36 THE SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE AND EIRE. 
of any mortar, but in others it was very good, the brick walls falling 
in large masses and the broken bricks showing the mortar to have 
been the stronger. The massive architectural ornamentations were 
top-heavy and lacked adequate bracing. The ceiling was formed of 
corrugated metal against which the mortar plaster was pressed, with 
intermediate brick partitions where the span of the beams was too 
great. The expansion of the corrugated-iron arches by the heat 
produced a rise at the crown, and the softening of the iron caused 
the arches to fail ; they would have been much stronger without the 
unprotected corrugated iron. In the treasury department a granite 
column was badly spalled by the fire. The building was a monu- 
ment of bad design and poor materials and workmanship, and was 
not, therefore, of such a character that it could be expected to 
resist successfully the effect of earthquake or fire. ■ 
The damage done to the hall of records by the earthquake was not 
serious, and consisted of the falling of a small section of brickwork 
from the third story on the west side and other cracks in the walls. 
The fire, however, destroyed the contents of the building, leaving only 
the shell standing. 
CROCKER BUILDING. 
The ten-story Crocker Building, corner of Powell and Market 
streets, was a steel-skeleton structure, with hollow- tile floor arches, 
partitions, and fireproofing for columns and girders. The first two 
stories of the self-supporting walls were granite, and the remainder 
buff brick with terra cotta. 
On the ninth and tenth floors the light Phoenix columns buckled 
through the failure of the hollow-tile fireproofing. The fire was only 
moderate, however, and except on the ninth and tenth floors the 
steel appeared to be in good condition. The weakness of hollow floor 
tiles for carrying heavy loads was demonstrated in a number of 
places where the tile floors had been broken by the fall of safes. 
The lower webs of the floor tiles had failed over extensive areas. 
The stairways, with their cast-iron horses and slate treads, were net 
damaged to any great extent. The floors were topped with cinder 
concrete and covered with wood in the offices and with mosaic in 
the corridors. 
EMPORIUM 
In the building known as the " Emporium," 825-855 Market 
street, west of the Academy of Sciences, the first two stories were 
fireproofed with terra cotta. Slow-burning Avooden construction 
was used above the second floor. As shown in PL XXXII, very 
little of this structure save the exterior walls was left standing. 
