40 THE SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE. 
pended ceilings of plastered wire lath, the steel columns, beams, and 
girders being also fireproofed with plastered wire lath. 
The rear structure collapsed when a number of columns in the base- 
ment buckled under the intense heat produced by the burning wall 
paper, of which there was a large quantity stored in the basement. 
KOHL (HAY WARD) BUILDING. 
The Kohl Building, on the northeast corner of California and Mont- 
gomery streets, which presented a number of interesting features, is 
of a modern type of steel-skeleton construction, 11 stories in height. 
The floors were of concrete, reenforced with expanded metal, and the 
columns were incased with expanded metal, plastered. The partitions 
were made of hollow tile, with metal-covered frames, doors, and 
windows. The suspended ceilings were'of plastered expanded metal. 
The earthquake did but little damage, breaking a few panes of glass 
and loosening the marble wainscoting. There were also a few cracks 
in the stone facing at the southwest corner of the first floor. The 
first, second, third, fourth, and part of the seventh floors were burned, 
the remainder of the building being undamaged. The structure was 
surrounded by a series of rather low buildings, and the fire was not 
severe either on the outside or inside. The character of the inside 
trim prevented to a considerable degree the spread of the flames. 
One defect in the construction was in the use of plate glass instead of 
wire glass for the doors and windows. 
MAJESTIC THEATER. 
The Majestic Theater, at the corner of Ninth and Market streets 
(PI. XXXIX, Z>), although one of the largest and best of the San 
Francisco theaters, was particularly bad in design. The roof trusses, 
of about 80-foot span and perhaps 75 feet above the ground, were 
carried on 18-inch walls insufficiently reenforced by pilasters. 
The common brick bearing walls were completely wrecked by the 
earthquake. The roof trusses over the stage collapsed. The walls 
still show extensive earthquake cracks, as will be seen from the illus- 
tration. The building was subsequently gutted by fire. 
The three-story Mercantile Trust Company's building, on Califor- 
nia street east of the Kohl Building, like most of the low structures, 
appeared to be immune from the earthquake and fire. The principal 
damage was caused by the falling walls of adjacent buildings, which 
smashed in the steel roof with its heavy glass and started a fire in 
the interior. The granite facing around the windows spalled to a 
slight extent, but the building w T as not badly damaged. 
