48 THE SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE. 
remaining walls were of pressed terra-cotta brick, with terra-cotta 
trimmings. The floors and partitions were of hollow tile, and the 
girders, beams, and columns were fireproofed with the same material. 
The floors were topped with cinder concrete covered with wood, 
except in the corridors, where cement finish was used. The cast-iron 
stairways had marble treads. The granite walls were spalled 
around the openings by fire. The hollow-tile partitions failed ex- 
tensively, and the lower web of the floor tile spalled over large 
areas. The fire was not intense, and the steel appeared to be in 
fair condition except on the ninth and tenth floors. The extent of 
the damage can be seen in PI. L, B, a view on the ninth floor. 
The steel trusses on the tenth floor were very much distorted by heat, 
owing to the failure of the hollow-tile fireproofing. 
VOLKMAN BUILDING. 
The lower floor of the Volkman Building, on the north side of 
Jackson street between Montgomery and Sansome streets, opposite 
the unburned block near the appraisers' building, was occupied 
by a branch of the post-office. The structure was surrounded on 
the sides and I'ear by completely gutted buildings, and its es- 
cape was probably due to its protected openings. The windows 
were glazed with wire glass and the sash and frames were metal 
covered. The rear doors were equipped with Kinnear rolling shut- 
ters. A few windows were so badly damaged that they will have to 
be replaced, bat the building was only slightly injured, for the fire 
did not gain a foothold. 
WELLS-FARGO BUILDING. 
The six-story Wells-Fargo Building, on the northeast corner of 
Mission and Second streets, is devoted exclusively to Wells, Fargo 
& Co.'s express business. It has a steel skeleton, self-supporting 
walls, and reenforced-concrete floors. The ceilings are of plastered 
wire lath, as are also the hollow partitions and the fireproofing on 
the columns. The outside walls are of granite for the first two 
stories and pressed brick and terra. cotta for the remaining stories. 
The openings into the air and light well were of metal frame, glazed 
with wire glass. 
This building shows, especially in the Mission street front, the 
racking effect of the earthquake. The marble treads of the cast- 
iron stairways were considerably damaged by the fire, and the marble 
wainscoting of the corridors was thrown down by the earthquake. 
The window frames in the light well (PL XLIX, B) were warped 
by the fire, which also spalled the terra-cotta trim. 
