Historic Background of Seismic Construction in San Francisco

A seismic design and construction tradition has developed in California because of the unique experience with local earthquakes. After the 1906 earthquake and fire, building performance was studied by several groups, the most noteworthy resulting in the Carnegie Institution Report. These studies provided significant data for structural engineers and, together with individual observations, formed a basis for a continuous development by engineers of seismic resistant construction, a progression of which extends to the present day. This paper discusses seismic structural systems prior to the 1906 earthquake, and the progression of seismic structural systems and design from that time up to the present.