Twenty-five years ago to the day, the city of San Francisco decided to party like it was 1906. This time, we avoided bursting into flames, but the damages of the Loma Prieta Earthquake were nonetheless terrifying. The earth shook, the Marina collapsed, the Bay Bridge snapped in two, and Giants fans were given a week-long reprieve from watching their team get swept by the A’s in the World Series. In the aftermath of the devastation, we learned some lessons: Landfill is not an ideal foundation on which to build a neighborhood. Construct better bridges, even if it takes 24 years. Baseball will not only break your heart, but your ballpark too.

I wasn’t alive at the time of the quake, but the event has become an integral part of San Francisco’s civic lore, and those who were there emerged from the rubble with great stories. In the early 2000s, the Museum of Natural History hosted an exhibit on Loma Prieta, in which people could jot down their own recollections on notecards: “First trip to the West Coast,” read one. “First trip to California. First day in San Francisco. There was an earthquake. Never coming back.”

And yet, despite the devastation, the city banded together; even the alarmed, anonymous tourist was enticed to come back, at least long enough to submit his notecard to the museum. I’ve heard stories of every kind — funny, touching, frightening — and every one of them makes me proud of my city’s rich history, the hardships we’ve all survived together.

Memories of Loma Prieta, from various San Franciscans: 

1. A symphony of screaming car alarms in the Candlestick parking lot.

2. A chorus of fans chanting, “Play ball!” inside the Candlestick stadium. 

3. On the city streets, the smell of BBQ wafting through the air.

4. People sitting on their stoops, eating hotdogs, and chatting with friends and neighbors.

5. Panic when the bridge collapsed, especially among those with friends and family working or living in the East Bay.

6. Getting out of the car on the highway to move debris out of the way, by hand.

7. The sensation of having your house tossed in the air and dropped by a giant.

8. Rushing to the store to buy gallon-jugs of water, before someone else could beat you to it.

9. Driversactually adhering to traffic rules—treating each other with courtesy, respect, and patience.

10. Going out to buy an ice cream cone, under the impression that the earthquake hadn’t been particularly bad, and learning that the Bay Bridge had collapsed.

11. Trying to get in touch with loved ones, only to discover that the phone lines were down.

12. Thanking god for technology — you knew it was a good idea to get one of those new-fangled pagers!

13. Rumors circulating that the entire Marina District was on fire. Luckily, only four buildings burned down. Not so luckily, four buildings burned down, seven collapsed, and sixty-four were deemed too dangerous to live in.

14. Out-of-towners throwing themselves under tables while California natives rode out even the wildest of waves.

15. Going to a restaurant, miraculously unscathed, amid a sea of decimated buildings.

Were you in the Bay Area at the time of the big quake? Add your memories to the list in the comments section. 

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