Hayward Earthquake, 1868

Abstract

Figure 120 is a newspaper print taken from the November 1868 issue of Harper's Weekly. The picture presents a composed illustration of the seismic damage caused by the 1868 Hayward earthquake of October 21. In the city of San Francisco, several houses were ruined or heavily damaged at their street facades up to the first floor. However, without complementary information, one cannot decide, what was the share of the destructive seismic waves and how much the hasty construction of San Francisco buildings could be blamed for the damage. Most of San Francisco buildings were risen up within few years during the Golden Rush in 1848,and it it notoriously known that the constructio quality of many first town buildings had been rathr poor.