Relief Housing
After and during the 1906 earthquake, the refugees of san francisco lived in tents. But when winter came around more than 5,000 cottages(earthquake shacks) were built by the army. They had built 5,610 redwood and fir relief cottages to help the 20,000 homeless people. Most people were in working class and couldn't afford to rebuild right after all that had happened. Refugees from Chinatown were segregated from the others and sent to different camps in tents in a windy and cold area by the Golden Gate Bridge. The houses were designed by John McLaren, and were grouped in eleven different camps. They were built close to each other and were rented out to the refugees for $2 a month until the city rebuilt the houses that were damaged or destroyed. Mayor Schmitz talked about his concerns for the people and how the clean conditions should be and how they should be in a good location for the new cottage camps that were being built for the people. "I'm only afraid these people will never want to leave their new homes here." The cottages had cedar-"shingle roofs", "fir floors" and "redwood walls". To get stoves put into the cottages people that were living there had to pay extra, and toilets were built in the parks for the "refugee community" to use. They were painted an olive green color to blend into the parks and space which were they were built in and also because the military had a big amount of the olive colored paint on them. The camps had 16,448 people surviving in them, but by 1907 most people were moving or had already moved out. When the camps started closing the refugees brought their cottages to private spaces, and often "cobbled" together two or more of them to make bigger house or living space for themselves and families. The cottages cost about $100 to put up and the price of one of these shacks was about $50.The last official refugee camp was closed on June 30, 1908. Most of the shacks from the quake have been destroyed, but some are still standing today. The ones that did survive are re-used as garages, storage spaces and shops.Two of the earthquake cottages are housed in the Presidio.
The cottages were noticed by the public in the early 1980s, when a "shack activist" Jane F. Cryan began advocating to preserve them. Her advocations created the "City Landmark #171". This helped rescue three of the shacks at 1227 24th Avenue and the two others that are housed in the Presidio in San Francisco. She also created the "Save the Shacks" campaign in the early 1980s when she was evicted from a shack she was living in, in Richmond. The shacks that were housed in the Presidio were given nicknames, "The Goldies" after their pre-owners, Goldie Raczkowsky and Ray Raczkowsky. In 2002, "The Western Neighborhoods Project" had a big part in saving 4 cottages, which had been "cobbled" together into 2 living spaces at 4329 & 4331 Kirkham Street, they're known as "The Kirkham Shacks". In a project that took about four years, one cottage was totally restored and "displayed" on Market Street during April in 2006 for "The Centennial Remembrance Of The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake And Fire". In 2008, it was housed at the San Francisco Zoo's Conservation Corner while the other three cottages, one that couldn't be restored, were donated to the "5th Avenue Institute" by Oakland's "Jack London Square". In the Ocean View district two shacks were put over a house as a second story and many others were used as homes in Bernal Heights. Another shack was recently found in a Sunset district backyard, and another one at the zoo where it was part of a demonstration on "sustainable practices of rainwater" and were collected from runoff water from the shack’s to water the gardens"
The cottages were noticed by the public in the early 1980s, when a "shack activist" Jane F. Cryan began advocating to preserve them. Her advocations created the "City Landmark #171". This helped rescue three of the shacks at 1227 24th Avenue and the two others that are housed in the Presidio in San Francisco. She also created the "Save the Shacks" campaign in the early 1980s when she was evicted from a shack she was living in, in Richmond. The shacks that were housed in the Presidio were given nicknames, "The Goldies" after their pre-owners, Goldie Raczkowsky and Ray Raczkowsky. In 2002, "The Western Neighborhoods Project" had a big part in saving 4 cottages, which had been "cobbled" together into 2 living spaces at 4329 & 4331 Kirkham Street, they're known as "The Kirkham Shacks". In a project that took about four years, one cottage was totally restored and "displayed" on Market Street during April in 2006 for "The Centennial Remembrance Of The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake And Fire". In 2008, it was housed at the San Francisco Zoo's Conservation Corner while the other three cottages, one that couldn't be restored, were donated to the "5th Avenue Institute" by Oakland's "Jack London Square". In the Ocean View district two shacks were put over a house as a second story and many others were used as homes in Bernal Heights. Another shack was recently found in a Sunset district backyard, and another one at the zoo where it was part of a demonstration on "sustainable practices of rainwater" and were collected from runoff water from the shack’s to water the gardens"
The images above are of the some of the remaining refugee relief houses
Foot notes 1906 Earthquake: Refugee Camps (National Parks Service) By: United States. National Park Service. http://www.nps.gov/prsf/learn/historyculture/1906-earthquake-relief-efforts-living-accommodations.htm 1906 Earthquake Refugee Shacks - Western Neighborhoods Project - San Francisco History (1906 Earthquake Refugee Shacks - Western Neighborhoods Project - San Francisco History) http://www.nps.gov/prsf/learn/historyculture/1906-earthquake-relief-efforts-living-accommodations.htm http://www.outsidelands.org/shacks.php 1906 Earthquake Refugee Shacks - Western Neighborhoods Project - San Francisco History (1906 Earthquake Refugee Shacks - Western The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake (The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake) http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/nca/1906/18april/index.php photo citations Public Domain Intensity map for the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake deduced from the Lawson report from U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2005-1135 Modified Mercalli Intensity Maps for the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Plotted in ShakeMap Format By John Boatwright and Howard Bundock Selecthttp://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Row_of_shacks.jp SourceHigh resolution download from http://www.dodmedia.osd.mil/DVIC_View/Still_Details.cfm?SDAN=DASN0300958&JPGPath=/Assets/Still/2003/Army/DA-SN-03-00958.JP |