Renovated earthquake shack gets new home at SF Zoo

by Woody LaBounty

One of the last refugee cottages from San Francisco's 1906 earthquake and fire has found a permanent home at the San Francisco Zoo as part of a new "Conservation Corner."

After the 1906 disaster, more than 16,000 refugees found shelter in 5,610 "shacks" built as part of the relief effort. When the refugee camps closed in 1908, thousands of the cottages were moved to empty lots for homes.

The cottage now at the Zoo stood on the south side of the 4300 block of Kirkham Street in the Sunset District until 2005.

The Western Neighborhoods Project, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the history of the western side of San Francisco, saved the shack and renovated it for display on Market Street during the centennial of the 1906 earthquake.

Since 2006, the cottage has been stored in the San Francisco Zoo's back lot. The Western Neighborhoods Project signed ownership of the shack over to the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society anticipating that the cottage could be part of the planned San Francisco Museum at the Old Mint downtown.

But delays in renovation plans and fund-raising have stalled the Old Mint project, and the SF Museum and Historical Society has agreed to a long-term loan of the cottage to the SF Zoo.

The shack will now be part of "Conservation Corner," a demonstration zone for sustainable practices and eco-friendly activities at the Zoo. Organic gardens, reclaimed rain water, solar and wind power will all be on display. The zone is slated for completion at the end of June.

The earthquake shack will be used as an interpretive center and a tangible symbol of creative solutions to community challenges. It has already been moved to a new foundation in the Zoo's public area.

Woody LaBounty is the director of the Western Neighborhoods Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and recording the history of the west side of San Francisco. The group's Web site is at www.outsidelands.org.