In front of you is one of the oldest and best-loved monuments on Market Street. It looks like a simple iron fountain, but it holds the memory of San Francisco's worst day.

1Lotta's gift

Lotta Crabtree started out as a child singing and dancing for miners in the Gold Rush camps, who tossed coins and nuggets onto the stage. She became one of the highest-paid actresses in the United States and, in 1875, gave this fountain to the city.

2April 18, 1906

At 5:12 in the morning, an earthquake shook San Francisco for less than a minute. The worst came afterwards: fires burned for three days and destroyed much of the city. Death toll estimates have been revised upward over the years, and today historians speak of more than 3,000 dead. Amid the ruins, the fountain was left standing and became a meeting place: people left messages here and searched for family and friends.

Every April 18, at 5:12 a.m., the city gathers here to remember the earthquake.

On Christmas Eve 1910, the soprano Luisa Tetrazzini sang here for free before an enormous crowd. Market Street has also seen grief: on the night of November 27, 1978, after the assassination of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in the country, thousands of people walked in silence with candles from the Castro to City Hall.

3What to look for

  • The plaques recalling the 1906 earthquake and Tetrazzini's concert.
  • The lion heads around the base.
  • The golden color, restored in 1999.
Market Street in ruins in 1906 with Lotta's Fountain still standing
Market Street seen from Third Street as the 1906 fire advanced; Lotta's Fountain on the left.

Documented

Lotta Crabtree gave the fountain in 1875; after the 1906 earthquake it served as a meeting point, and an annual commemoration has been held here since 1919.

Sources and credits

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listing (1975); Museum of the City of San Francisco, 1906 earthquake timeline; Gladys Hansen and Emmet Condon, «Denial of Disaster» (1989).

Photos:

  • Lotta's Fountain, a golden cast-iron column on Market Street: Mliu92, CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • Market Street in ruins in 1906 with Lotta's Fountain still standing: George W. Haley, Dominio público.

Spotted a mistake? Drop us a line and we’ll look into it.