미국의 옛 모습

EiK Podcast 57 (The Great San Francisco Earthquake)

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1906년 미국 ‘서해안의 수도’를 뒤흔든 대지진

Many Koreans are familiar with the city of San Francisco and its iconic Golden Gate Bridge (금문교). Few, however, seem to know of the disastrous earthquake that all but flattened the city in 1906.

지진이 일어나기 단 4일 전에 촬영한 동영상

Browsing through old 60 Minutes clips on the Internet yesterday, I came across this amazing film, taken just a few days before the Great San Francisco Earthquake. It gives us a glimpse into what the city looked like prior to its devastation. Four days after this film was shot from the front of a moving cable car as it cruised down the city’s main thoroughfare, a massive earthquake hit the city at 5:23 a.m. and many of the people seen in this film likely perished.

주민 75프로 이상이 이재민 신세가 됨

The magnitude of the quake that claimed more than 3,000 lives is estimated to have been 7.9.  Of a population of around 410,000, as many as 300,000 were left homeless following the destruction of the earthquake and the ravenous fires that ensued.  In the years leading up to the quake, San Francisco had been a fast-growing port and the largest city on the West Coast. The city rebuilt rapidly, but with 80 percent of structures destroyed, much trade and commerce was diverted to Los Angeles and would never return.

이재민 처지에도 정장을 갖춰 입은 신사와 숙녀

Throughout the photographic documentation of the event and its aftermath, it is of note that not a single person can be seen with a bare head.  Wearing a suit and hat when stepping out was such an unshakable convention of the era that even a catastrophic earthquake and fire couldn’t compel the masses towards a more comfortable getup.

마차 뒷자리에서 신기한 듯 카메라를 쳐다보는 소년

The constable crossing the path of the cable car as he casually swings his billy club sports an almost Dickensian look that I thought was only worn by lawmen in Europe.   At another moment, a young man peers out the back of a carriage that has pulled in front of the cable car and stares at the camera with youthful curiosity.

These images are from a Wikipedia article on the earthquake.

From 6:35 to the end is the best part. That’s from the moment the boy peers out the back of the carriage to end of the line where the newsboys wave at the camera.

This video shows modern San Francisco cable cars and gives a detailed history of the film above.

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