1906 quake anniversary marked in predawn S.F. ceremony – The San Francisco Examiner

By Allen Matthews

A little bit of San Francisco magic occurs earlier than daybreak each April 18 as a crowd gathers at Lotta’s Fountain to mark the anniversary of the earthquake and fires that leveled The Metropolis in 1906.

Monday’s ceremony carried extra which means, with a nod towards pandemic restoration, as audio system in contrast San Francisco’s COVID response to the rebuilding after the 1906 catastrophe.

Greater than 100 folks attended, with police and firefighters representing a wholesome portion of these assembled on the intersection of Market, Kearny and Geary streets.

At 93, Joe McCaughey was doubtless the oldest individual. The Merced resident has a singular tie to that day in 1906 – his great-uncle was Eugene Schmitz, the mayor of San Francisco.

Though his well-known ancestor died earlier than McCaughey was born, he stated members of the family described the fierce shaking. “We had plenty of tales,” he stated.

Many within the predawn crowd have been veterans of the ceremony.

“I’ve been right here for 48 years,” stated Donna Ewald Huggins – dressed as Lillie Hitchcock Coit, a Hearth Division patron who died in 1929 – as she led the gathering in a sing-along of “San Francisco,” from the 1936 movie in regards to the catastrophe.

“I’m so proud and grateful to signify such a robust and resilient metropolis,” stated Mayor London Breed, wearing classic garb and searching like a picture from that morning so way back. Breed in contrast The Metropolis’s pandemic response to its restoration from the earthquake.

“After we are down, we aren’t out,” she stated.

At 5:12 a.m – the second that the 1906 quake tore up the San Andreas Fault – Hearth Division sirens sounded alongside Market Road. The fountain, a 1875 reward from actress Lotta Crabtree, was a gathering pointing for survivors after the cataclysm that shook The Metropolis with an estimated magnitude of seven.9. Not less than 3,000 folks died, and fires prompted extra injury, leveling big swaths of San Francisco.

For many years, crowds have gathered at Lotta’s Fountain to mark the second that remodeled San Francisco. After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, elected officers and first responders have used the occasion to remind residents to organize for future disasters.

As regular, some folks merely stumbled upon the gathering. “It’s my first time,” stated a person who declined to present his identify. “Gotta get to work.”