Crowds in Candlestick Park after the earthquake

SAN FRANCISCO - OCTOBER 17: General view of the crowds in Candlestick Park after an earthquake, measuring 7.1 on the richter scale, rocks game three of the World Series between the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park on October 17, 1989 in San Francisco, California. Despite some discussion to cancel, baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent agrees to allow the series to continue. Play resumed October 25, and the A's go on to sweep the Giants in four games. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr /Getty Images)

General view of rescue attempts in the Marina District

SAN FRANCISCO - OCTOBER 17: General view of rescue attempts in the Marina District disaster zone after the earthquake, measuring 7.1 on the richter scale, rocks game three of the World Series between the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park on October 17, 1989 in San Francisco, California. Despite some discussion to cancel, baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent agrees to allow the series to continue. Play resumed October 25, and the A's go on to sweep the Giants in four games. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr /Getty Images)

Emergency workers prop up a collapsed building

SAN FRANCISCO - OCTOBER 17: Emergency workers prop up a collapsed building in the Marina district disaster zone after the earthquake, measuring 7.1 on the richter scale, rocks game three of the World Series between the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park on October 17, 1989 in San Francisco, California. Despite some discussion to cancel, baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent agrees to allow the series to continue. Play resumed October 25, and the A's go on to sweep the Giants in four games. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr /Getty Images)

General view of a collapsed building

SAN FRANCISCO - OCTOBER 17: General view of a collapsed building in the Marina district disaster zone after the earthquake, measuring 7.1 on the richter scale, rocks game three of the World Series between the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park on October 17, 1989 in San Francisco, California. Despite some discussion to cancel, baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent agrees to allow the series to continue. Play resumed October 25, and the A's go on to sweep the Giants in four games. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr /Getty Images)

General view of the Marina district disaster zone

SAN FRANCISCO - OCTOBER 17: General view of the Marina district disaster zone after an earthquake, measuring 7.1 on the richter scale, rocks game three of the World Series between the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park on October 17, 1989 in San Francisco, California. Despite some discussion to cancel, baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent agrees to allow the series to continue. Play resumed October 25, and the A's go on to sweep the Giants in four games. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr /Getty Images)

Oakland Athletics v San Francisco Giants

SAN FRANCISCO - OCTOBER 17: Will Clark #22 of the San Francisco Giants and his son gather on the field after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Bay Area, postponing Game three of the 1989 World Series against the Oakland Athletics at Candlestick Park on October 17, 1989 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

Caltrans workers carry materials to be u

Caltrans workers carry materials to be used as reinforcement of the quake-ravaged Cypress Structures on Interstate 880 22 October 1989 in San Francisco after a quake erupted 17 October in San Francisco Bay Area, killing an estimated 273 people and doing USD 1 billion-worth of damage. It was 5.04 pm local time when the earthquake, measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale, struck. Homes and offices were wrecked, fires broke out and vital service were cut off. Most of the deaths came when a half-mile part of the double-decker Interstate 880 highway collapsed, crushing vehicles on the lower deck. The last major earthquake hit San Francisco in 1906, when 2000 people died. (Photo credit should read CHRIS WILKINS/AFP/Getty Images)

Photo shot 22 OCT 89 shows a collapsed p

Photo shot 22 OCT 89 shows a collapsed portion of the Bay Bridge at Oakland after the earthquake that rocked northern California. (Photo credit should read GARY WEBER/AFP/Getty Images)

Cranes surround the Cypress Structure on

Cranes surround the Cypress Structure on Interstate 880, 19 October 1989 in San Francisco, following the earthquake estimated at 6.9 on the Richter scale that rocked California 17 October 1989. (Photo credit should read WEBER/AFP/Getty Images)

San Francisco Marina District circa 1989

Earthquake-damaged buildings in the Marina District of San Francisco, October 17, 1989. (Jonathan Nourok/AFP/Getty Images)

Earthquake-damaged buildings in the Marina District of San Francisco, October 17, 1989. (Jonathan Nourok/AFP/Getty Images)

Marina District residents remove possess

Marina District residents remove possessions to from soon-to-be demolished structures 21 October 1989 in San Francisco after a quake hit the city 17 October, killing an estimated 273 people and doing USD 1 billion-worth of damage. It was 5.04 pm local time when the earthquake, measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale, struck. Homes and offices were wrecked, fires broke out and vital service were cut off. Most of the deaths came when a half-mile part of the double-decker Interstate 880 highway collapsed, crushing vehicles on the lower deck. The last major earthquake hit San Francisco in 1906, when 2000 people died. (Photo credit should read JONATHAN NOUROK/AFP/Getty Images)

Rubble litters the sidewalk on the stree

Rubble litters the sidewalk on the streets of Santa Clara 18 October 1989 in San Franciso after a quake hit the city 17 October, killing an estimated 273 people and doing USD 1 billion-worth of damage. It was 5.04 pm local time when the earthquake, measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale, struck. Homes and offices were wrecked, fires broke out and vital service were cut off. Most of the deaths came when a half-mile part of the double-decker Interstate 880 highway collapsed, crushing vehicles on the lower deck. The last major earthquake hit San Francisco in 1906, when 2000 people died. (Photo credit should read JONATHAN NOUROK/AFP/Getty Images)

Rubble litters the sidewalk on the stree

Rubble litters the sidewalk on the streets of Santa Clara 18 October 1989 in San Franciso after a quake hit the city 17 October, killing an estimated 273 people and doing USD 1 billion-worth of damage. It was 5.04 pm local time when the earthquake, measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale, struck. Homes and offices were wrecked, fires broke out and vital service were cut off. Most of the deaths came when a half-mile part of the double-decker Interstate 880 highway collapsed, crushing vehicles on the lower deck. The last major earthquake hit San Francisco in 1906, when 2000 people died. (Photo credit should read JONATHAN NOUROK/AFP/Getty Images)

Rubble fills the sidewalk in front of a

Rubble fills the sidewalk in front of a street mall in Santa Clara 18 October 1989 in San Franciso after a quake rocked the city 17 October, killing an estimated 273 people and doing USD 1 billion-worth of damage. It was 5.04 pm local time when the earthquake, measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale, struck. Homes and offices were wrecked, fires broke out and vital service were cut off. Most of the deaths came when a half-mile part of the double-decker Interstate 880 highway collapsed, crushing vehicles on the lower deck. The last major earthquake hit San Francisco in 1906, when 2000 people died. (Photo credit should read JONATHAN NOUROK/AFP/Getty Images)

Cars sit abandoned 18 October 1989 on th

Cars sit abandoned 18 October 1989 on the quake-ravaged Cypress Structures on Interstate 880 highway in Oakland, Calif., after a quake rocketed 17 October the San Francisco Bay Aea, killing an estimated 273 people and doing USD 1 billion-worth of damage. It was 5.04 pm local time when the earthquake, measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale, struck. Homes and offices were wrecked, fires broke out and vital service were cut off. Most of the deaths came when a half-mile part of the double-decker Interstate 880 highway collapsed, crushing vehicles on the lower deck. The last major earthquake hit San Francisco in 1906, when 2000 people died. (Photo credit should read CHRIS WILKINS/AFP/Getty Images)

Firefighters extinguish fire in the Mari

Firefighters extinguish fire in the Marina District in San Francisco 21 October 989 after a quake erupted 17 October in the city, killing an estimated 273 people and doing USD 1 billion-worth of damage. It was 5.04 pm local time when the earthquake, measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale, struck. Homes and offices were wrecked, fires broke out and vital service were cut off. Most of the deaths came when a half-mile part of the double-decker Interstate 880 highway collapsed, crushing vehicles on the lower deck. The last major earthquake hit San Francisco in 1906, when 2000 people died. (Photo credit should read JONATHAN NOUROK/AFP/Getty Images)

Search and rescue support workers Tim Sc

Search and rescue support workers Tim Schilwachder (L) and Mamdouch Shabaan embrace 21 October 1989 by the Cypress Structure above 28th and Cypress Sts, shortly after a man was rescued alive there. A powerful earthquake has rocked San Francisco 17 October killing nine people and injuring hundreds. The epicentre of the quake, which measured 6.9 on the Richter scale, is thought to have been Loma Prieta, 10 miles north of Santa Cruz on the San Andreas fault. AFP PHOTO CHRIS WILKINS (Photo credit should read CHRIS WILKINS/AFP/Getty Images)

Search and rescue support workers contin

Search and rescue support workers continue rescue efforts 21 October 1989 atop the Cypress Structure above 28th and Cypress Sts, shortly after a man was rescued alive there. A powerful earthquake has rocked San Francisco 17 October killing nine people and injuring hundreds. The epicentre of the quake, which measured 6.9 on the Richter scale, is thought to have been Loma Prieta, 10 miles north of Santa Cruz on the San Andreas fault. AFP PHOTO CHRIS WILKINS (Photo credit should read CHRIS WILKINS/AFP/Getty Images)

Two firemen watch, in San Francisco, 18

Two firemen watch, in San Francisco, 18 October 1989, a collapsed house that crushed a car in the Marina District, one of the areas worst hit by an earthquake estimated at 6.9 onthe Richter scale that rocked California 17 Octber 1989. (Photo credit should read ADAM TEITELBAUM/AFP/Getty Images)

Food items litter the floor in an aisle

Food items litter the floor in an aisle at a Safeway food store in south San Francisco shortly after an earthquake estimated at 7.0 hit California on October 17, 1989. (Photo credit should read GARY WEBER/AFP/Getty Images)

Firemen search for occupants in a heavil

Firemen search for occupants in a heavily-damaged building in the Marina District of San Francisco, one of the areas hardest hit in the city by an earthquake estimated at 7.0 on October 17, 1989. (Photo credit should read CHRIS WILKINS/AFP/Getty Images)

A fireman passes a heavily-damaged build

A fireman passes a heavily-damaged building behind a police line in one of the worst-hit areas of San Francisco shortly after an earthquake estimated at 7.0 on October 17, 1989. (Photo credit should read CHRIS WILKINS/AFP/Getty Images)

A military policeman steps over a police

A military policeman steps over a police line on October 18, 1989, in front of a heavily-damaged building in the Marina District of San Francisco, one of the areas hardest hit in the city by an earthquake estimated at 7.0 on October 17, 1989. (Photo credit should read ADAM TEITELBAUM/AFP/Getty Images)

Photo shot on October 22, 1989 shows a c

Photo shot on October 22, 1989 shows a collapsed portion of the Bay Bridge at Oakland after the earthquake that rocked northern California. (Photo credit should read GARY WEBER/AFP/Getty Images)

A rescuer looks at a collapsed house, on

A rescuer looks at a collapsed house, on October 18, 1989, in the Marina District of San Francisco, one of the areas hardest hit in the city by an earthquake estimated at 7.0 on October 17, 1989. (Photo credit should read ADAM TEITELBAUM/AFP/Getty Images)

General view of Candlestick Park after the earthquake

SAN FRANCISCO - OCTOBER 17: General view of the crowds in Candlestick Park after an earthquake, measuring 7.1 on the richter scale, rocks game three of the World Series between the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park on October 17, 1989 in San Francisco, California. Despite some discussion to cancel, baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent agrees to allow the series to continue. Play resumed October 25, and the A's go on to sweep the Giants in four games. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr /Getty Images)

General view of debris after the earthquake

SAN FRANCISCO - OCTOBER 17: General view of debris after the earthquake, measuring 7.1 on the richter scale, rocks game three of the World Series between the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park on October 17, 1989 in San Francisco, California. Despite some discussion to cancel, baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent agrees to allow the series to continue. Play resumed October 25, and the A's go on to sweep the Giants in four games. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr /Getty Images)

General view of debris after the earthquake

SAN FRANCISCO - OCTOBER 17: General view of debris after the earthquake, measuring 7.1 on the richter scale, rocks game three of the World Series between the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park on October 17, 1989 in San Francisco, California. Despite some discussion to cancel, baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent agrees to allow the series to continue. Play resumed October 25, and the A's go on to sweep the Giants in four games. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr /Getty Images)

1989 World Series: Dejected Fan

SAN FRANCISCO - OCTOBER 1989: A young dejected baseball fan looks on after a postponement of the 1989 Major League Baseball World Series due to an earthquake circa October 1989 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images)

1989 World Series

General view of the crowds in Candlestick Park after an earthquake interrupts the World Series in San Francisco, California.

Loma Prieta Earthquake

Guillermo Vega on the front porch of his damaged home in Watsonville. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Loma Prieta Earthquake

Forty-two people died in the collapse of the Cypress Structure in Oakland. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Loma Prieta Earthquake

St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Watsonville was badly damaged. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Loma Prieta Earthquake

Many houses and smaller outbuildings collapsed and slid in the Santa Cruz Mountains. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Loma Prieta Earthquake

A giant crack opened in front of the Tranbargers' home in the Santa Cruz Mountains. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Loma Prieta Earthquake

A friend helps homeowners move belongings from their damaged house in Los Gatos. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Loma Prieta Earthquake

Search dogs hunt for survivors in a building at Bay and Divisadero in San Francisco. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Loma Prieta Earthquake

The biggest fire in San Francisco's Marina District burned at Beach and Divisadero Streets. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Loma Prieta Earthquake

California Highway Patrol officers were among the first to arrive at the collapse of the Cypress section of Interstate 880 in West Oakland. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Loma Prieta Earthquake

The San Francisco Fire Department had trained on the Portable Water Supply System only one week before the earthquake. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Loma Prieta Earthquake

Broken water mains left San Francisco firefighters with precious little water to fight the flames in the Marina District. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Loma Prieta Earthquake

Not only did a section of the upper deck of the Bay Bridge fall, it badly damaged the deck below. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Loma Prieta Earthquake

The San Francisco Fire Department used a unique Portable Water Supply System to pump water from the bay to fight the Marina fire. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Loma Prieta Earthquake

The force of the quake threw this house at North Point and Divisadero out into the street. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Loma Prieta Earthquake

Baseball legend Joe DiMaggio waited in line like everyone else for assistance at the Marina Middle School. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Loma Prieta Earthquake

Buck Helm's Chevy Sprint is lifted out of the wreckage of the Cypress freeway. Helm was the last survivor to be rescued, but he died a month later. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Loma Prieta Earthquake

Buildings standing on landfill were particularly vulnerable to collapse in the shaking. Ground floors wound up subterranean. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Loma Prieta Earthquake

Anxious commuters got out of their cars on the Bay Bridge while they waited for instructions on how to get off the bridge safely. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Loma Prieta Earthquake

One driver was killed on the Bay Bridge when she was misinformed about which way to go to get off the bridge. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Loma Prieta Earthquake

Many Marina buildings, like this one at Jefferson and Divisadero, had to be destroyed. (San Francisco Chronicle)