These little houses are a reminder of San Frncisco's unique municpal rehousing program that followed the devastation of the 1906 earthquake and fire. That natural disaster left thousands homelsess, many of whom had few resources with which to reconstruct a home. Temporarily housed in army-issue tents immediately following the April disaster, the homeless needed more substantail shelter to endure the winter season, and 5,610 of these simple wooden cottages were erected, leased to the homeless, and eventuall purchased and moved to privately owned lots. Approximatel twenty still exist in San Francisco. List of existing Refugee Shacks in the city:
1227 24th Avenue
