On this day in history April 18, 1906 tragedy strikes (in San Francisco)

[Studebaker Wheel]

At approx. this time (actually 5:12 a.m. on April 18, 1906) a giant earthquake struck the San Francisco area and it along with the resultant fire would kill at least 3000 people and destroy nearly 80% of the city. At the time Studebaker had a major presence on the west coast and its headquarters were located in San Francisco. Like most of the other major buildings the Studebaker headquarters suffered heavy damage and nearly all of its inventory damaged beyond repair. Naturally the home office in South Bend was interested in learning the extent of the damage and to that end a professional photographer was hired to document the loss. I have several of the photographs from that contract showing both the exterior and the interior on all four floors. I am providing a few of those sepia photos below. Note the building itself survived both the quake and fire. Oh, and for the record April 18th is also the date of Paul Revere's famous ride (in 1775) but I could not find a Studebaker connection to that event.

[qsanford]

What an inventory they had! I wonder how much territory was serviced by that location?

[8E45E]

Four days before, people were oblivious to what was about to happen.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q5Nur642BU

Craig

[wlfrench]

Watched the Market Street video. Wow over 100 years ago. Cars and horse drawn wagons jockeying for position on a crowded street, crazy. I wonder if anyone has bothered to identify the make and model of the early cars as they went by. Just three years before this the first transcontinenta rode trip left SF for NYC.

[Pat Dilling]

Interesting, we are going to San Francisco today for some blues music and family get together. Watching the video I notice that several of the same cars keep running around and back and forth in front of the camera mounted on the cable car. 109 years later, the cable cars are still running, though not on Market Street, and people still like to get in front of a camera!

[Buzzard]

Interesting history Dick. Thanks. Did you notice they thought they had to advertise the fact that their tires were rubber?
Bill

[GinettaG12P]

Let me tell you the story of Old 49
The fastest engine on the Santa Fe Line
On the 18th of April she made a desperate dash
And sha made it on time and she did not crash.

Nobody sings about it any more.

Smothers Brothers

[BobPalma]

Interesting, Dick; thanks.

In the second photo, the upholstery on the vehicles looks badly damaged. How could an earthquake do that kind of damage...and if it was a result of the fires that raged through the city post-quake, why didn't the fires consume the carriages themselves? BP

[wittsend]

I'm assuming that the wagon there were in for repairs. The sign out front seems to indicate that was one of the functions of the buildings. Thus, it might account for the damage appearance. My wife's family has been in San Francisco since 1850. Some of them lost their homes, not directly to the earthquake, but because they were dynamited to stop the spread of fire. There is a possibility of wood structures being near the Studebaker building that were exploded, and the debris from that got on the carriages seen in the photos.

[studeclunker]

As far as I know, the San Francisco office served the entire West Coast. The carriages and Wagons were unpacked there and shipped up and down the coast from Seattle to San Diego. There were numerous small dealers, however, San Francisco was the one where vehicles recieved full service (paint, upholstery, trimming, and tops). The damage in the photos is from the fire and possibly explosions. This could have been a gas explosion as the damage seems slight compared to the neighbors (who seem to have ceased to exist). Gas was the main culprit for the fires that followed the quake. Note the blistered paint and destroyed tops in the third floor shot. The Victoria in the front would have had a leather top, as would have several others in that picture. The vehicles seem to have been set up according to costliness with the least expensive on the second floor. Looking at the first picture, the front of the building appears to show fire damage in the first floor that spread to the forward part of the second and third floors. However, again the damage is slight compared to the surrounding buildings and it looks like they might have survived it over all.
Without colour to give contrast, etc, it is hard to say what is fire damage or not.
Edit:
Actually closer examination of the first photo reveals a small wooden building to the right side of the Clark Building (Studebaker's). It seems to be intact and without any serious damage. Thus, judging how the interior walls and some of the other carriage trimmings burnt away, I'd say it was a gas fire that they were able to put out.
yet another edit:
Dick, do you know the address of this building and weather it still survives?

[qsanford]

Maybe the leather had been treated with a flammable product and might have ignited with a quick flash fire?

[jts359]

San Francisco fire

Maybe the leather had been treated with a flammable product and might have ignited with a quick flash fire?

I saw a pretty good movie on TCM about a week ago Called San Francisco , Clark Gable was in it and I thought considering when it was filmed (1936) The special effects were good , Ed

[8E45E]

Maybe the leather had been treated with a flammable product and might have ignited with a quick flash fire?

Were the windows in the tops made of celluloid?

Craig

[Mikado282]

Four days before, people were oblivious to what was about to happen four days later.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q5Nur642BU

Craig

The 2005 version doesn't look as chaotic as the 1906 version, looks downright boring in comparison

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[studeclunker]

Maybe the leather had been treated with a flammable product and might have ignited with a quick flash fire?

Were the windows in the tops made of celluloid?

Craig

qsanford yes the leather had a dressing of sorts on it and I believe it might have been somewhat flammable. I would have to check into that. Top dressing was used on both the leather and canvas-based tops. It was a kind of polish/waterproofing. In fact, it is still used on extension tops to a limited degree. The vinyl we currently use for tops is largely waterproof on it's own with the plastic outer surface. However the joints are not. Still, other than the Amish, most carriages don't spend very much time out in the rain. Most of the upholstery materials were wools, cotton, satin, taffeta, and leather all of which (except the leather) were highly Flammable. Can anyone remember the controversy on the flammable materials used in upholstery materials during the seventies and eighties. It led to legislation on mandatory treatments for household upholstery materials as well as Children's clothing I believe.

No Craig. The windows were of glass or a mica based material called isinglass. However the linings in the tops were of the same material as the upholstery and also often quite flammable. Glass was used in enclosed vehicles like coaches and isinglass was used in open vehicles like the standing top surrey in the second floor picture.

Hence, the damage visible in the photos. Horse hair, hair in general actually, stuffing is also flammable but cotton batting is not. Hence, the wooden parts and the cotton batting didn't burn. So, whomever was fighting this fire was able to put out the vehicles. However, I wouldn't have wanted to be in that building during the fire as it must have been incredibly dangerous.

Very little has changed in the production of horse-drawn vehicles, with the possible exception of eventing vehicles. what with the advent of the plastic-based vinyl there are somewhat more durable materials available for tops, upholstery, fenders and dashes. Not to mention the harness which used to be made of leather and is not as much so now.