On April 18, 1906, the ground under San Francisco shook violently. A 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit at 5:12 a.m. as people slept.
The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fires nearly destroyed the city. More than half the residents were displaced from their homes. And the transit system was devastated.
In 1906, United Railroads of San Francisco ran most of the city’s transit lines. Company photographer John Henry Mentz documented the tragedy in a series of photographs. He took 14 photos on the day of the quake. And 13 of them have been preserved in the SFMTA Photo Archive collections.
For the 120th anniversary of the earthquake and fires, we bring you those images.
Washington and Mason streets
Smoke rises from fires near the waterfront that would spread across the entire area.
This cable car was crushed by bricks from the chimney as it sat poised for morning pull out.
These first two photos of the Washington-Mason Cable Car Powerhouse were taken just steps from Mentz’ home. The Powerhouse’s 1887 building was destroyed by fire during the disaster. It was rebuilt and today is home to Muni’s Cable Car Division and the only operational street cable railway in the world.
North Beach
The roof and smokestack of the North Beach Powerhouse collapsed during the magnitude 7.9 earthquake.
A tangle of steel and wood from the collapsed roof sits atop power generation machinery.
Large rotary generators lie underneath the collapsed roof.
The photos above were taken at United Railroads’ North Beach Powerhouse. This building on Marina Boulevard between Laguna and Buchanan streets generated electricity for the transit system. The roof was badly damaged in the quake. But the building was spared the fires that came later.
Sutter and Polk streets
The view from Hemlock and Polk streets to the rear of the Sutter Street Powerhouse.
This building was the powerhouse for the Sutter Street cable cars. It was only moderately damaged by the earthquake but later destroyed by fire.
Market and Valencia streets
A steam engine that pulled cables for Market Street cable cars sits underneath the collapsed roof.
This photo was taken inside a building at the corner of Market and Valencia that powered the Market Street cable cars. It survived mostly intact, but the cable machinery was damaged. After cable cars were taken off Market Street service, the building was used by United Railroads’ track department.
Turk and Fillmore substation
The earthquake significantly damaged the roof of a Fillmore District substation
Today, the Northern District Police Station sits at this corner.
Next on Mentz’s list were two buildings near Turk and Fillmore streets. The first was an electrical substation on the corner of Turk and Fillmore. This building still stands but was decommissioned in the 1980s. The second, at Turk and Steiner, was an electric streetcar facility that closed in 1948.
Alamo Square
Smoke rises from the “Ham and Eggs” fire. The blaze spread from Hayes and Gough streets and burned a 30-block area, including City Hall.
Mentz took his most striking photo of the day on Hayes Street at Pierce. In the foreground, people fill Alamo Square Park. And in the background are massive plumes of smoke from the burning city.
Oak and Broderick streets
Light streams into this storage building after the earthquake.
These photos were taken inside a vehicle storage facility on the corner of Oak and Broderick streets. They show damage to the roof, floor and streetcars stored inside. Today, there’s a shopping center at this corner.
Hayes Street Powerhouse
This powerhouse was sold around 1913. Today there are homes in its place
Mentz’s last surviving earthquake photo is of the Hayes Street Powerhouse. This building on Hayes Street and Masonic Avenue powered cable car lines along Hayes Street. After the quake, most cable car lines were converted to electric streetcars. Buildings like this were either repurposed or sold.
Beyond the photos he took that day, Mentz would continue to document the critical role that public transit played in San Francisco’s recovery from the Great Earthquake and Fires.
You can learn more about the disaster and its impact on the city’s transit system in our collection of blog posts.