American Experience (1988) s01e01 Episode Script

1
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( trolley bells ringing,
horses' hooves clopping,
motorcars humming)
Abraham:
SAN FRANCISCO, 1906.
WILL IRWIN, THE JOURNALIST,
HAD DESCRIBED I
AS "THE GAYEST, LIGHTEST-HEARTED
MOST PLEASURE-LOVING CITY
OF THE WESTERN CONTINENT."
WILLIE BRITT,
A FIGHT MANAGER, SAID
"I'D RATHER BE
A BUSTED LAMP POS
"ON BATTERY STREET,
SAN FRANCISCO
THAN THE WALDORF ASTORIA
IN NEW YORK."
RUDYARD KIPLING SAID
OF THIS PLACE:
"SAN FRANCISCO IS A MAD CITY
"INHABITED
BY PERFECTLY INSANE PEOPLE
WHOSE WOMEN ARE
OF REMARKABLE BEAUTY."
400,000 PEOPLE LIVED
IN THIS CITY.
IT WAS THE NINTH LARGES
IN THE NATION
AND THE BIGGEST IN THE WEST.
HER PEOPLE HAILED
FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE
UNITED STATES, TEDDY ROOSEVEL
HAD COME HERE
IN THE SPRING OF 1903.
THE GOLDEN GATE BAND
PLAYED PATRIOTIC TUNES.
50,000 SCHOOLCHILDREN
CHEERED ALONG VAN NESS AVENUE.
HERE, MR. ROOSEVELT SAID,
WAS "THE GARDEN OF THE LORD"
AND THE "WEST OF THE WEST."
IN THE "WEST OF THE WEST,"
NO ONE DREAMED
THAT SAN FRANCISCO
WOULD SOON BE DESTROYED.
THE BIG QUAKE OF 1865
WAS JUST A DISTANT MEMORY
AN AMUSING PAR
OF THE CITY FOLKLORE.
THE CITY HAD PRACTICALLY
BURNED TO THE GROUND SIX TIMES
IN ITS EARLY DAYS.
BUT THIS LEGACY, TOO,
SEEMED SAFELY IN THE PAST.
THE MODERN FIRE DEPARTMEN
WAS BELIEVED TO BE INVINCIBLE.
MANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO PU
THEIR FAITH IN THE CITY
WERE NEWCOMERS.
ONE-THIRD OF THE POPULATION
HAD BEEN BORN ON FOREIGN SOIL.
ANOTHER THIRD WERE
THE CHILDREN OF IMMIGRANTS.
Woman:
WHEN MY FATHER ARRIVED
HERE FROM ITALY
HE IMMEDIATELY GOT A JOB
OUT ON FILLMORE STREET.
OUR STORE WAS DIRECTLY ACROSS
FROM A BAKERY
KNOWN AS THE WIKERY BAKERY.
MY MOTHER ARRIVED
AND FOUND A JOB
RIGHT NEAR WHERE
MY DAD WAS WORKING.
HE DELIVERED THE VEGETABLES
AND SHE PROBABLY
OPENED THE BACK DOOR.
SO THAT'S HOW THEY MET.
( ship's horn blows)
Abraham:
FOR THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO
HAD DISEMBARKED AT HER WHARVES
SINCE THE DAYS OF THE GOLD RUSH,
SAN FRANCISCO WAS A MAGNE
A KIND OF PROMISED LAND
AT THE END OF THE RAINBOW.
THE FIRST HOME FOR MANY
ON AMERICAN SOIL
WAS IN THE DISTRIC
CALLED "SOUTH OF MARKET."
HERE WERE CHEAP WOOD TENEMENTS
PACKED SIDE BY SIDE
LIKE A HOUSE OF CARDS.
THEY WOULD BE THE FIRST TO BURN.
THEM LITTLE STREETS
WERE LIKE COLONIES.
ALL THE IRISH WERE SETTLED
IN ONE LITTLE NEIGHBORHOOD
THE DUTCH IN ANOTHER
AND THE JEWS WOULD SETTLE
IN ANOTHER NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND IT WAS JUS
A NEIGHBORLY PARTY
EVERYBODY KNEW EVERYBODY ELSE.
Abraham:
NORTH OF MARKET WAS
A CITY WITHIN THE CITY.
20,000 CHINESE LIVED HERE.
CHINATOWN WAS
VERY, UH, CIRCUMSCRIBED
IN THAT IT WAS ONLY ABOU
FIVE SQUARE BLOCKS AT THAT TIME
AND WE WERE NO
SUPPOSED TO WANDER
BEYOND POWELL STREE
OR BROADWAY ON THE NORTH.
Abraham:
THE CHINESE GHETTO WAS
PORTRAYED BY THE POPULAR PRESS
AS A BARBARIC
AND DANGEROUS PLACE
WHOSE INHABITANTS
WORSHIPED PAGAN GODS
AND INDULGED
IN FANTASTICAL VICES.
THEY ATE STRANGE FOODS
AND LIVED IN A WORLD
CLOAKED IN MYSTERY AND SECRECY.
ON THE INSIDE,
IT WAS RATHER LESS ROMANTIC.
A FEW WERE
INFLUENTIAL MERCHANTS
TRADERS OF SILKS, TEA
AND CHEAP HUMAN LABOR.
CHINESE LABORERS HAD STARTED
COMING TO CALIFORNIA
AROUND THE TIME
OF THE GOLD RUSH.
"GOLD MOUNTAIN MEN" THEY WERE
CALLED BACK HOME IN CANTON.
IN SAN FRANCISCO, THEY BECAME
WORKERS IN SWEATSHOPS
SERVANTS IN THE HOUSES
OF THE RICH.
THERE WAS AN INVISIBLE WALL
AROUND CHINATOWN
A WALL OF RACIAL PREJUDICE.
Lee:
WELL, MY PARENTS
THE MINUTE THEY LANDED
IN SAN FRANCISCO FROM CHINA
THEY JUST STAYED IN CHINATOWN
AND HARDLY EVER GO
OUT OF CHINATOWN.
ONE TIME, I AS A LITTLE BOY,
I WANDERED BEYOND PACIFIC AVENUE
AND I WAS BEATEN
BY SOME ITALIAN BOYS.
WE KNEW THAT WE WERE HATED
AS A PEOPLE.
AND SO WE GENERALLY TRIED TO
STAY ALOOF AND BE BY OURSELVES.
Abraham:
JUST A FEW MINUTES' WALK AND
HALF A WORLD AWAY FROM CHINATOWN
WAS THE PALACE HOTEL.
IF YOU HAD THE MONEY,
WHEN YOU CAME TO TOWN
IT WAS THE PLACE TO STAY.
THERE WAS CUT GLASS AND
MARBLE IN EVERY CORRIDOR
AND THE INCREDIBLE LUXURY
OF TELEPHONES AND BATHTUBS
IN EVERY ROOM.
THERE WAS ALSO
THE MOST MODERN SYSTEM
OF FIRE ALARMS AND SPRINKLERS.
THE PALACE WAS BUIL
TO BE INDESTRUCTIBLE.
BUT SO WAS THE TITANIC.
ENRICO CARUSO,
THE FAMOUS OPERA SINGER
CHECKED IN HERE THE NIGH
BEFORE THE QUAKE.
HE ARRIVED WITH 54 STEAMER
TRUNKS AND 50 SELF-PORTRAITS.
THAT EVENING,
CARUSO STEPPED ON STAGE
TO SING DON JOSE IN CARMEN
IN SAN FRANCISCO'S
GRAND OPERA HOUSE.
( Caruso singing opera)
IF YOU COULDN'T GE
TICKETS TO THE OPERA
YOU COULD GO TO A GALA
COSTUME CARNIVAL ON SKATES
WHERE MISS FLORIDA WAS CROWNED
THE "QUEEN OF THE ROLLERS."
IN THE DISTRIC
CALLED THE BARBARY COAS
NICKELODEONS SHOWED
SCANDALOUS MOVING PICTURES.
THE COAST WAS DESCRIBED
BY ONE INDIGNANT CRITIC AS
Critic ( dramatized):
THAT SINK OF MORAL POLLUTION
WHOSE REEFS ARE STREWN
WITH HUMAN WRECKS.
HERE, BLEAR-EYED MEN DRINK VILE
LIQUOR, SMOKE OFFENSIVE TOBACCO
AND ENGAGE IN VULGAR CONDUCT.
HERE ARE DEBAUCHERY, DISEASE,
INSANITY, BLASPHEMY, DEATH
AND HELL, YAWNING
TO RECEIVE THE PUTRID MASS.
Abraham:
THE MEN ON THE VICE SQUAD
WERE EVER VIGILANT
PROVIDED NO ONE
PAID THEM NOT TO BE.
THE MAYOR OF SAN FRANCISCO,
EUGENE SCHMITZ
WAS A FRONT MAN
FOR A CORRUPT CITY BOSS.
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
WERE CONTEN
TO RECEIVE THEIR PORTION
OF THE BRIBES.
IT WAS SAID THEY WERE SO EAGER
TO BETTER THEIR POSITION
THEY WOULD EA
THE PAINT OFF A HOUSE.
THIS WAS CITY HALL.
BUT SERIOUS BUSINESS
WAS DONE IN A LITTLE PUB
ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF MARKET.
THERE, CITY POLITICIANS
WHEELED AND DEALED
WITH THOSE WHO NEEDED FAVORS
AND WHO COULD PAY FOR THEM.
Kevie:
THERE WAS A LOT OF GRAF
GOING ON IN THEM DAYS.
BUT PEOPLE TOOK IT FOR GRANTED
EVERYBODY WAS GRAFTING, SO
IT DIDN'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE.
Abraham:
SCHMITZ AND HIS
CRONIES CONTROLLED
THE GRANDEST CITY
WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
A FEW DOZEN BIG HOTELS,
OFFICES AND BANKS
WERE BUILT OF BRICKS,
STEEL AND MASONRY.
MOST EVERYTHING ELSE
WAS BUILT OF WOOD.
SAN FRANCISCO WAS
A CITY WAITING TO BURN.
IN 1906, THE FIRE ALARM,
THE RESPONSE
THE MEN AND THE EQUIPMEN
WORKED EXACTLY THE WAY
THEY ARE PORTRAYED
IN THIS EARLY SILENT FILM.
EVERYTHING WAS AUTOMATIC
IN THE FIREHOUSE.
THE LIGHTS LIT ON THE
FIRST STRIKE OF THE BELL.
WHEN THE BELL HIT,
THE LIGHTS LIT, THAT LET GO.
THE HORSES MOVED OU
UNDER THE COLLARS
THEY SNAPPED THE COLLARS,
THE DRIVER IS IN THE SEA
AND THEY'RE ON THE STREET.
THEY WERE VERY FAST.
Abraham:
BUT IN SPITE OF EVERYTHING
IN SPITE OF SAN FRANCISCO'S
38 STEAM ENGINE COMPANIES
320 HORSES AND 584 FIREMEN
WHO HAD ALREADY
DISTINGUISHED THEMSELVES
AS THE CITY'S HOMEGROWN HEROES
THE FIRE DEPARTMEN
WOULD BE HARD PRESSED
TO FACE THE COMING DISASTER.
JUST MONTHS
BEFORE THE EARTHQUAKE
THE NATIONAL BOARD OF FIRE
UNDERWRITERS STATED IN A REPOR
"SAN FRANCISCO HAS VIOLATED
ALL UNDERWRITING PRECEDENTS
"BY NOT BURNING UP.
"THAT IT HAS NOT DONE SO
ALREADY IS LARGELY DUE
"TO THE VIGILANCE
OF THE FIRE DEPARTMEN
"WHICH CANNOT BE RELIED UPON
TO INDEFINITELY
STAVE OFF THE INEVITABLE."
THE UNDERWRITERS WERE
ABOUT TO BE PROVEN CORRECT.
( rumbling and screams)
( bells ringing)
I WAS SLEEPING WITH MY MOTHER
AND WE THOUGHT IT WAS
THE END OF THE WORLD.
WE GRABBED EACH OTHER AND
PULLED THE COVERS OVER OUR HEADS
AND SAID, "THIS IS
THE END OF THE WORLD!"
AND OF COURSE
WE WERE SCARED TO DEATH.
WE TRIED TO STAND UP
OR DO SOMETHING
BUT WE COULDN'T,
WE HAD TO HANG ON FOR DEAR LIFE
BECAUSE THE BED WAS FLYING
AROUND THE ROOM LIKE A KITE.
WE TRIED TO GET OUT THE
BACK KITCHEN DOOR ONTO OUR PORCH
BUT THE CHIMNEY WAS BROKEN DOWN
AND THE BRICKS WERE ALL AGAINS
THE DOOR; WE COULDN'T GET OUT.
( woman praying quietly
in Italian)
( baby crying)
( dog barking)
Abraham:
THE QUAKE HIT SAN FRANCISCO
ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18
AT PRECISELY 12 MINUTES PAS
FIVE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING.
BUT SAN FRANCISCO WASN'
THE ONLY PLACE TO GET HIT.
FOR MORE THAN 200 MILES
ALONG THE SAN ANDREAS FAUL
THE CRUST OF THE EARTH
SLIPPED AS MUCH AS 21 FEET.
IN SAN JOSE, 8,000 PEOPLE
WERE HOMELESS.
SANTA ROSA, A TOWN OF 7,000,
WAS LEVELED.
TREES WERE UPROOTED.
FENCES CURVED.
AND IN SOME PLACES,
THE EARTH FLOWED LIKE WATER.
THE QUAKE HAD THE IMPAC
OF SIX MILLION TONS OF T.N.T.
ROUGHLY 12,000 TIMES THE POWER
OF THE ATOMIC BOMB
EXPLODED OVER HIROSHIMA.
IT REMAINS
THE GREATEST NATURAL DISASTER
SUFFERED
BY A NORTH AMERICAN CITY.
BACK IN SAN FRANCISCO, IN
THE HOURS JUST AFTER THE QUAKE
PEOPLE WANDERED
THE STREETS IN CONFUSION.
"THEY HAD A SINGULAR
HURT EXPRESSION"
REMARKED ONE OBSERVER
"AS IF A GOOD FRIEND HAD
SUDDENLY WRONGED THEM."
IN SOME DISTRICTS,
PEOPLE HAD NO IDEA
OF THE AMOUNT OF DAMAGE
THAT HAD BEEN DONE.
AT VALENCIA STATION,
COMMUTERS WAITED IMPATIENTLY
FOR A TRAIN
THAT WOULD NEVER COME.
OTHERS, INCLUDING SAM FAIX,
SET OUT AND WALKED TO WORK.
WHEN I GOT THERE, THE BUILDING
STOOD LIKE A DRUNKEN MAN.
AND THE BOSS WAS THERE
AND HE SAYS, "SAM, WOULD
YOU MIND STANDING HERE
AND WATCHING THE BUILDING?"
I SAYS, "IT'S NO USE
WATCHING IT
THERE'S NOTHING TO STEAL!"
Kevie:
AND THERE WERE PEOPLE
WALKING ALONG
SOME WITH WHEELBARROWS
AND THEIR CLOTHES
AND SOME WITH THEIR PARROTS
AND THEIR CANARIES
AND WHAT HAVE YOU,
ANYTHING THEY COULD CARRY.
I EVEN SAW A GUY ROLLING
A BARREL OF WHISKEY ALONG.
Abraham:
THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE
KILLED BY THE EARTHQUAKE
WAS NOT YET KNOWN
OR EVEN GUESSED A
BUT IT WAS CLEAR THA
MANY OF THE WORST CASUALTIES
WERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS
SOUTH OF MARKET.
AN ESTIMATED 30 TO 80 PEOPLE
WERE CRUSHED
IN THE VALENCIA HOTEL.
SAM FAIX WAS THERE.
Faix:
A FELLOW CAME OU
OF THE THIRD FLOOR
STARK-SPENDER NAKED,
NOT A STITCH ON HIM
OUT OF THE WINDOW.
AND HE STOOD THERE
ON THE FIRE ESCAPE.
AND I WENT OVER
TO ONE OF THE FIREMEN, I SAYS
"SAY, YOU BETTER SEE WHAT YOU
CAN DO WITH THAT POOR DEVIL
BECAUSE HE'S LIABLE
TO GET HURT."
IT DIDN'T TAKE FIVE MINUTES
SINCE THAT FELLOW
GOT OUT OF THERE
WHEN THE WHOLE FLOOR, EVERYTHING
CRASHED INTO THE BASEMEN
WITH A ROAR.
GOD, WHAT A NOISE THAT MADE!
THEY HAD A BIG PARTY
THE NIGHT BEFORE THERE
AND THE MAJORITY
WERE STILL ASLEEP
SO THEY SLEPT THERE FOR GOOD.
Luchetti:
AND MY MOTHER KEP
TELLING THE CHILDREN
"I JUST HAVE A FEELING SOMETHING
HAPPENED TO YOUR FATHER."
AND ABOUT A HALF AN HOUR LATER
MY MOTHER SEES THE HORSE
AND WAGON COMING BACK
AND, UH DRIVEN
BY A STRANGE PERSON.
SO MY MOTHER KNEW THEN
THAT WAS THE END.
AND SHE GOT THE NEWS
THAT MY FATHER HAD BEEN KILLED
IN THE QUAKE.
Abraham:
ALL OVER THE MISSION DISTRIC
TENEMENTS FOLDED IN
LIKE PASTEBOARD.
FROM THE WRECKAGE
THE CRIES OF THE TRAPPED
AND INJURED COULD BE HEARD.
THOSE WHO SURVIVED
COULD NOT BE HELPED IN HOSPITALS
WHICH HAD SUSTAINED
MAJOR DAMAGE IN THE QUAKE.
THEY WERE TAKEN
TO THE DANCE HALL
WHERE ONLY LAST NIGH
MISS FLORIDA HAD REIGNED
AS THE "ROLLER QUEEN."
I RODE AROUND WITH MY FATHER.
I SAT NEXT TO THE DRIVER,
ON THE DRIVER'S SEA
WHILE HE WENT AROUND
WITH HIS WAGON
LOOKING FOR INJURED PEOPLE
WHO HAD NOT BEEN FOUND.
AND THEN WE COULDN'
FIND NELLIE AFTER THAT.
NELLIE WAS THE HORSE.
AND I WAS CRYING, "WHERE IS
NELLIE? WHERE IS NELLIE?"
I NEVER HAVE LEARNED
WHAT HAPPENED TO NELLIE
NEVER HAVE LEARNED.
Abraham:
WHAT NO ONE YET REALIZED
THAT MORNING
WAS THAT THE GREATEST TRAGEDY
OF SAN FRANCISCO
WAS YET TO UNFOLD.
THE SHOCK HAD SNAPPED GAS MAINS
AND TOPPLED CHIMNEYS.
50 FIRES HAD STARTED
ALMOST SIMULTANEOUSLY.
ALTHOUGH THE CITY'S TELEPHONE
AND CENTRAL ALARM SYSTEM
WERE DESTROYED
THE INDIVIDUAL FIRE BRIGADES
FLEW INTO ACTION.
BUT WHEN THEY ARRIVED ON
THE SCENE, THERE WAS NO WATER.
THE QUAKE HAD BROKEN
ALMOST ALL WATER MAINS
COMING INTO THE CITY.
HYDRANTS GAVE OFF A TRICKLE
AND THEN RAN DRY.
BY 7:00 A.M., MAYOR SCHMITZ
HAD RECEIVED STATUS REPORTS
FROM THE POLICE
AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS.
HALF A DOZEN FIRES
WERE RAGING OUT OF CONTROL.
THE MAYOR ISSUED A PROCLAMATION
STATING THAT LOOTERS
WOULD BE SHOT ON SIGHT.
HE ALSO DEPUTIZED SPECIAL POLICE
WHOSE ACTIONS WOULD
LATER BE QUESTIONED.
BUT THE REAL POWER
LAY IN THE HANDS
OF BRIGADIER GENERAL
FREDERICK FUNSTON
THE RANKING ARMY OFFICER
IN SAN FRANCISCO.
FUNSTON COMMANDEERED
AUTOMOBILES AND MUSTERED TROOPS.
BY 8:00 A.M., MORE THAN
1,700 MEN HAD ARRIVED DOWNTOWN.
THEIR ORDERS WERE TO FIGH
THE FIRE, EVACUATE CITIZENS
AND PREVENT CRIMES.
BUT IN THE CHAOS THAT FOLLOWED
THE SOLDIERS THEMSELVES
WERE SEEN LOOTING.
BY THE TIME TROOPS WERE
PATROLLING THE STREETS
A GOOD PART OF THE CITY
WAS IN FLAMES.
AT ABOUT 9:00 A.M.
SOMEONE LIVING
IN THE HAYES VALLEY SECTION
KINDLED A FIRE TO COOK BREAKFAS
INNOCENT OF THE FACT THAT THE
QUAKE HAD DAMAGED THEIR CHIMNEY.
THIS WAS THE RESULT.
BY NOON, THE HAM AND EGGS FIRE,
AS IT CAME TO BE KNOWN
WAS ON ITS WAY TO CLAIMING
A GOOD PART OF THE CITY.
Faix:
MY FRIEND AND ME TOOK A HIKE
OVER BETWEEN FOURTH AND FIFTH
ON FOLSOM STREE
BECAUSE THERE WAS A LITTLE
WOODEN CHURCH WAS BURNING.
FLAMES WERE JUST SHOOTING UP.
AND WE STOOD WATCHING
THAT LITTLE CHURCH BURNING.
IT WAS HORRIBLE.
Murray:
THE FIRE WAS REALLY OFF
AND RUNNING BY THIS TIME.
WE GOT DOWN TO A BUILDING
THAT WAS GOING
AND I CAN RECALL THE CHIEF
WHO WAS IN COMMAND
YELLING THAT THE WALL
WAS COLLAPSING.
SO A POLICE OFFICER DECIDED
THAT WHAT WE WERE DOING THERE
WASN'T A RIGHT PROPER
PLACE TO BE
AND HE SAID,
"WHERE ARE YOU FROM?"
WE SAID, "TELEGRAPH HILL."
"WELL, GO ON HOME,"
AND HE SENT US BACK UP THE HILL.
Abraham:
IT WAS BELIEVED MANY
OF THE MODERN OFFICE BUILDINGS
COULD WITHSTAND THE FLAMES.
MOST PROMINENT:
THE CALL BUILDING
ONE OF AMERICA'S
FIRST SKYSCRAPERS.
THE CALL CAUGH
SHORTLY AFTER 10:30 A.M.
IT BURNED FROM THE TOP DOWN
ITS ELEVATOR SHAFTS
ACTING LIKE FLUES.
A FEW FIREMEN WERE TRAPPED
ON THE UPPER FLOORS
AND INCINERATED.
FUNSTON DECIDED
THAT THE ONLY HOPE
OF STOPPING THE DESTRUCTION
WAS TO USE DYNAMITE
TO CREATE A FIREBREAK.
AT 1:00 P.M., A DEMOLITION TEAM
BLEW UP THE MONADNOCK BUILDING.
( explosion)
THE DYNAMITE DIDN'T WORK.
ALL IT DID WAS GU
THE INTERIOR OF THE BUILDING
WITHOUT BRINGING IT DOWN.
AROUND THE CORNER,
A TELEGRAPH OPERATOR TAPPED OU
SAN FRANCISCO'S LAST MESSAGE
TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD.
Telegraph operator:
2:30 P.M THE CITY
PRACTICALLY RUINED BY FIRE.
IT'S WITHIN HALF A BLOCK OF US.
THE CALL BUILDING
IS BURNED OUT ENTIRELY.
THE EXAMINER BUILDING
JUST FELL IN A HEAP.
FIRE ALL AROUND US
IN EVERY DIRECTION.
DESTRUCTION BY EARTHQUAKE
SOMETHING FRIGHTFUL.
THEY ARE BLOWING UP
STANDING BUILDINGS
THAT ARE IN THE PATH
OF FLAMES WITH DYNAMITE.
NO WATER IT'S AWFUL.
I WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE
OR BE BLOWN UP.
Abraham:
BY 3:00 P.M., ALL
TELEGRAPH LINES WERE DOWN.
THE CITY WAS ISOLATED.
DYNAMITE IN THE HANDS
OF INEXPERIENCED MEN
OFTEN SPREAD THE FIRE
RATHER THAN CONTAINED IT.
Woman:
ALL DAY LONG, YOU HEAR
THOSE DYNAMITE GOING
BING, BING, BANG, ALL OVER.
WE ALWAYS THOUGH
THAT WAS A BIG WASTE.
Abraham:
NEXT TO THE MONADNOCK
WAS THE PALACE
WHERE CARUSO HAD
SPENT THE NIGHT.
IT WITHSTOOD
THE FLAMES UNTIL 3:30
WHEN ITS SPECIAL
SPRINKLER SYSTEM RAN DRY.
BARTENDERS GAVE AWAY
BOTTLES OF FINE WINE
WHILE NATIONAL GUARDSMEN
MADE A LAST-DITCH EFFOR
TO SAVE THE HOTEL.
BY 5:00 P.M., IT WAS GONE.
( flames roaring)
TOWARDS THE AFTERNOON,
IN CERTAIN PARTS OF THE CITY
THE FIRE BEGAN TO ASSUME
THE CHARACTERISTICS
OF A FIRE STORM.
( wind roaring)
THE FIRE GENERATED
ITS OWN SUPERHEATED WIND
WHICH CAUSED
SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION.
A POLICE OFFICER DESCRIBED
SEEING A TONGUE OF FLAME
CATCH THREE PEOPLE.
"IT CRACKLED LIKE A MILLION
FIRECRACKERS," HE SAID
"AND IT WAS LOW TO THE GROUND.
"THE FLAME SEEMED
TO PASS THROUGH THEM.
WHEN IT HAD GONE, THEY WERE JUS
BALLS OF FIRE ON THE GROUND."
Fun:
I REMEMBER SEEING THE FIRE
AND YOU KNOW, ALL AROUND
THERE WAS SMOKE AND EVERYTHING.
I REMEMBER LOOKING
AT THE SUN, OR MOON
I DON'T REMEMBER
IF IT WAS THE SUN OR MOON
IT WAS VERY RED
AND I REMEMBER HAVING
NIGHTMARES FOR A LONG TIME
REMEMBERING THAT ALL THA
REDNESS IN THE MOON OR SUN.
Abraham:
THE FIRE, BY LATE AFTERNOON
HAD NOT ONLY CUT SAN FRANCISCO
OFF FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD
ALL LINES OF COMMUNICATION
WITHIN THE CITY WERE SEVERED.
UNTRAINED DEPUTIES GUARDED
BANKS AND STORES
AND TOOK THE LAW
INTO THEIR OWN HANDS.
SOLDIERS PATROLLED THE STREETS
WITHOUT COMMANDING OFFICERS.
BY NIGHTFALL, THEY HAD
EVACUATED THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE.
Fun:
VERY SOON WE HAD PEOPLE
KNOCKING AT OUR DOOR
AND WANTING TO COME IN
BECAUSE THEY WANTED PEOPLE
TO GET OUT, EVACUATE.
AND THERE WERE SOLDIERS
AND WE HAD TO GET OUT.
AND THEY LED US
TO WASHINGTON SQUARE
AND WE WERE PUT UP THERE
JUST ASSIGNED A PLACE
WHERE WE WERE TO BE
IN THAT SECTION.
Abraham:
IN THE PANIC
SOLDIERS BARRED MANY
FROM SAVING THEIR POSSESSIONS
HOURS BEFORE THE FIRES
REACHED THEIR DISTRICT.
Faix:
ONE FELLOW SAYS
"I'M GOING TO TAKE A HIKE
OVER MARKET STREET."
AND THE SOLDIER SAID, "NOBODY
GOES OVER MARKET STREET."
HE SAYS, "WHO'S
GOING TO STOP ME?"
AND THE SOLDIER SAYS,
"I WILL
BECAUSE IF YOU INSIST,
I'LL PUT A BULLET THROUGH YOU."
Abraham:
KIDS WHO WERE FOUND LOOTING WERE
SPARED BUT PUBLICLY HUMILIATED
AND FORCED TO WEAR PLACARDS
PROCLAIMING THEIR CRIME.
LATER, THERE WOULD BE
PERSISTENT REPORTS OF SHOOTINGS.
SOMEBODY WAS SCREAMING
ON BROADWAY.
WHEN WE WALKED BACK THERE,
THE GUY STARTS RUNNING
AND THEN THE CLOSEST SENTRY
WHO WAS AFTER HIM SAYS
"HALT! OTHERWISE I'LL SHOOT!"
SO HE SHOT BECAUSE
HE WOULDN'T HALT, SEE?
( gunshot)
Abraham:
TOWARDS EVENING
A YOUNG NEWSPAPER REPORTER NAMED
JACK LONDON SURVEYED THE SCENE.
"I KNEW IT WAS
ALL DOOMED," HE WROTE.
"I WALKED FOR MILES AND MILES
THROUGH EMPTY BLOCKS.
"IN THE INTENSE HEAT OF THE CITY
"TWO TROOPERS SA
ON THEIR HORSES AND WATCHED.
SURRENDER WAS COMPLETE."
THOUSANDS WERE HUDDLED
IN OPEN SQUARES AND PARKS
WHILE THE FIRE RAGED UNCHECKED
THROUGH SURROUNDING
NEIGHBORHOODS.
OTHERS WATCHED FROM ROOFTOPS
ON TELEGRAPH HILL,
RUSSIAN HILL AND NOB HILL.
BY THIS TIME, IT SEEMED TO MANY
THERE WAS NOTHING
ONE COULD DO BUT WATCH.
Murray:
THAT NIGHT WE WENT UP ON TOP
OF THE HILL, MY MOTHER AND I.
AND THE WHOLE CITY WAS BURNING.
ALL SOUTH OF MARKET AND ALL
ALONG THE WATERFRONT WAS GOING
AND SHE SAID TO ME
"WELL, WILL, YOU'LL NOW BE
A PIONEER OF NEW SAN FRANCISCO."
Abraham:
BY 10:00 P.M., 250 CITY BLOCKS
HAD GONE UP IN FLAME.
SOUTH OF MARKET WAS GONE.
THE FINANCIAL DISTRICT WAS GONE.
CHINATOWN AND THE BARBARY COAS
WOULD BURN IN THE NIGHT.
REPORTS BEGAN TO REACH
THE OUTSIDE WORLD
BUT IT WOULD TAKE
DAYS BEFORE ANYONE
INCLUDING THOSE
WHO LIVED THROUGH I
COULD FULLY GRASP
WHAT WAS HAPPENING.
THE HEADLINES WERE
PART FACT AND PART FICTION.
AT DAWN ON APRIL 19,
24 HOURS AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE
PEOPLE WHO HAD LOST THEIR HOMES
GATHERED IN THE STREETS.
THEY SEEMED SHELL-SHOCKED
UNWILLING OR UNABLE
TO GO ANY FURTHER.
FORTUNES, FACTORIES, HOMES
HAD ALL BEEN SWEPT AWAY.
WORD GOT AROUND THAT BOATS WERE
TAKING PEOPLE ACROSS THE BAY
AND THOUSANDS BEGAN
THE LONG TREK DOWN MARKET STREE
TO THE FERRY BUILDING.
Lee:
MY PARENTS WERE ABLE
TO HIRE A WAGON.
WE SAID WE WANTED TO GO
TO THE WATERFRON
TO TAKE A BOAT OVER TO RICHMOND.
AND THE PEOPLE DEMANDED
$20 FOR THE RIDE
AND THAT WAS QUITE
A SUM OF MONEY IN THOSE DAYS
BECAUSE THE AVERAGE CHINESE
EARNED ABOUT $15 A MONTH.
Abraham:
OTHERS DRAGGED TRUNKS FOR MILES
OR CARRIED WHAT THEY COULD
ON THEIR BACKS.
MESSAGES TO LOST FRIENDS
AND RELATIVES
WERE CHALKED
ON THE SIDES OF BUILDINGS.
ANOTHER REPORTER JOINED
A STREAM OF REFUGEES.
HE WROTE
Reporter ( dramatized):
THE STREET SEEMED DEAD
NOT RECENTLY DEAD
BUT AS IF BURIED
BY SOME CATACLYSM OF LONG AGO
AND THEN DUG OUT OF THE LAVA.
EVERYWHERE THERE WAS SMOKE
A CONTORTION OF STONE
AND A GREAT SILENCE.
Abraham:
AT THE END OF THE LONG MARCH
WHEN PEOPLE FINALLY
GOT TO THE FERRY BUILDING.
THEY WERE TOLD
THEY COULD ONLY TAKE
WHAT THEY COULD
CARRY IN THEIR ARMS.
BY MIDDAY ON APRIL 19,
250,000 WERE HOMELESS;
OVER 3,000 WERE DEAD.
BUT THAT WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING:
THE CITY WOULD BURN
FOR ANOTHER TWO DAYS
WHEN THE FIRE
HAD BURNED ITSELF OU
WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST,
THE NEWSPAPER MAGNATE
ARRIVED IN WHAT WAS LEF
OF SAN FRANCISCO.
HE WROTE
Hearst ( dramatized):
THE HILLS ROLLED TO THE SEAS
AS BARE AS WHEN
THE PIONEERS LANDED IN '49.
BUT NOW THEY ARE
A BLACKENED WASTE.
NORTH TO THE BAY,
WEST TO THE MISSION
NOTHING BUT RUINS.
THE WHOLESALE DISTRIC
IS DESTROYED
THE MANUFACTURING DISTRICT,
THE FINANCIAL DISTRIC
AND THE WATERFRON
SECTION, ALL DESTROYED.
I WILL NOT ATTEMP
ANY DESCRIPTION OF THIS SCENE.
I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT ANY
WORDS OF MINE COULD CONVEY
THE SLIGHTEST COMPREHENSION
OF THE WRECK AND RUIN.
Murray:
TOOK US OUT
TOOK THE WHOLE HILL OUT.
WE HAD NOTHING UP THERE.
AFTER THE FIRE
WE SAW WHERE WE LIVED.
ALL THAT WAS LEF
WAS THE CONCRETE FOUNDATION.
WE FOUND A LITTLE SEWING MACHINE
THAT YOU TURNED AROUND
BY HAND, FOR A LITTLE GIRL.
MY SISTER HAD IT.
THAT WAS IN THE RUINS
AND THAT WAS ABOU
ALL WE SAVED.
Hearst ( dramatized):
ONE MUST FREE
THE MIND OF THE IDEA
THAT THERE HAS BEEN
A FIRE IN SAN FRANCISCO
AND MUST REALIZE
THAT THERE HAS BEEN
A FIRE OF SAN FRANCISCO:
THE WHOLE CITY HAS GONE UP
IN ONE MIGHTY BLAZE.
THE CALAMITY SEEMS OVERWHELMING
AND YET THE PEOPLE
ARE NOT OVERWHELMED.
EVERYTHING HAS BEEN DESTROYED
EXCEPT THAT INDOMITABLE
AMERICAN PLUCK.
IN A MONTH
THERE WILL BE THE BEGINNING
OF A NEW AND SPLENDID CITY.
IN THREE YEARS
IT WILL BE BUILT AND BUSY.
Abraham:
FINDING LOVED ONES
WOULD TAKE DAYS.
HUNDREDS PRAYED
THEY WOULD NOT FIND THEM
ON THE LISTS OF THE CORONER,
WHO NOW SUPERVISED THE EXHUMING
OF HASTILY BURIED CORPSES
IN PORTSMOUTH SQUARE.
FOOD WAS SHORT AT FIRST.
MEN SCAVENGED FOR CANNED GOODS
IN THE DEBRIS.
DRINKING WATER WAS
A PRECIOUS COMMODITY.
BUT EVEN BEFORE THE FIRE
HAD BURNED OU
SUPPLIES BEGAN TO FLOOD
INTO THE CITY.
MILITARY GARRISONS
FROM PORTLAND AND SEATTLE
SENT 900,000 RATIONS.
A RELIEF TRAIN ARRIVED
FROM LOS ANGELES.
HEARST MOBILIZED THE RESOURCES
OF HIS NEWSPAPERS
AND DISPATCHED 12 TRAINS
FROM NEW YORK.
CONGRESS APPROPRIATED
$1 MILLION.
PLEDGES OF MONEY CAME FROM
CITIES, TOWNS AND ORGANIZATIONS
ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
SOUP KITCHENS CROPPED UP
AMID THE RUINS
AND EVERYONE WAITED IN LINES.
Kevie:
MY FATHER AND I, MANY A TIME
STOOD IN LINE FROM EARLY MORNING
UNTIL MAYBE 4:00 OR 5:00
IN THE AFTERNOON.
AT THE COUNTER WHERE
THEY WERE HANDING IT OUT, WELL
"SORRY, IT'S ALL GONE."
THEN YOU HAD TO WAIT UNTIL
THE NEXT DAY TO GET IN LINE.
Abraham:
STANDING IN BREAD LINES, MEA
LINES, SOUP LINES, ANY LINE
BECAME THE CENTRAL
ACTIVITY OF LIFE
EVERYONE HAD TO DO IT.
SOLDIERS MADE SURE
NOBODY CHEATED.
SOME PEOPLE JOKED ABOUT IT.
OTHERS DIDN'T THINK
IT WAS SO FUNNY.
A FEW WERE INSPIRED
TO WRITE POETRY.
Woman:
IT AIN'T SUCH
A TERRIBLE LONG TIME AGO
THAT MRS. VAN BERGEN AND ME
THOUGH LIVING NEARBY
TO EACH OTHER, YOU KNOW
WAS STRANGERS,
FOR ALL YOU COULD SEE
FOR SHE HAD A GRAND HOUSE
AND HORSES TO DRIVE
AND A WEE RENTED COTTAGE
WAS MINE
BUT NOW WE NEED RATIONS
TO KEEP US ALIVE
AND WE'RE STANDING
TOGETHER IN LINE.
Abraham:
IF YOU WEREN'T STANDING IN LINE,
YOU WERE PROBABLY DIGGING OU
WHETHER YOU LIKED IT OR NOT.
MY FATHER WAS STANDING
ON THE CURB
RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE TENTS,
AND AN ARMY MAN CAME ALONG.
MY FATHER WAS VERY COURTESY
AND HE SAID,
"GOOD MORNING, CAPTAIN"
AND HE SAYS, "YOU WORKING?"
MY FATHER SAYS, "NO, SIR."
AND HE SAYS, "COME WITH ME."
ANYBODY WALKING THE STREETS
GOT A SHOVEL
FOLLOWED THE TRUCK
FOR FIVE OR SIX BLOCKS
UNTIL THEY PICKED UP ANOTHER GUY
THEN THEY LE
THE LAST GUY LOOSE.
AND THAT'S THE WAY IT WENT ON
UNTIL THEY WORKED
UNTIL 6:00 MAYBE.
Abraham:
WITHIN A WEEK
OF THE END OF THE FIRE
OVER 200,000 PEOPLE
FOUND SHELTER IN CAMPS
THAT HAD SPRUNG UP IN THE PARKS
AND SQUARES OF THE CITY.
NEWSPAPERS IN SAN FRANCISCO
PORTRAYED THE LIFE OF THE CAMPS
AS DOWNRIGHT HEROIC.
HERE AGAIN WAS
FRONTIER MAN AND WOMAN
REDUCED TO THE BARE
NECESSITIES OF LIFE
TOUGHING IT OUT LIKE
THE STALWART PIONEERS OF '49.
Murray:
WE WERE COOKING OU
IN FRONT OF THE TENTS
AND THE SAND WOULD
BLOW INTO THE BEANS.
THE GRIT OF THAT SAND
IN THE BEANS
I COULDN'T LOOK AT A BEAN
FOR MANY YEARS AFTER THAT.
Abraham:
WHILE PEOPLE STARTED LIFE
OVER AGAIN IN THE CAMPS
THE CITY ITS GOVERNMENT,
UTILITIES AND BUSINESS
STRUGGLED TO GE
BACK ON ITS FEET.
CITY HALL WAS DEVASTATED.
THE QUAKE HAD EXPOSED
FAKE MARBLE COLUMNS
EVIDENCE OF UNDERHANDED DEALS
WITH THE CONTRACTORS
WHO HAD BUILT I
AT THE INFLATED COS
OF $7 MILLION.
MAYOR SCHMITZ AND HIS CRONIES
WOULD EVENTUALLY BE DEPOSED.
BUT FOR THE TIME BEING,
HE WAS STILL IMMENSELY POPULAR
AND IT SEEMED
THAT THE QUAKE HAD SHOCKED HIM
INTO HIS BEST BEHAVIOR.
WITH THE GRIM MEMORY
OF THE HAM AND EGGS FIRE
THE MAYOR ORDERED
EVERYONE WITH A HOME
TO COOK OUTSIDE UNTIL INSPECTORS
COULD CHECK THEIR CHIMNEYS.
ANOTHER BIG PROBLEM
WAS SANITATION.
WITH SEWERS BLOCKED,
EPIDEMICS WERE FEARED.
RATS FLUSHED FROM THE SEWERS
COULD CARRY THE BUBONIC PLAGUE.
Man:
THE ONE THING MY MOTHER
DIDN'T LIKE WAS RATS.
WE HAD FIVE ASH CANS
FOR ALL OUR REFUGEES
AND WHEN WE COME BACK FOR LUNCH,
I'D INSPECT THE ASH CANS
TO SEE IF A RA
HAD GOTTEN IN ONE.
IF HE GOT IN ONE,
HE COULDN'T GET OUT.
MY DOG SANDY, A FOX TERRIER,
WOULD BE THERE WAGGING HIS TAIL
AND IF THERE WAS A RA
IN ANY OF THE CANS
I'D TIP IT OVER
AND THE RAT WOULD JUMP OU
AND SANDY WOULD KILL HIM.
SO I WOULD TAKE THE RA
OVER TO THIS TEENAGER
WHO WOULD TAKE I
TO THE HOSPITAL
THE CITY WAS PAYING
A BOUNTY ON DEAD RATS.
HE WOULD GIVE US SOME CANDY
AND HE'D COLLECT THE BOUNTY.
Abraham:
THE MAIN POST OFFICE SURVIVED.
MAIL SERVICE RESUMED
ALMOST IMMEDIATELY.
LETTERS WERE ACCEPTED
WITHOUT STAMPS OR ENVELOPES.
MESSAGES WERE SCRAWLED
ON ANY AVAILABLE SCRAP OF PAPER
SAYING, "ALL SAFE,
ALTHOUGH LOST ALL"
AND "EVERYTHING RUINED,
BUT DON'T WORRY
GOVERNMENT IS LOOKING OUT."
INSURANCE COMPANIES, HAVING LOS
THEIR RECORDS IN THE FIRE
SET UP A BUREAU TO SORT OU
$170 MILLION IN CLAIMS.
BUSINESSMEN WAITED FOR WEEKS
FOR THEIR SAFES TO COOL
BEFORE DISCOVERING
WHAT REMAINED.
IT WAS SAID
THAT IN MANY PLACES
THE DEBRIS WAS NO
EVEN ALLOWED TO COOL
AND BRICKS WERE
PITCHED FROM LOTS
WHEN STILL "AS WARM AS MUFFINS."
CLEAN-UP VOLUNTEERS
TOOK UP THE REFRAIN:
"IN THE DAMNEDEST FINEST RUINS,
I'D RATHER BE A BRICK
THAN LIVE ANYWHERE ELSE
BUT SAN FRANCISCO."
THE GREAT CLEAN-UP HAD BEGUN.
( loud rumbling)
THOUSANDS OF STANDING WALLS
WERE TORN DOWN.
AN ESTIMATED 6½ BILLION
BRICKS WERE CARTED AWAY
OR CLEANED OF MORTAR
TO BE REUSED IN NEW BUILDINGS.
THE DEMOLITION OF THE GUTTED
PALACE HOTEL COST $90,000.
FOR THE WHOLE CITY,
JUST HAULING AWAY THE MESS
AND DUMPING IT IN THE BAY
WOULD COST $20 MILLION.
RAILROAD TRACKS WERE LAID DOWN
STREETS ALL OVER TOWN
FOR DEBRIS TRAINS.
YOU WERE LUCKY IF TRACKS
RAN NEAR YOUR PROPERTY.
IF NOT, YOU'D SWAP
YOUR KINGDOM FOR A HORSE.
IN THE FIRST 18 MONTHS
OF RECONSTRUCTION
15,000 HORSES DIED IN HARNESS.
CONTRACTORS FIGURED
INTO THEIR COSTS THE VALUE
OF THE ANIMALS THEY KNEW THEY
WOULD HAVE TO WORK TO DEATH.
WORK ON THE STREETCAR SYSTEM
BEGAN AT ONCE.
THE UNITED RAILROAD
REPLACED CABLE SYSTEMS
WITH OVERHEAD WIRES
FOR NEW ELECTRIC TROLLEYS.
ONLY TEN DAYS AFTER THE QUAKE
MAYOR SCHMITZ INAUGURATED
SERVICE ON THE FIRST LINE.
PEOPLE CHEERED
AS THE CAR PASSED.
SOME FORGOT TO MOVE
UNTIL ALMOST TOO LATE
THOUSANDS OF LABORERS WORKED
ON RESTORING THE LINES.
WITHIN A FEW WEEKS
225 MILES OF TRACK
WERE UP AND RUNNING.
NEWSPAPERS PROCLAIMED
THE REBIRTH OF THE CITY.
A NEWSPAPER REPORTER
ASSERTED THAT
Reporter ( dramatized):
THE BUSINESS OF SAN FRANCISCO
HAS NOT BEEN DESTROYED
MERELY THE BUSINESS EQUIPMENT.
IF THERE IS
A BUSINESSMAN IN THIS CITY
WHO IS NOT PERFECTING HIS PLAN
FOR RESUMING AT THE OLD STAND
THE CHRONICLE
HAS NOT HEARD OF HIM.
IT'S A FREE STATE,
EVERYONE BEGINNING OVER AGAIN
RICH AND POOR ALIKE.
THE CHIEF OF POLICE SITS IN
THE WINDOW OF A CORNER GROCERY.
AND THE RELIEF COMMITTEE
IS WORKING 24 HOURS A DAY
FROM THE SHOWROOM
OF A VEGETABLE GROCER.
COOKING THEIR DINNERS
IN THE STREETS
MAY BE SEEN GIRLS
WHO WERE EDUCATED
AT STANFORD, BERKELEY,
VASSAR AND BRYN MAWR.
THE LOSS OF LIFE IS SMALL;
THE LOSS OF SOCIAL
POSITION IS COLOSSAL.
DOWN TO THE ELEMENTS NOW
NOTHING COUNTS BUT HUMAN LOVE.
HUMANITY IS ON THE FLAT,
AND EVERYONE IS ON THE LEVEL.
Abraham:
WITHIN SIX MONTHS,
THE RANKS OF THE BUILDING TRADES
DOUBLED FROM 20,000 TO 40,000.
WORKINGMEN ARRIVED
FROM ALL OVER THE NATION.
POPULAR POSTCARDS FEATURED
"THE BRICK CLEANER"
"THE CARPENTER"
AND "THE STEEL-GIRDER MAN"
AS THE HEROES OF SAN FRANCISCO.
A CARPENTER COULD MAKE A FA
WAGE OF FOUR DOLLARS A DAY.
IN NEW YORK CITY,
LAWYERS WERE ONLY MAKING $1.50.
THE CHINESE RETURNED
FROM SEGREGATED CAMPS
TO SURVEY WHAT WAS
ONCE THEIR HOME.
IN THE NEXT THREE YEARS,
CHINATOWN WOULD BE REBUIL
MOSTLY BY THE CHINESE
THEMSELVES.
Lee:
MY FATHER WAS SO GRATEFUL
THAT THE FAMILY WAS INTAC
THAT WE HAD SUFFERED
NO GREAT LOSS
THAT HE DECIDED TO FOLLOW
THE AMERICAN CUSTOM
OF HAVING A THANKSGIVING DINNER.
AND SO HE BOUGHT A 20-POUND
TURKEY AND A PORTABLE OVEN
AND ROASTED THE TURKEY.
THAT CAUSED QUITE A COMMOTION
AMONG THE PEOPLE
LIVING IN THE TENEMENT HOUSE
BECAUSE THEY HAD NEVER
HEARD OF SUCH A THING
BUT MY FATHER SAID,
"THE AMERICAN CUSTOM IS
"TO HAVE
A THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING."
Abraham:
28,000 BUILDINGS
HAD BEEN DESTROYED.
THREE YEARS LATER, THEY WOULD
BE REPLACED BY 20,500 NEW ONES.
A COMPLETELY NEW CITY ROSE UP
ON THE EDGE OF THE BAY.
THE PEOPLE OF SAN FRANCISCO
SHARED A SENSE OF TRIUMPH.
THEY ALSO SHARED A DESIRE
TO ERASE THE MEMORY
OF THE DISASTER
AND REASSURE THEMSELVES
AND THE REST OF THE WORLD
THAT THE NEW CITY WAS
SOMEHOW INVINCIBLE.
THEY FOUGHT FOR
AND WON THE RIGH
TO HOST THE WORLD'S FAIR
OF 1915.
FEBRUARY 20 WAS OPENING DAY.
"COME DOWN INTO THE STREETS,"
INSTRUCTED THE ORGANIZERS
"WE WANT EVERYBODY.
"AFTER YEARS OF WAITING,
THE HOUR HAS COME
"FOR SAN FRANCISCO
TO COME INTO HER OWN.
WE ARE GOING OUT THERE
TO OPEN OUR EXPOSITION."
WHEN THE CROWD ENTERED THE GATES
IT FELL STRANGELY SILENT.
THERE WAS A BENEDICTION:
"TO THE CITY OF ST. FRANCIS
BY THE WESTERN SEA
GIVE A HOPE AND A FAITH
THAT KNOW NOT FAILURE."
EVEN THE CITY'S
CHINESE WERE INVITED.
THEY STAGED A GRAND PARADE
THROUGH THE STREETS TO THE FAIR.
THE ITALIANS STAGED
THEIR OWN EVENTS
CELEBRATING COLUMBUS,
THE DISCOVERER OF AMERICA
AND THE GREAT ITALIAN
PATRIOT GARIBALDI.
( crowd talking excitedly)
FATTY ARBUCKLE
AND MABEL NORMAND
KING AND QUEEN OF SILENT COMEDY
WERE WELCOMED BY A NEW MAYOR
ON THE STEPS
OF THE HALF-FINISHED CITY HALL
A SYMBOL OF REFORMED
CITY GOVERNMENT.
THE FAIR ITSELF WAS DESIGNED
TO REPRESEN
THE COMPLETE DEVELOPMEN
OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION
UP TO PRESENT TIME.
THE WONDERS OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY
WERE PARTICULARLY REASSURING.
THEY SEEMED TO DEMONSTRATE
A TRIUMPH OF MAN
OVER THE FORCES OF NATURE.
( airplane motor buzzing)
THE WORLD'S FAIR'S
FIRE DEPARTMEN
WAS SUPPLIED
WITH THE MOST MODERN EQUIPMENT.
THE LAST OF THE OLD
HORSE-DRAWN STEAMERS
HAD JUST BEEN REPLACED
THE YEAR BEFORE.
THANKS TO THE NEW
MOTORIZED FIRE TRUCKS
AND THE INSTALLATION
OF HIGH-PRESSURE WATER MAINS
PEOPLE WERE CONFIDEN
THAT DESTRUCTION BY FIRE
COULD NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN.
TENS OF THOUSANDS CAME
TO SAN FRANCISCO
IN SPITE OF THE WORRY THAT THE
CITY REMAINED ON SHAKY GROUND.
IN THE END,
THERE WERE NO GUARANTEES
THAT THE CITY WAS INVINCIBLE.
THERE WAS ONLY
THE WILL AND THE EXAMPLE
OF THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES.
HERE WAS MANIFEST AN INDOMITABLE
AND IMPETUOUS SPIRI
THAT, IN THE WAKE OF DISASTER,
HAD BUILT AN ENTIRE CITY
AND A WORLD'S FAIR
FROM THE GROUND UP.
Klahn:
IT WAS FAIRYLAND.
IT WAS JUST LIKE
FAIRYLAND TO ME.
Luchetti:
THOSE WERE THE GLORIOUS YEARS
WHEN I WAS 15
AND IT WAS JUST BEAUTIFUL.
Murray:
THAT WAS ONE
OF THE MOST WONDERFUL FAIRS
THEY'LL EVER HAVE ANYWHERE.
Devecchi:
OH, THAT PLACE?
THAT'S A NICE PLACE.
AND THE ONLY WORDS
THAT I COULD USE
IT WAS MAGNIFICENT!
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