After the Quake: San Francisco’s Market Street Ruins, 1906

Witness the raw devastation of San Francisco in this haunting footage captured after the earthquake of April 18, 1906, as a vehicle rolls east down Market Street. Filmed amidst the chaos following the 7.9-magnitude tremor that shattered the city, the scenes unveil a landscape of crumbled buildings, smoldering debris, and fractured streets—remnants of a disaster that sparked fires, razed over 25,000 structures, and left thousands dead or homeless. This silent reel, likely shot days after the quake, offers a stark glimpse of a city in ruins, its once-thriving artery now a testament to nature’s fury. A gripping relic for history buffs, disaster scholars, and San Francisco heritage fans, it freezes a moment of loss and resilience in time.