate the entire burned district, 50 far
| as the principal sections are concerned
will be entirely reconstructed in five
years from the date of the fire.
Just how rapidly this reconstruction
| is going on may be seen in that part
| Of the city lying between Telegraph
and Russian hills and from there over
I to North Beach. All that vast section
was entirely wiped out by the fire
not a single building remaining. Work
Of reconstruction began there before
the ashes were cold, and it may be
! stated now that the entire district has
! been rebuilt.
There appears some misapprehen-
sion regarding temporary buildings,
and many Of the inquiries which come
to San Francisco regarding recon-
struction ask how many temporary
buildings are being constructed and
how many permanent. The construc-
ton Of temporary buildings within the
| fire limits Of the city ceased on June
! 20, 1906, and none have been erected
in those limits since that time. All
the buildings which are being erected
are Of permanent character and must
comply with all the provisions of the
building ordinances. Some 5000 tenn
porary buildings were erected imme-
diately after the fire, as the people
had to have some place to live In and
do business in while they were build
ing the permanent city. All Of these
temporary structures were permitted
with the express provision that they
would be removed on sixty days no.
tice from the Board of Works.
The class Of building that is going
on now and this is especially true of
the heart Of the city, radiating from
Market and Kearny streets, is either
A or B. which means fire proof struc-
/ lures. These are either steel with