Quake!
April 18, 1906—5:12 am. 25 miles to the east the San Andreas fault shifts…
A city street sweeper was one of few people on the street in downtown Santa Rosa when the earthquake struck. He stood between the Grand Hotel and the courthouse, near the corner of Third and Main Streets. He heard the quake before he felt it, saying that it came with “a rumble like a wagon over cobblestones.” He watched as the waves struck and the dome of the courthouse swayed perilously, horizontal movement driving the building into an unnatural shimmy. Less than a minute later, with a sudden up and down motion, movement ceased and the courthouse came crashing down, along with much of the rest of Santa Rosa. Seven to eight full city blocks lay instantly in ruin. A large cloud of dust, slightly red from all the brick, hung in the air.
