San Francisco Fire Department Headquarters 4 Editorial Photo

It is well known that the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 was very devastating for the whole city and surrounding area. What is often forgotten is, it was the fire from the Earthquake that actually did most of the damage, in part because the fire department at the time was unable to stop the fire. Since San Francisco sits on the Pacific Ocean Coast on one side and the San Francisco Bay on another side, this building was built, in 1910, as a salt water pumping station, with eight turbine engines inside, so as to get water directly from the Bay or the Ocean, in any emergency.Those turbine engines are still there, and since 1998 has also served as the San Francisco Fire Department Headquarters. As seen 1 May 2024.