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Immediately after the earthquake, but before the approaching fire burned the city, he moved the vault's money to his home outside the fire zone in then-rural San Mateo, 18 miles (29 km) away. A garbage wagon was used to haul the money, hidden beneath garbage.
One of the more heroic figures in the great San Francisco earthquake was the son of Italian immigrants from the North Beach neighborhood named A.P. Giannini. As much as anyone he was responsible for the survival of one of the world’s great metropolitan centers.
After the earthquake and fire of 1906, his bank, the only one to survive the catastrophe with all its assets intact, was the first to reopen. It helped San Francisco rise from the ashes by making loans “on a face and a signature” to the small businesses and people whose lives were shattered.
After the devastating earthquake in April 1906, looters roamed the streets of San Francisco. Rescuing gold and silver from his small Bank of Italy, A.P. Giannini gained fame by setting up a makeshift bank on a North Beach wharf and making loans to local residents "on a handshake."
On 18 April 1906 San Francisco was hit by a devastating earthquake and fire; before the bank building burned down, Amadeo Giannini was able to move the vault’s money and records to his home in San Mateo, some 18 miles away.
A.P. supported causes he believed in and followed his instincts with memorable results: In 1906, when the great earthquake struck San Francisco, he personally rescued the bank’s gold and currency, and his was the first bank to resume operations.
Three years after surviving the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, Giannini’s banking operations expanded by opening its first branch in San Jose. He continued to open banks throughout California, consolidating operations in 1927.
