The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-01-14

terrible catastrophe which overlook
San Francisco. on April is an EARTH
quake shattered her buildings ana a
breath of red-hot flame reduced what
remained to cmders and ashes But
San Francisco instantly rose to her feet
and, after she had recovered from the
first surprise Of the shock, came forth
apparently undaunted, determining i'm
mediately to rear new city before
the smoldering heaps of ruins had even
had a chance to cool. The papers pre-
dcted that a finer. more beautiful city
would be occupying the place of the old
one in a very short time. In this con-
nection it may be said that the san
Francisco newspapers deserve great |
credit for the assistance they have /
rendered the stricken city 1t was the
papers that at first kept up the hope |
which, Immediately after the calamity, |
the least touch might be sufficient To-
shatter; II was the papers that inspir- !
ed men with the notion that altho the
city was gone, yet another might bel
built; and finally it was the papers
that assisted very materially i'm theI
present crusade against civic corrup-I
ton and fraud. But what Of the re-
building Of the city? How is it pro-
crossing?
I was in san Francisco in the begin
ming Of November and, after roaming
about the city, saw little evidence t6|
support the contentious Of the papers.
! True, there was building going on, but
| it was mostly of a temporary nature
! one and two-story wooden stores, and
! these seemed to be in no great demand.
Upon mentioning this fact to an elderly
man he nodded his head thoughtfully
| and said with the confidence of old age.
"Ah. yes, the business center is going
| to be changed by this-itll never be
| Market street again-it'n go farther
i un," he evidently having Van Ness
Avenue in mind.
I was again in San Francisco during
the holidays when all seemed to have
changed decidedly for the better. Then
/ l saw that the work which was being
done on the previous occasion was
merely preliminary-the collecting and
carting away of debris carload after
CARLOAD and the construction of the
cheaper buildings was but to prepare
for the greater work of permanent re-
construction. In less than two months
there was such a decided change as l
had hardly believed the city capable
of. In every block along Market street
workmen are now digging and laying
foundations for new buildings. Market
and Kearny streets is a chief center OF
constructive activity. There the large
Nonadnock building, already occupied
as an office building by busy-looklhs
clerks and typewriters, the Chronicle
! Mutual Life. and Call Buildings are he-
ing restored, and several new substan-
tial structures are being put up AROUND
Union Square number Of large oullu-
ings are being constructed and the 81
Francis Hotel is slowly being repaired
Tn the section north of Geary street
nothing is being done except that there
is an occasional wooden building ah1
that the Paramount Hotel is being re-
stored. The section south of Marke
street, formerly the poor part of the
city. is having a good many of the So
called temporary, cheap, wooden build
ings built upon it, and is already some
what a residence section for the work
ing class. and the home of good!
nroportion of saloons. In the forme
wholesale district north OF Market an,
near the waterfront, the acticity is nj
less than it. is on Market street.
One must now take the cars to Nal
Ness Avenue to get to the heart Of san
Francisco's new business section. TIL
wide, asphaltum thoroughfare, former
y ly the residence street of the aristo
cracy of the city, has been conver,eI
into business street of wooden store
S wherein one may buy anything fron
tacks and combs to real estate and ma
chinery In many cases the old man
= sions have been raised and the stor,
built under them, in others they haY
been left intact and converted in.
stores by the introduction of stoc
, of goods. Here then, on Van Ness,
all the life of the city; here automobile
and carriages, velvet gowns and rag
ged clothes hurry hither and thithe
and here the newsboy proclaims his pa
pers-here, in a word, is the new MAJ
ket street or the old Market street
new quarters; here, also, are gran
window displays, but there is one dit
ference between these displays an
those on Market street that noticeabl
impresses the prospective customer
Mt the price. All prices have gone u
Mt twenty per cent and more, so that IN
Mt ing has become proportionately MOI
nj expensive; furnishings, general con
er modities and groceries cost more, an
~ what is perhaps more noticeable to Il
or tourist, the price of meals and lodgn!
has increased fifty or a hundred p
cent and more. Yet withal, wages hay
also risen in which fact is to be four
the reason why the holiday season ju
past has concededly been the mo
prosperous one the Bay cities have ey
experienced.
Next in Importance to Van Ness as
bre{pass etraat Is Fillmore. a narrO'