alternatehistory.com

April 18, 1906

San Francisco residents were awoken at 5 in the morning by a massive earthquake. Thousands were killed by the shaking and 2/3 of the city's population was left homeless by both the quake and the fires that it started.

Not until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, would a big American city be so thoroughly ravaged by a natural disaster.


Amidst the ruins, Danield Burnham, the greatest architect of the City Beautiful era, stepped into the fray. He had drawn up plans before the quake and now the plans, miraculously found intact in the ruins of City Hall, could be put into motion.

There would be a great network of Parisian style boulevards, massive civic centers, lots of monuments, and a crap ton of parks, with 1/3 of the city being taken up by park land. The parks had to be shrunk down due to their impractical size, with Rancho San Miguel and Merced being greatly reduced in size.

Telegraph Hill

Twin Peaks

Civic Center

Once all this was done, San Francisco was the most beautiful city in the world, since Paris didn't have a bay.

Furthermore, the redevelopment included something radical for the time, controlled access roads that was grade separated in places such as the Embarcadero, it was the world's first freeway system. The system meant you could drive from the Ferry Building along the northern shore, and down Great Highway, all without encountering a single intersection.
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