Sailing above the ruins which claimed the lives of over 3,000, injured 225,000 and amassed $400,000,000 worth of property damage in 1906, one man photographed the scene using a relatively-new idea of kite photography.
This powerful photograph of the San Francisco Bay following the 7.9 magnitude quake captures the west coast just days after the historic morning where the city woke to mass terror and destruction.
The resulting photograph of George Lawrence's camera, souring 2,000 feet above the bay, earned him over $15,000 at the time for his photograph's mass publication in newspapers around the world.
That sum's equivalent today is approximated to be over $300,000.
The quake felt as far as Nevada ranks as one of the most significant earthquakes of all time according to the Berkeley Seismological Lab.
Left in a state of havoc, the city's mayor at the time authorized his police force to shoot 'to kill any and all persons found engaged in Looting or in the Commission of Any Other Crime,' according to a proclamation published the day of the disaster.
With his report that all gas and electric companies be turned off until his order he adds, 'You may therefore expect the city to remain in darkness for an indefinite time,' Mayor E. E. Schmitz reported, according to the San Francisco Museum, advising all to stay indoors after nightfall until 'order is returned.'
Source: Daily Mail