About Shacks | Kirkham Shacks | Shack Survey | Photos

A crowd turned out at the Zoo on March 19, 2006 to celebrate the restoration of Shack One. -

WNP Wins the 2007 Governor's Historic Preservation Award

The Western Neighborhoods Project was announced as a winner of the prestigious 2007 Governor's Historic Preservation Award for the restoration of the Kirkham earthquake refugee shacks. The Governor's Historic Preservation Awards are presented annually under the sponsorship of the State Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) and California State Parks to organizations or public agencies whose contributions demonstrate notable achievements in preserving the heritage of California. Established in 1986, the Governor's Historic Preservation Awards Program aims to recognize meaningful achievements in historic preservation and to increase public awareness, appreciation, and support for historic preservation throughout the state.

The WNP will received the award in a ceremony on November 16, 2007 in Sacramento, CA.

About Earthquake Cottages

Earthquake refugee cottages, or "shacks" were built by the Department of Lands and Buildings of the Relief Corporation to house refugees from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire.

5,610 cottages were constructed to house over 16,000 San Franciscans in 11 refugee camps in locations including Dolores Park, Washington Square, Precita Park, Portsmouth Square, and today's Park-Presidio Boulevard.

Union carpenters built three main sizes of cottages between September 1906 and March 1907. Cottages had cedar-shingle roofs, fir floors and redwood walls. All were painted green to better blend into the parks and public squares in which they were erected.

When the camps began closing in August 1907, refugees hauled cottages to private lots, and often cobbled together two or more to form larger residences. Of the 5,343 moved from the camps only a handful are certified to still be standing.

Earthquake cottages came back in the public eye in the early 1980s, when "shack activist" Jane F. Cryan began lobbying for their preservation. Her efforts created City Landmark #171, a complex of four shacks at 1227 - 24th Avenue, and helped rescue two others that are on public display in the Presidio of San Francisco.

Media about earthquake cottages

March 30, 2006: John King tells the story of Shack One moving to Market Street. (San Francisco Chronicle)

October 2005: Radio piece on our earthquake cottages by Jenna Lane. (KGO)

March 11, 2005: Cottages move to the zoo. (San Francisco Chronicle)

August 20, 2004: We begin work on the Kirkham cottages. (San Francisco Chronicle)

December 2, 2002: We propose to save the Kirkham Street shacks (San Francisco Chronicle).

About Earthquake Shacks General overview in an article from 2002.

Finding Shacks We discover two in the Ocean View.

Images: 1) Refugee Camp, Franklin Square, 1907. Courtesy of the San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.

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Page launched 4 September 2003; updated 2 November 2007.