LGBTQ community members, including San Francisco Fire Chief Jeanine Nicholson and San Francisco Bay Times columnist and drag legend Donna Sachet, joined Mayor London Breed and other City of San Francisco officials and preservationists on Monday, April 18, at 5:12 am for the 116th commemoration of the 1906 earthquake. The 7.9 quake rocked San Francisco for 45 seconds, causing immense destruction and igniting several fires that burned for 3 days and destroyed nearly 500 city blocks.
Since 1919, the annual commemoration has been held at the site of Lotta’s Fountain, a cast iron fountain commissioned by actress Lotta Crabtree as a gift to the city in 1875. The fountain was used as a meeting point in the aftermath of the quake and subsequent fires. Following the ceremony at Lotta’s Fountain, celebrants then go to 3899 20th Street—the location of the Golden Fire Hydrant, credited with stopping the progression of the fires—to repaint the hydrant.
Public relations expert Lee Housekeeper is credited with having organized and sustained the annual memorial event over the past several years. At his Facebook page, Housekeeper just before the 2023 memorial ceremony quoted San Francisco Chronicle reporter and cultural historian Carl Nolte:
“San Francisco is an odd place. It is always changing, but still rooted to its past. One of the great traditions is a celebration of a disaster—the 1906 earthquake and fire, marked every year just before dawn on April 18 at Lotta’s Fountain on Market Street. This classic San Francisco event has honored thousands of quake survivors over the years but they are all gone now. Why then will we still gather Lotta’s Fountain at 5 am this year? In a sense, we honor San Francisco itself for The City is the real survivor of the events of 1906.”
Watch this year’s memorial event: https://tinyurl.com/mr323ar7
To read an historical essay about Lotta’s Fountain, visit: https://tinyurl.com/yven8nbn
Published on May 4, 2023
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