Previous to here I lived in a basement apartment, and set into the ground like that there is less quaking to be felt, I would assume because the higher you go the more sway comes your way. I won't lie, I was a bit nervous then and remain so now, having an entire building above me should I be down here during the big one. My only promise to you is this: if I get trapped down here and time is running out, I'm breaking into the lockers. I know who has the good stuff.Mr. Day and his group of investors bought this building in 1975. In an article from the Glendale News Press, July 24, 1982, Mr. Day talks about the conversion of the hotel basement into a wine storage facility. This is where the original restaurant and ballroom were, and there was initial effort to restore this space into a restaurant, but frustration over city-imposed red-tape thwarted that process. Mr. Day and his partners still have wine lockers down here. I spoke with one of them today to ask about earthquakes.
A story was once available on-line about how The Cave fared in the Whittier Quake, but I am unable to find it now. In it Vern, my predecessor, stated only one or two unsecured bottles broke in that quake. The partner I spoke with today recalls there was no damage down here in the Northridge Quake though there was some damage in the building itself, something Mr. Day, a civil engineer, was well qualified to remedy.
There are a good amount of links on-line to address earthquake proofing your wine including this one, but as usual my resident winos are way ahead of the game: store your wine in their boxes or cases, and rent a multitude of smaller lockers rather than one large one. Keeps it all packed in there and snug, less rattle and roll.
[Edit, 9/04/09: I stumbled onto the aforementioned article about wine storage facilities and earthquakes, fire, etc. Here is the link.]