A sepia-toned stereograph presents two nearly identical, side-by-side photographs of parts of two grand, neoclassical buildings in states of severe ruin. The structures feature tall, square Corinthian columns and vertical window openings, but large portions of the facades are missing, leaving a crumbling edges of masonry and twisted metal beams exposed to the sky. Large piles of jagged rubble and debris are scattered across the foreground, obscuring most of the ground level. To the left and right of the photographs, vertical text on the card mount reads "TOM M. PHILLIPS 312 OPERA HOUSE BLDG. CHICAGO, U. S. A." Small, faint text printed at the bottom center of the images identifies the scene as "4. Effects of Earthquake, City Hall" and includes a copyright notice for "Tom M. Phillips, 1906."