22 THE SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE. 
to some extent the building itself. The damage to the hall of 
records, along the end walls, was due entirely to defective construc- 
tion. The Hall of Justice (PI. XII, Z>), which was completed in 
1905, had the wall along the cornice line thrown down. The reen- 
forced-concrete roof contributed no little to the support of the walls 
of the building, and had the stonework been less heavy and of better 
quality the damage probably would not have been so extensive. The 
high school (PL XIII, B), a flimsy structure of brick with wooden 
frame, was so badly wrecked that it had to be torn down as a matter of 
safety. The destruction of the buildings along First street, the 
principal business thoroughfare, was also extensive. Lime mortar, 
flimsy framing, poor design, and lack of tie between floor and roof 
members and walls were the causes of these failures. 
Perhaps the worst example of poor design, bad workmanship, 
and poor materials in the earthquake territory, except in the city 
of San Francisco, is the insane asylum at Agnew, about 6 miles 
northwest of San Jose, consisting of a main building surrounded by 
a number of others — all flimsily constructed brick structures with - 
timber frames. The construction of these buildings, with their 
thin walls (in many places devoid of mortar) and light, insufficient 
wooden framing, indicates a criminal negligence that is appalling. 
One hundred and seventeen patients and attendants lost their lives, 
principally from the fall of the central tower of the main building. 
The brick stack of the power plant and the towers of surrounding 
buildings collapsed. In the farmyard near by is a water tank 
supported on a wooden trestle. This tank moved about 10 inches, 
while less than a stone's throw away are four water tanks supported 
by a diagonally braced steel trestle, which were undamaged (PL 
XIII, A). 
The most interesting ruins are those of the Leland Stanford Junior 
University, at Palo Alto, 6 miles east of the fault line. These build- 
ings were on a soft soil and were therefore subjected to the severest 
earthquake conditions; and as they represent several different types 
of construction they afford a profitable study in the earthquake- 
resisting power of various structures and structural materials. The 
destruction was very great, most of the buildings being wholly or 
partially destroyed. 
Three types of wall construction were represented — (1) solid 
stone, (2) brick and stone veneer, and (3) reenforced concrete. The 
buildings of the first-mentioned type, which were erected by Senator 
Stanford by day labor, were examples of good substantial work, and 
the damage to them was not so great. The stone -veneer buildings 
represent a later type, resorted to as a matter of cheapness, and suf- 
fered the most. The third type, of reenforced concrete, sustained 
practically no damage. The stone-veneer buildings have a 4-inch or 
