Three Survivors -- Ages 106-108 -- Lead 1906 Earthquake Commemorations

Image from Huntington Library

Once a year we San Franciscans take time to remind ourselves of one of the horrors that rocked our city -- the catastrophic earthquake and fire on April 18, 1906, that left an estimated 3,000 dead, more than 200,000 homeless, and much of city's structures reduced to rubble.

What follows are events today (Tuesday) and Wednesday that commemorate the quake, the biggest natural disaster to hit California. This year includes viewing rare and previously unpublished images of the earthquake and its aftermath, a parade that includes three survivors of the quake, and the annual gathering at a structure downtown known as Lotta's Fountain.

Parade and Ceremony
It's a short one, as parades go -- three blocks -- but it's spirited. It follows a 3 p.m. ceremony in the lobby of the Westin St. Francis in which Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White will name the department's engine 28 for William Del Monte. Del Monte, 106, is among three earthquake survivors who'll be present. The others are George Quilici, 108, and Winnie Hook, 106, according to Lee Houskeeper of San Francisco Stories.

Afterward, the 45-Member George Washington High School Marching Band, Police Chief Greg Suhr, and Hayes-White accompany the survivors in a classic 1931 Lincoln Phaeton down Powell Street to John's Grill, the site of the annual survivor dinner.