The comparative diagram shows most graphically how San Francisco's great fire overshadows the other great fires of the country. Its area is more than twice as great as Chicago's, Boston's, and Baltimore's combined. Only by an eye witness can its awful devastation be at all appreciated.
The map shows a strip of California about 200 miles from north to south. The "fault" in the earth's crust, where the great "slip" took place runs in almost a direct line from San Juan in the south, near Salinas, to Point Arena in the north. Along this line many breaks and sinks and elevations occurred. The great quake extended in its effects both north and south of this map, but not seriously. Los Angeles scarcely felt it, yet Frawley, a little town 100 miles south of Los Angeles, was greatly damaged.
COMPARATIVE AREAS OF AMERICA'S GREAT FIRES
EARTHQUAKE DISTRICT FROM UKIAH ON THE NORTH TO SALINAS ON THE SOUTH A DISTANCE OF 200 MILES
The tint indicates the portion of San Francisco that was destroyed by fire. In this district there are five little unburned oases in the midst of the general devastation. The ruined region includes practically all that was known as San Francisco,—all the business, financial, amusement, and most of the residence sections. There remains little outside of it but scattered dwellings, isolated manufacturing plants, and open spaces. The burned district is a solid bulk over four miles long and two miles wide. The value of the property destroyed within this district is now placed at $350,000,000. The insurance on this amounts to about $175,000,000. The principal buildings and landmarks of the city were: (1) City Hall; (2) Post-office; (3) U. S. Mint, saved; (4) Grand Opera House; (5) Call Building; (6) Mutual Savings Bank; (7) Chronicle Building; (8) Flood Building; (9) Examiner Building; (10) Palace Hotel; (11) Grand Hotel; (12) Merchants' Exchange; (13) Hall of Justice; (14) Portsmouth Square; (15) Chinatown; (16) Union Square; (17) St. Francis Hotel; (18) Bush Street Synagogue; (19) Mark Hopkins Institute; (20) Fairmont Hotel; (21) Southern Pacific R. R. Station; (22) St. Ignatius Church; (23) St. Mary's Cathedral; (24) Majestic Theater; (25) Mechanic's Pavilion; (26) Jefferson Square; (27) Masonic Cemetery; (28) Alamo Square; (29) St. Patrick's Cathedral; (30) Russian Church; (31) St. Dominick's Church; (32) Telegraph Hill; (33) Wells Fargo Building; (34) Unburned district around Telegraph Hill; (35) Olympic Club; (36) California Theater, where Fire Chief Sullivan was killed; (37) The Emporium, the largest department store in the city.
