San Francisco?

Question

I NEED a description of San Francisco life before the earthquake in 1906. For example their daily lives, the types of entirtainment, ect. Any thing would be helpful so please please please help! I will accept websites too as long as its not wikipedia. Thank you =]

Answer 1

Hi there, Life at the turn of the 20th century was pretty boring by today's standards. There was no tv, no radio, the telephone had just come into common use, and electrification was in it's infancy. Most people got around on horseback, or horse drawn carriage, or simply walked. Common household appliances like washing machines were almost none existant. People worked much harder and were less productive, but possibly more content. Foods were fresh or dried or salted/canned. Out of season foods were mostly unobtainable. No refrigeration (at least not recognizable by most of us). Mail came by train. Long distance travel was by same or by ship. An ocean crossing depending on the vessel could take up to a month. Not for the faint of heart. San Francisco was a fair size city and had more amenities than folks would have had in smaller more remote places. Public transit was the street railway (ie cable cars). I am sure there are copies of the daily newspaper from this period which could shed much more detailed information on this subject but i hope this helps get you started.

Answer 2

Get a copy of the book "A Crack in the Edge of the World - The Great American Earthquake of 1906" by Simon Winchester, Viking Books, 2005. It is very readable and should give you all the information you want.

Answer 3

Here are links to the SF Museum and other sites that have various tidbits about life in the city before the 1906 quake.
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/index3.html
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/index2.html
http://www.zpub.com/sf/history/
http://www.zpub.com/sf/history/sfh2.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/kron/archive/1999/02/10/ba2k1900.DTL&type=ba2k
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/kron/archive/1999/02/10/ba2kplague.DTL&type=ba2k