On April 18, 1906, five-foot-deep holes cracked through Market Street and ate people whole like cavernous maws to hapless anchovies. Author David K. Randall recounts in Black Death at the Golden Gate how Howard Street’s American Hotel collapsed on firefighter James O’Neill, crushing him beneath. And, when the first intense

Turkey’s tectonic predicament, responsible for the massive quake that struck Kahramanmaras at 4:17 Monday morning, looks awfully familiar.  The tectonic situation in Turkey nearly mirrors California’s. Similar mechanics are at work here. Our dominant faults shove landmasses past one another in opposing directions, much like theirs. The major difference is,

Step into a world of adventure with the San Francisco Beer Passport. There’s no better way to explore San Francisco than to literally drink it in. This passport is amazing! Each one contains 27 coupons to buy one beer, get a second beer FREE at 27 of the finest locally

Sunday night’s earthquake was unremarkable by California standards. For some, the M2.9 tremor was their very first seismic experience. A burp of the notorious Hayward Fault, it struck near the mouth of the Caldecott Tunnel directly beneath Highway 24, where it dams Lake Temescal. North Oakland’s Rockridge and Piedmont neighborhoods,

In 1942, San Francisco City Hall employees began to fear their place of work.  Every day, shortly after noon, employees heard five rapping sounds, seemingly emanating from within the walls. This was followed by a brief pause, then another three raps. Nobody could explain the source of these eerie sounds. 

The Westin St. Francis Hotel looms on the edge of Union Square, bearing silent witness to flocks of tourists and shoppers who likely know nothing of its history. Built in 1904, the St. Francis Hotel is now known to be one of the most haunted hotels in California. Many notable

Yesterday was the 116th anniversary of the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. Today is the 116th anniversary of the day Dolores Park’s “Golden Hydrant” supposedly saved the Mission District in an obscure but enduring bit of possibly-true San Francisco lore. The Golden Hydrant was the only working hydrant immediately

The Saloon, in North Beach, is regularly touted as San Francisco’s oldest bar, dating back to 1861. While other bars were started sooner, their original buildings were destroyed during the 1906 earthquake and fire. The Saloon miraculously survived thanks to the firefighters and sailors that stretched a hose from the Bay in order to rescue the prostitutes that lived above the watering hole.

Fire Chief Dennis T. Sullivan’s cautionary words proved prophetic, as the city was thrown into a disaster which destroyed over 80% of the city and killed about 3,000 people–including Sullivan.