HSJ: Exhibits and Collections: It's Our Fault Too!

It's Our Fault, Too! The 1906 Earthquake in Santa Clara Valley
April 11, 2006 to December 30, 2006
Leonard & David McKay Gallery at the
Pasetta House, History Park

It's Our Fault, Too will examine the 1906 earthquake as it affected San José and the surrounding Santa Clara Valley. Known in the popular mind as the “San Francisco Earthquake,” this massive seismic event and its aftermath has generated millions of words and images over the past century. This exhibition will add to our knowledge of the magnitude of the disaster in the South Bay. At the time of the quake, newspaper reports estimated that damage to buildings in San José was some $30 million. Adjusted for inflation, that amount in today’s dollars would approach $590 million – hardly a minor cost.

Geology and Seismology of the San José Region. Through maps, diagrams, photographs and microphotographs, will give an overview of the underlying geological structure of the central portion of the Santa Clara Valley, and gain an understanding of why some portions of the Valley are more vulnerable to earthquake damage than other nearby areas.
A Portrait of San Jose, c. 1900. This section will provide a snapshot of the region’s population, business and industry, and physical infrastructure in the years immediately preceding the 1906 earthquake featuring historic photographs and artifacts from the period.
April 18, 1906. This section of the exhibit will include maps, photos, and newspaper and personal accounts of the damage that resulted from the quake. The effects of the quake will be put in context by geologist Nan Shostak’s research on earthquake engineering and the economic damage wrought by the quake, including why some buildings collapsed and their immediate neighbors remained standing.
The Community Responds. Immediately after the earthquake, the city government, the business and civic community, and countless individuals responded to assist disaster victims, assure law and order, quench fires, aid thousands of refugees from San Francisco, provide emergency housing, and assure the flow of necessary goods and services.
The Next “Big One”. The exhibit ends with display and discussion on what individuals can do to prepare in anticipation of the next, inevitable major earthquake.