Spectators watched in horror as fires ripped through San
Francisco over several days in 1906, leaving most of the city in ruin. One
victim of the devastating fires, which resulted from a massive earthquake that
shook Northern California early on the morning of April 18th, was Arnold
Genthe’s portrait studio. Nevertheless, the photographer was on hand with a 3A Kodak
to capture the impact of the natural disaster as it unfolded. This view down
Sacramento Street toward the billowing smoke preserved the same first-hand view
of history that onlookers witnessed that day. Fortunately, many of Genthe’s
photographs of San Francisco’s Chinatown were stored in a bank vault and
survived the fire.