Because my job has me thinking about the effects of earthquakes on built structures almost on a daily basis, I knew I wanted to do a special column to honor the big anniversary of the 1906 earthquake and fire. When I came across a website that chronicled thirty eyewitness accounts from those terrible days I found it fascinating to read the day-to-day descriptions of the events, both large and small. Somehow it was the small details that brought the experience to life. I’ve compiled here some of the most compelling images as told in letters and other writings by Charles [...]

The other day my family was watching “The Birds” by Alfred Hitchcock. Halfway through, Jessica Tandy finds her friend dead with his eyes pecked out. Stunned, she scrambles back into her truck, speeds madly across a field back to her house, climbs out and stumbles up her front porch, completely speechless, in a total panic to get inside. So my comment to my wife was “Cool newel post.” Which, of course, it was. The front porch rail was pretty average, but the newel post at the top step made for a great little accent. It was shaped from a simple [...]