Mission Dolores
The oldest extant structure in the city, Misión San Francisco de Asís, 16th and Dolores Streets, looks remarkably as it did when the chapel was completed in 1791. Its four-foot thick adobe walls covered with stucco, its hand-carved reredos and side altars and its high, beamed ceiling endured the stresses of 1906 with barely a twinge. Sixth in the Alta California chain of 22 missions stretching from San Diego to Sonoma, Dolores was consecrated with a Mass sung on June 29, 1776, five days before the upstart Americans pronounced their Declaration of Independence.

Palace Hotel
At the corner of Market and New Montgomery streets, the regal Palace Hotel (at its opening in 1895 the largest in the country, some said the world) outlived the earthquake but perished in the following fire. It has remained in earthquake lore because Caruso and several other artists who had performed in “Carmen” were guests there. Caruso, the story goes, rushed around the lobby and outside, clad in a fur coat over pajamas, muttering fearfully (as quoted by the town’s top photographer Arnold Genthe), "’Ell of a place, ’ell of a place! I never come back!" He never did. The Palace reopened as early as 1909, grander than ever. Its gorgeous Garden Court now serves breakfast, lunch and dinner under a lofty canopy of magnificent leaded glass.

The Old Mint
The Old Mint, at the corner of Fifth and Mission streets, still stands as one of the city’s most impressive Neoclassical buildings. It survived because an independent water system had recently been installed and because brave employees fought the searing heat and masses of flames from the inside out. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966 and damaged in the 1989 earthquake, the Old Mint closed its doors in 1995. The San Francisco Museum & Historical Society and the city itself plan to make of the Old Mint a large city museum and a visitor center. Restaurant and retail space also are planned, with the reopening scheduled for 2007.

The Ferry Building
The pièce de résistance remaining from post-1906 San Francisco is the 1898 Ferry Building at the meeting of Market Street and the Embarcadero. For decades, it served the city as landmark as well as transportation hub; the 240-foot tall clock tower soared sky-high above the great bay and 50,000 ferry passengers per day commuted to the business district. The Ferry Building as it exists today, reinvented in a four-year effort of private and public collaboration, reopened in April, 2003, as a repository of excellence. The renowned Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market has returned. Inside the dramatic, 660-foot long, sky-lighted nave, the Ferry Building Marketplace is a vibrant collection of outlets representing the finest of Bay Area produce, wines, restaurants and cafés and specialty shops.

Bay to Breakers
Each year, the Bay to Breakers is a glorious celebration of San Francisco’s spirit – a giant human wave of athleticism, fun, frivolity and and determination flowing from the city out to the ocean. In 1912, the Bay to Breakers race was conceived as a way of uniting San Franciscans and boosting morale after the quake. This year, on May 21, everyone is invited to take part in the annual celebration of spirit and pride that helped bring San Francisco back after the quake.

Lotta's Fountain
Lotta's Fountain, at Third and Kearny streets, commands a space where once a watering trough served horses and later a public fountain served humans. In 1875, the beloved actress of Gold Rush days, Lotta Crabtree, the "California Diamond," presented this fountain to the citizens. During the aftermath of the 'quake it served as a meeting place and message center for the homeless, and here on Christmas Eve of 1910, soprano Luisa Tetrazzini sang carols to enthusiastic listeners aswarm in the streets. Each April 18th at around 5 a.m., hundreds of traditionalists - including some ageless witnesses to the conflagration - gather to celebrate courage and survival.