[203] See [Part IV], [p. 239].
4. THE HOUSES—CHARACTER AND COST
As far as this group of families is concerned the burned area was built up substantially as before the earthquake. As wood was the material available, without exception the 490 bonus houses were frame. The general appearance of the houses was good. Most were painted and had adequate foundations, and a majority had basements. The basements in many cases were sublet, or were used for business purposes. The number of stories to a house varied from one to four; only three of the houses, however, had four stories. The greater number were of two stories. All the houses were connected with the city water supply and the sewerage system. Three hundred and eighty-one, or 78 per cent, of the new houses contained bath rooms, and all but three had installed one or more patent flush closets.
A fair gauge of the character of the houses rebuilt is the cost, if the high price of building materials be borne in mind.
TABLE 80.—COST OF HOUSES REBUILT AFTER THE FIRE BY APPLICANTS RECEIVING AID UNDER THE BONUS PLAN
| Cost of houses | Houses costing as specified | |
|---|---|---|
| Less than $1,500 | 65 | |
| $1,500 and less than $3,000 | 210 | |
| $3,000 and less than $5,000 | 118 | |
| $5,000 and less than $10,000 | 92 | |
| $10,000 and over | 5 | |
| Total | 490 | [204] |
[204] Includes Notre Dame College.
One house cost $39,000, another $78,000, and three from $10,000 to $20,000. It must be remembered that one of these was Notre Dame College. Only 16 per cent of the houses were built by the applicants themselves. The original plan was to aid those that had suffered the loss of their homes. Fifty-five of the houses destroyed were, however, used for both dwelling and business purposes; 69 of those rebuilt were similarly used. Each business was on a small scale,—a grocery or fruit store, a saloon, or a barber shop. The number of rooms in the houses formerly occupied and those in the houses lived in after the fire is given in the following table:
TABLE 81.—NUMBER OF ROOMS IN HOUSES OWNED BEFORE THE FIRE AND IN HOUSES REBUILT AFTER THE FIRE BY APPLICANTS RECEIVING AID UNDER THE BONUS PLAN
| Number of rooms | HOUSES HAVING EACH SPECIFIED NUMBER OF ROOMS | |
|---|---|---|
| Before fire | After fire | |
| 1 | .. | .. |
| 2 | .. | 1 |
| 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | 14 | 51 |
| 5 and less than 9 | 150 | 184 |
| 9 and less than 13 | 171 | 138 |
| 13 and less than 16 | 83 | 58 |
| 17 and less than 21 | 42 | 23 |
| 21 and over | 28 | 28 |
| Total | 489 | 489 |
| Average number of rooms before fire | 12.2 | |
| Average number of rooms after fire | 10.6 | |