Newspaper Row (San Francisco)

The stretch of Kearny Street between Market and California became known as Newspaper Row because it housed the giants of western journalism in the late nineteenth century. The offices of the San Francisco Examiner and the Call occupied ornate buildings that hummed with the sound of printing presses deep into the night. When the nineteen oh six earthquake struck, these buildings served as newsrooms and improvised shelters, with reporters typing stories on portable machines while the city burned a few blocks away.