On a fateful April morning 116 years ago, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked San Francisco. As if the violent shocks and estimated 45-60 seconds of shaking that toppled the city’s masonry buildings wasn’t enough, a subsequent fire burned for three days and wiped out much of the remaining wood-frame structures. In the end, some 500 city blocks were destroyed and over half the city’s population was left homeless. Refugee camps — tent towns, essentially — were erected in Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, Dolores Park, Precita Park and elsewhere. But as winter approached, a more substantial solution to the temporary housing needs became necessary, and the earthquake shack was born.

It’s been said that these shelters could be built in a day: simple rectangular redwood structures ranging from approximately 140 to 252 square feet. In all, 5,000+ were built in a joint effort between the San Francisco Relief Corporation, the San Francisco Parks Commission, and the US Army. Refugee tenants paid $2 per month toward the $50 cost of a shelter. After paying off a home, the owner was required to move it from the camp, and thus these earthquake shacks became scattered around the city.

Below, historic photos courtesy of California State Library, California Historical Society, and SF Public Library. Source: Curbed

Most shacks were eventually demolished, however a few dozen are still standing today. Some were combined to make a bigger house while others had new additions constructed. As a result, surviving shacks are largely unidentifiable at first glance (some are completely hidden from view, moved to the rear of lots behind structures built subsequently).

Looking at the dozen or so of these homes sold in the past decade, you can see how they’ve been adapted to suit owners’ changing needs.

502 Plymouth Avenue is marketed and listed exclusively by cooperating broker Corcoran Global Living. Listing photos below courtesy of SFAR MLS.

502 Plymouth Avenue in San Francisco’s Oceanview neighborhood is one of the survivors. What is the living room today appears to have been the original shack, and the remainder of the 2-bed/1-bath/950sqft single-family home was added later.

This house is listed for sale at $879,000, in apples-to-apples condition relative to its last reported sale in 2020 for $875,000. Surely, the seller hopes to get out whole (i.e. break even once broker compensation, staging and marketing costs, transfer taxes and other expenses associated with selling are accounted for). And that could very well happen. For what it’s worth, the median sales price of single-family homes in Oceanview is up 19.9% since that last sale, according to data reported by SFAR MLS thru January 2022.

Interested buyers can contact me to arrange a private tour or stop by the open houses 5 & 6 February 2022 from 12:00pm to 2:00pm.