At 5:04 p.m. on Oct. 17, 1989, the ground in Northern California shook.
A lot of the area's attention was focused on the World Series game that was about to start between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics, but suddenly sports was insignificant as a 6.9 quake centered at Loma Prieta near Santa Cruz rocked the Bay Area.
In the quaint cobblestone of downtown Santa Cruz – then known as the Pacific Garden Mall – unreinforced brick tumbled, killing two in the Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Company and a third in Ford's Department Store.
Much of the downtown was deemed unsafe afterward and knocked down. Businesses moved into tents for years of planning, fights and rebuilding.
In addition, the Marina district in San Francisco was set ablaze when natural gas pipelines broken during the quake.
The Cypress freeway in Oakland crumbled, the top layer landing on the bottom layer and flattening the cars that were moving in between.
What do you remember about the day and the time? How has your life changed?
Have we learned from the disaster and are we better prepared for the next one?
Let us know what you think in our comments section.
