IMAGES: Historic Photos Of Damage Left By 1906 Great Quake

A woman poses at the ruins of the observatory on Strawberry Hill in Stow Lake, Golden Gate Park, after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. (Photo by © Ted Streshinsky/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Houses After San Francisco Earthquake

Several houses lean against each other while only rubble remains across the street after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. (Photo by © Ted Streshinsky/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Union Street Car Line

Union Street streetcar line, showing damage after the San Francisco, California earthquake, 1906. Image courtesy National Archives. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images).

Looking Northeast From Corner Sutter And Jones Sts

Looking northeast from corner Sutter and Jones Sts.', 1906. A major earthquake struck San Francisco, California, USA, on 18 April 1906. As well as damaging many buildings, the quake ruptured gas lines, causing fires to break out. As water mains had also been damaged, firefighters had little chance of fighting the blaze, which went on to destroy some 25,000 buildings. In all, the earthquake and fires killed an estimated 3000 people - the most to lose their lives in a natural disaster in US history - and made more than half the city's 400,000 population homeless. Stereocard. Artist Unknown. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)

Fighting Fires After The 1906 Earthquake

Firefighters train a water hose from a fire engine onto a block of burning buildings in San Francisco, after the 1906 earthquake, CA, 1906. (Photo by Buyenlarge/Getty Images)

San Francisco City Hall After 1906 Earthquake and Fire

(Original Caption) 1906-San Francisco, CA- Picture shows the after-effects of the San Francisco earthquake.

San Francisco Earthquake Rubble

Water gushes against the ruins of a building in San Francisco. The source of the water is not apparent. (Photo by George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images)

Visitors Among Earthquake-Damaged Houses

Houses that line a street and the cobblestones that pave it are damaged and askew after the earthquake of 1906 in San Francisco. (Photo by Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)

San Francisco Buildings in Varying Degrees of Ruin

Some buildings stand erect next to others that lie in heaps of rubble after the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco, California, USA. (Photo by R.J. Arnold/Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)

Shells of Buildings Remain on the Hills of San Francisco After the Earthquake and Fire of 1906

Shells of buildings remain on the hills above San Francisco Bay after the earthquake of 1906. San Francisco, California, USA. (Photo by Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)

San Franciscans Watch Their City Burn

From a vantage point on Nob Hill, San Franciscans watch the approach of fires caused by that day’s earthquake, April 18th 1906. They are on Sacramento Street at Miles Place (now Miller Place). (Photo by Arnold Genthe/Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

San Francisco After Earthquake

(Original Caption) San Francisco, California: San Francisco earthquake. Active fire engine among the rubble.

The Grand Palace on Fire

The Grand Palace on fire after the San Francisco earthquake, April 18, 1906. (Photo by Pillsbury Picture Company/Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)

Winchester Hotel Burning During San Francisco Earthquake

People watch as the Winchester Hotel burns in the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The Hearst Building (l) was dynamited to use as a fire break between the fire and the rest of the city. (Photo by Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)

San Franciscans Watch Their City Burn

From a vantage point on Nob Hill, San Franciscans watch the approach of fires caused by that day’s earthquake, April 18th 1906. They are on Sacramento Street at Miles Place (now Miller Place). (Photo by Arnold Genthe/Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)

Aftermath of San Francisco Earthquake

Pedestrians walk down a street next to the site where a building completely collapsed after the earthquake and fire in San Francisco in 1906. (Photo by Michael Maslan/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)

Ruins of San Francisco after the earthquake, Califonia

Ruins of San Francisco after the earthquake, Califonia, United States of America, 02 July 1906. (Photo by E.B. Gibbes/Royal Geographical Society via Getty Images)