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About the Panorama:
This panoramic collage of San Francisco shortly after the disaster of April 1906 comprises eleven separate photographs taken from the roof of the Fairmont Hotel.

From its Nob Hill vantage point, the view spans 360 degrees and illustrates the vast scale of destruction wrought upon the city.

The presentation of the panorama extends from the far left photograph with a view to the west to the far right photograph facing southwest.

Highlights of the view include the Flood Mansion (at left), surviving homes on Russian Hill, Alcatraz Island, Telegraph Hill, Yerba Buena Island, the Ferry Building, gutted high-rises of the Financial District and Market Street, City Hall, and the California Street cable car tracks atop Nob Hill.

More Information »

More Information:
The eleven-photograph panorama was digitally assembled by Bancroft Library staff from originals in two distinct library collections. Ten of the individual images appear to be by a single photographer and appear in an album entitled Album of photographs of the San Francisco earthquake and fire (BANC PIC 19xx.112, Items 3-12). The view over North Beach to Telegraph Hill was lacking from this series and was supplied from a small collection of images by a photographer known only as "Florey" (BANC PIC 1991.045.)

Citations and more detailed descriptions of individual images in the panorama follow, described in the order they appear, from left to right, in the assembled panoramic view.

[1] [Panorama from Nob Hill: view to the west with the gutted Flood mansion in foreground and military tents behind. Along the horizon is the unburned area west of Van Ness Ave.]
BANC PIC 19xx.112:003—ALB

[2] [Panorama from Nob Hill: view to the west-northwest along Sacramento Street; Flood mansion, left; military tents, beyond; reservoir at Clay and Jones in distance, right. Lafayette Park is in the far distance, left.]
BANC PIC 19xx.112:004—ALB

[3] [Panorama from Nob Hill: view to the northwest showing the descent from Nob Hill toward Russian Hill, right. San Francisco Bay and the headlands of Marin County are in the far distance.]
BANC PIC 19xx.112:005—ALB

[4] [Panorama from Nob Hill: view to the north-northwest along Mason St. toward San Francisco Bay. Alcatraz and Angel Islands in distance; ruins of cable car powerhouse, left center; surviving homes atop Russian Hill, left.]
BANC PIC 19xx.112:006—ALB

[5] Telegraph Hill from Fairmont Hotel. [Telegraph Hill, right. From Nob Hill. San Francisco. 1906. Photo by Florey?] [View north across the North Beach neighborhood to Telegraph Hill at right; ruins of St. Francis Church, right center; unburned trees of Washington Square, left center.]
BANC PIC 1991.045:6—PIC

[6] [Panorama from Nob Hill: view to the northeast. Telegraph Hill at left, sloping southward into the Barbary Coast district; Chinatown, foreground; the Wholesale District in distance toward waterfront; ruins of the Hall of Justice, far right, center. A portion of Yerba Buena Island appears in San Francisco Bay, upper left.]
BANC PIC 19xx.112:007—ALB

[7] [Panorama from Nob Hill: view to the east down California St. toward the Financial District and the Ferry Building. Old St. Mary’s Church and the Kohl building on north side of California St., center; Grace Church and the Merchants’ Exchange Building along the south side of California St.; Mills Building at far right, center. Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco Bay, upper left.]
BANC PIC 19xx.112:008—ALB

[8] [Panorama from Nob Hill: view to the southeast, toward downtown. The South of Market District is in the far distance.]
BANC PIC 19xx.112:010—ALB

[9] [Panorama from Nob Hill: view to the southeast, toward downtown. Palace Hotel, far left; Call Building, center; frame of Humboldt Building, right center (all along Market St.). Also pictured are Temple Emanu-el, right; Union Square, far right; and South of Market District, far distance.]
BANC PIC 19xx.112:009—ALB

[10] [Panorama from Nob Hill: view to the south toward City Hall, upper right. The South of Market and Mission Districts are in the far distance.]
BANC PIC 19xx.112:011—ALB

[11] [Panorama from Nob Hill: view to the southwest along California St., right. Unburned area west of Van Ness Avenue visible in distance. Twin Peaks, far left.]
BANC PIC 19xx.112:012—ALB