San Francisco State Normal School after the April 18, 1906 Earthquake and Fire. The disaster destroyed San Francisco State’s first campus, located near Powell and Clay Streets. The remaining façade stands amid rubble, marked “Boy’s High,” referencing the adjacent Boys’ High School, which later evolved into Lowell High School. Within weeks of the earthquake, San Francisco State resumed classes at the Grant School in Oakland. The Normal School’s Training School became the first San Francisco public school to reopen following the disaster — a testament to the institution’s resilience and commitment to teacher education even in the face of devastation.
