"Those structures are - or were - earthquake shacks, also known as earthquake cottages or refugee cottages. With the help of the Army, the city built the shacks in the wake of the 1906 earthquake, which left 225,000 San Franciscans without homes. They placed the tiny, one-room cottages in city parks, and residents whose homes had been destroyed paid $2 a month to live in them. At one point, more than 16,000 people lived in the shacks - approximately three for every 250-square-foot dwelling."
"As the city rebuilt, refugees were offered the option to buy their shacks for a small sum. Some employed horses; others broke their cottages down and lugged them across the city on their backs, piece by piece. The vast majority of the shacks, 5,343, were moved to be repurposed as homes in other parts of the city. Norton, who runs the website savetheshack.net, is one of the neighbors who has led the push to preserve the structures."
Two rare 1906 earthquake shacks in Noe Valley at 369 Valley St. were demolished by the property's new owner, apparently without a permit, leaving scaffolding, a roof, and piles of wooden debris and prompting a Department of Building Inspection stop work order. The shacks were built with Army aid after the 1906 earthquake to house thousands of displaced residents at $2 a month. More than 16,000 people once lived in the tiny cottages; 5,343 were later moved and repurposed as homes. Fewer than 50 of the original shacks remain. Neighbor and preservation advocate Marc Norton runs savetheshack.net and leads efforts to preserve the remaining structures as symbols of care for vulnerable residents.
Read at SFGATE
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