For 45 seconds to a minute, violent shocks rolled through the city. The worst damage occurred in areas built over infill, where the ground “liquefied,” causing the collapse of several wood-framed houses. When the Wells Fargo Nevada National Bank Building, pictured here, was burned down, the company set up a temporary office on Jackson Street. Due to the fires, many banks in the city were unable to open their safes right away: they had to wait 5-7 days for temperatures to cool down enough

Author Jack London was dispatched by Collier's Magazine to report on the scene: By Wednesday afternoon, inside of twelve hours, half the heart of the city was gone. At that time I watched the vast conflagration from out on the bay. It was dead calm. Not a flicker of wind stirred. Yet from every side wind was pouring in upon the city. East, west, north, and south, strong winds were blowing upon the doomed city. The heated air rising made an enormous suck. Thus did the fire of itself build its own colossal chimney through the atmosphere. Day and night this dead calm continued, and yet, near to the flames, the wind was often half a gale, so mighty was the force.

Even if buildings survived the initial destruction, fires caused by gas line breaks were exacerbated by broken water mains, which rendered fire hydrants useless, causing immense ruin. The Palace Hotel, one of the “finest hotels in the world,” covered 2.5 acres along Market Street. Although the structure survived the Earthquake's shocks, it succumbed to the fires that followed over the next three days. The hotel was left a shell and was demolished over 156 days. It was fully rebuilt in just three years, using the surviving superstructure as the new foundation.

The only standing structure in this photograph is the Mills Building, which was designed by George B. Post and completed in 1882. Due to its steel-frame construction, it survived and remains extant.

The Humboldt Savings Bank was a year into its construction when the earthquake struck. After the debris was cleared, the new structure was designed with wire-glass, and its elevator shafts were lined with concrete to prevent potential future fires from spreading.

After the rubble was cleared, there was an urgency to rebuild the city quickly. This effort to rebuild, although fragmented politically, eventually culminated in the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, a grand fair that opened in the city in 1915.

The Call Building was the headquarters of the San Francisco Call and stood on the city’s Newspaper Row. It was the tallest building west of Chicago when constructed. Architect Charles Louis Strobel was hired to ensure the seismic safety of the building, which remained standing after the earthquake, though it was severely burned in the fires.

This photo shows a number of temporary structures for small businesses along Market Street. The context of this photo is unknown, but we assume that local proprietors set up shop once debris and rubble was cleared.