I finally made it to the 1906 Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire commemoration!
I talk about the earthquake and fires on the tour and how they are the only reason I exist (come on the tour to hear the story!), so I have wanted to go for a while.
It’s always a struggle for people to make it because the quake was at 5:12 in the morning, so the ceremony starts at 4:45am. It’s at Lotta’s Fountain because it was an important meeting point for people after the quake.
I had three missions for the day, in order of priority:
1. Attend the anniversary.
2. Paint the Golden Fire Hydrant. For those that don’t know, during the earthquake, most of the fire hydrants didn’t work, but this one did and helped save the Mission district. They paint it gold every year to honor it.
3. Meet Donna Huggins, who has portrayed Lillie Coit (of Coit Tower fame) for 50 years. Lillie Coit loved the firefighters and became their patron. 2025 is Donna’s last year doing it!
Bonus mission: Get a picture with the current mayor, Daniel Lurie.
Lei and I had already met Daniel Lurie on the same evening we met then mayor London Breed. It was at the 175th banquet for the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (the “Six Companies”). He came to our table glad-handing, but I didn’t think to take a picture then because I didn’t know much about him or that he would win, haha.
I made it a bonus mission because I can ruminate too much on things I feel like I should do at social events. I can think too much about being very outgoing and making things happen, instead of being in the moment. But the benefit is I can often do some cool stuff. I just want the best of both worlds!
The commemoration itself was kind of a letdown. The fire chief, who was the MC, talked during the moment of silence. They screwed up the countdown to the quake. Many speakers like former mayor Willie Brown weren’t talking into the mic. And it was super cold!
Lei and I hung around after and met and took pictures with Donna (who is very sweet) and the fire chief.
We left and got to the Golden Fire Hydrant where the ceremony was already underway. We couldn’t talk to the mayor because he was already mid-speech. After he was done, he went to the opposite side from where we were. We followed him over there, but by the time we got there he was nowhere to be found. I thought he left but then spotted him behind the filming lights hanging out with his lackey.
I didn’t want to be awkward and move through people to get to him, so I hoped a better moment would come. A few minutes later, he was talking to a fellow City Guide and moving closer to us. I swooped in and we got our picture – bonus mission accomplished! Huge victory! (Lurie did a lot less sucking up post-election btw.)
The ceremony commenced with people giving speeches that were too long and then eventually spraying the hydrant with the golden spray paint.
I thought only the officials were giving the speeches (talking into the mic in front of everyone) and then they would switch to the public. But when they got to regular members of the public, they were still handing them the mic! They would say some words and dedicate their spray to a person usually. I was unprepared for this and wondering what I would say.
I thought about who I would dedicate my turn to. I thought about saying AI safety people but thought no one would get it and it would feel kind of cringe. So I dedicated it to those trying to make sure our future goes well (of which, the AI safety community is most important) and to my family.
Lei was nervous to go up and talk, but he crushed it. He said a lovely piece about the Chinese not being included in the earthquake death toll, and dedicated his spray to all the forgotten groups.
Surprisingly, no members of the public talked for too long as opposed to some of the fire department brass.
It feels good being part of the community, and it’s nice thinking about everyone’s roots here including my own.
You see a lot of familiar faces at these city events and slowly get to know people and their relationships with each other. For example, I didn’t realize I had already met Donna at the 150th anniversary of the cable car! Or that she’s friends with the guy who plays Emperor Norton (a notorious SF personality in the late 1800s). Or that Emperor Norton is married to the drag queen who also dresses up and gives drag tours!
Emperor Norton’s husband was really nice. I also met Laura Ackley, the author of the definitive book on the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition that gave us the Palace of Fine Arts.
It’s nice when these events actually work and make you feel connected to the community and to the city and its long history. Like “Look at how much we’ve survived!” and “We’re all in this together!”
I’m not sure I’ll wake up early again next year, but it is the 120th and we know humans like round numbers! If you have a connection to the city, I recommend sucking it up and waking up early and connecting with the community by remembering one of the most important events in San Francisco’s history.
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