This film is wonderful. I have seen shorter clips of the film. The longer version is amazing. How in the world did the cars, wagons and cable cars avoid accidents. What a hoot.
This is so amazing! I love old films of daily life - you really get a feel for the times.
And...okay, so, maybe it IS promotional...but, still,..
Also, did people really drive that insanely?! How many near-fender-benders can you spot?
Was the film done on a streetcar or an actual automobile? Because, we keep following the streetcar tracks but everything else just keeps going back and forth across.
P.S. The music is neat - but probably not what they would've been listening to! :)
They looks like they never saw a video camera..today if you say something like this " i just bought a new 3D, HD digital camcoder!"..then they will reply "WHO THE HELL CARES!!!"
Wow such a shame to think the once beautiful city is now a slum overrun by yuppies, latte sippin' liberal fags, and gang bangers. Oh yah, this coming from
A 4th generation native, so you hipsters that have lived there for like a year and think you know SF, stfu
Knowing that the autos were supposed to be cutting back and forth in front of the streetcar makes this slightly less horrifying, but this completely uncontrolled traffic makes it very clear how desperately necessary things like lane markings, stop signs, crosswalks and traffic lights were - and still are. It took a great many injuries and deaths for several decades for people to finally start regulating what is permitted in the street.
Looks like kids may not have needed to go to school back then. As an earlier post noted, it's haunting to know that just a few days later many of these ppl would be killed by the quake and fire which devastated The City. I miss my hometown....
My 2nd great grandfather was born in San Francisco on February 7th, 1852, and died just days after the 1906 earthquake of a heart attack. This footage is fascinating, and goes well with the photos I have of my family from this period in San Francisco.
P.S. My family is still in San Francisco, and scattered throughout the Bay Area. How's that for roots! ; )
Note around 7:50 the horse-drawn omnibuses. Market Street had two cable car tracks down the middle, and tracks on each side of these to accomodate horse-drawn omnibuses. Also interesting to see the middle-class youngsters in their short pants -- getting your first pair of long pants was considered the transition from childhood to teen/adulthood.
I know this may sound a bit convoluted, but I couldn't help seeing the disparity of wealth displayed in the film, and how things have not changed all that much in that regard. Those cars were all owned by wealthy people, some even driven by chauffeurs, and those young boys running about carrying newspapers, news boys, were young children who should have been in school, but due to the poverty of their families had to work instead. Child labor laws now exist, but a huge wealth gap still exists.
@Reavelt And you sound like an idiot...so move to Texas...maybe, you would be better suited there...if you're not living there already, asswipe...or just keep watching Fox News you little fascist!
@21gramsofsoul , I knew I was right about you.....A Texas hater? Do you hate it worse than Russia? Cuba? Venezuela? Yes, I think you do....You don't deserve to be living in what's left of a free country after you and your kind get through destroying it....I'm the facist? Look in the mirror at your jealousy of rich people....First is class warfare, then total communism, and I can guarantee you, because of your stupidity, that you would one of the first to go to the labor camps or be shot....
Well done. I like the music. I would also like to see this film scored with layered sound effects - street cars, horses & carriages, horseless carriages, people walking and talking, ambient city sounds, and some period music thrown in.
This was not the normal Market Street traffic for that time in 1906; it was perhaps a promotional film. In this film most people were recruited to make San Francisco look livelier. Notice that the same motor cars make many U-turns to reappear in the film and every person is wearing a hat to look dressy with the exception of only one. Can you find that person? It is also eerie to see that most people in the film died just for days later in the earthquake.
@DFWmetro With the exception of the cars which were indeed asked to repeatedly circle the cable car to give the impression SF had more automobiles, this was in fact completely normal everyday life, the reason for the films success is just that, it is heralded as a complete unedited document of everyday life from an extremely important time in the life of SF. Everyone, man, woman & child wore hats over a hundred years ago they were certainly not for the benefit of the camera.
Why are people complaining about the music??? This track is Hauntingly PERFECT for this footage. Look how the beat fits with the pace of the people walking; the cars, the horses; the kids playing; even the shaking of the camera from time to time fits the rhythm. Well Done, Eightbanger....thanks for posting this.
Man, what a trip! The white horse galloping at 4:07 freaks me. What happened to that rider and his horse 4 days later............
Great film silly choice of music ruins the effect. I hope someone has the smarts to use the top song of the time in San Francisco instead...or even the song San Francisco.
@BrentSmith38501 "Hi, wanna come back to my home in the Castro District for a queer, (er I mean a beer?")
Well it is San Francisco! OK so that wouldn't have happened in 1906, or would it?! Hope I've got at least some facts correct about SF? I'm in Scotland UK, and I've never been out of the British Isles.
Great footage. Notice how EVERYONE, even the poor, is dressed well. Notice how almost everyone is thin. Notice how everyone is respectful of everyone else. Notice how clean the streets are. I think that the majority of the people who lived through this period would be shocked to see how far we've actually degraded as a society in term of our self-respect and respect for others.
grew up in the city-my family since 1916. hey-the music is perfect for this glimpse back in time like it was yesterday. the music is like mystical and going through a time tunnel-time machine. how classic is this. no stop lights-lanes, just a free for all. and to think each person in that photo was somebody--and every one of them is dead-the kids, women, and men in the cars. lost history which should be teached and shown to kids in school. life is short-for sure! classic!
It's the clash of the end of the 19th century entering the new 20th century that is truly representing this culture classic documentary...just the recording of moving film from this proped up camera on a moving cable-car is a complte mind blower! Back to the Future should be the title!
No offence Eightbanger, but I preferred Air's La Femme d' Argent version, but now it's been blocked on copyright grounds. I'll just have to watch one of the many versions of this film while playing the track on my CD.
@TheCaleyman None taken, I wanted something long enough to go with the vid and this fit at the time, I will admit I rushed it and should have given it more thought. But playing your own choice of music over it or muting is the way to go.
No offence Eightbanger, but preferred Air's La Femme d' Argent version, but now it's been blocked on copyright grounds. I'll just have to watch one of the many versions of this film while playing the track on my CD.
I just noticed that @7:00 a Stanley Steamer Automobile can be seen on the right hand side. It's quite rare to see a car like that in a motion picture from their time because they weren't around all that long. The internal combustion engine proved a lot more popular and reliable, so the Stanley Steamer disappeared rather quickly.
Wow, people drove in either direction on either side of the road. The term "Jay Walking" obviously didn't exist. and you could make a U-turn from any point in the street without giving so much as a warning. It's unreal the number of close calls people had in just this single trip down Market St. It remainds me of what it was like to be on a major city roadway in Alexandria Egypt today; the car horns can be heard continuously there. I wonder if it was the same then?
@SHAUNERDANIEL Yes, that is indeed the Ferry Building at the end. It is about the only building in this video to have survived the great quake. Very weird seeing "my" town, knowing the street corners, and seeing different buildings all along the way; the only landmark to focus on was the one they were headed for. Great film, thanks so much for posting it!!
It's a beautiful film, and one that is unusually long for its year. The music doesn't work at all for me; while it matches in a roundabout way to the pace of the cable car, it isn't responsive at all to what happens in the space of the screen; it's just there. It will sound terribly dated in a decade, whereas this movie is eternal.
This is now one of my favorite pieces of film footage, the dynamic energy in this piece is wonderful. Ha! no intimidation whatsoever re walking/driving (repeatedly!) in front of moving street car. The news boys with papers. Wonderful. Thanks for posting.
This movie is just plain gorgeous. But the music tries real hard to ruin it. It is highly recommended to turn the sound off in order to enjoy the pictures!
How many cars throughout the film are staged? I can count at least two. One of them contains about 5 or 6 men. The producer? Love this video - I come back to view it often. Thank you.
That's truly amazing that the street car kept a steady pace and never slowed down or sped up and it still made it between horses, cars, people and carts. Such timing.
Another amazing thing is that it took less than 10 minute to go from the area it started to the end and back around. Today it would take 20 minutes or more.
This version seems speeded up from the original, just watched it (frame rolls and all) and it's much more realistic as far as how fast people walked, etc. This one (maybe to keep up with the music?) is way too fast, kind of like a cartoon. Be sure to watch the original to get the authentic feel of the times.
@JULIALAURIETOO Yeah, this seems a bit sped up, but not nearly as much as other films from this period are, so it's fine by my standards. Also, has anybody noticed that modern Indian and Chinnese streets look like this? ie. seemingly total chaos, every man for himself, etc.
Glad I didn't live back then, I'd die of road rage.
Those were the days, you could drive on any side of the rode, walk across the street where ever you liked, run in front of cars and trolleys. Watch the Market Street Video from 2005, it looks very tamed and orderly compared to this video from 1906.
I grew up in the city since 1953. family since 1916. how great to look back in history and see these people and busy city. all these people are gone! and what's this song? its great! like going on a trip. trippy music--classic! job well done. love going back in time--wow!
It is great to see this footage. The music is absolutely TERRIBLE. Ridiculous, really. But it you put the sound on mute the film is fascinating and really NEAT! Thank you for posting it!
@RLTRUELOVE1972 screw freedom of speech. The 1st amendment is referring to government actions not individuals. It is only censorship when it's the government using its force. When we as individuals restrict someone's ideas and speech, that is YOU exercising your freedom to govern your personal realm and this page is your personal realm. Block and delete this idiot.
When a society shuns those who oppress and hate, then that society will be made better for it.
Caruso (the opera tenor) was in S.F.(as previously mentioned) and he was staying at the Palace Hotel. I believe is on the right side of Market St. It is a seven story building and it comes into view at 3:07. The camera reached the hotel after the sight seeing trolley crossed the street from right to left. My grandmothers father was known to stay there.
The hotel site has historic pictures for comparison.
@RLTRUELOVE1972 - There were a LOT of Chinese in San Francisco in 1906, and city officials of that day thought it necessary to enact anti-Chinese legislation.
A good friend of mine is descended from that Chinese population, and still lives in San Fran today with his wife & four daughters.
I saw this clip just last night on my local PBS. It blows my mind that we can watch moving images from over 100 years ago! It's like something from another planet. I'm fascinated.
@kafcan Early American motor vehicles were produced in RHD, following the practice established by horse-drawn buggies. This changed in the early years of the 20th century: Ford changed to LHD production in 1908 with the Model T, and Cadillac in 1916. Wikipedia.
@kafcan Henry Ford put the driver on the left in the Model T in 1909, and because so many thousands of Model Ts were on the road, the other companies followed suit and put theirs on the left. It should be mentioned that these vehicles that you see were very expensive at the time, and could only be afforded by the well to do in most cases, until the Model T put your average Americans on wheels.
Still the horse and buggy days for the most part and people had to be careful where they stepped when crossing a street because of the poop. Not really the good old days according to my grandparents who were born in 1890. People could die then from a cold or a cut on the finger.
Just saw this on 60 Minutes, they determined the film was made only about a week before the earthquake, so in watching I can't help but wonder of the people in this file who lived and who died. Great music btw.
The music is great, much better than ragtime or Charlie Chaplin-type music would have been. Enrico Caruso, the world's greatest opera tenor, was appearing in SF that week. The quake terrified him so that he never returned to the city the rest of his career.
@carrotville Thank you! it was a toss up between finding a track long enough and that wasn't to up tempo. And thanks for the info on Caruso, I wasn't aware he was there at the time.;)
The music is still perfect! Don't change it... It makes the video even better. But please get rid of these horrible posts. Low-life talk! (And yes, I realized my faux paus calling this a "trolly" when it is a "cable" car. I did a lot of research on the video after seeing this.) By the way, I love the music!!!
For all our kids....I've posted this before but I'm posting again...just for you. Papa Blevin was born this same year...clear across the country in Vermont. This is so interesting to me....I hope you enjoy it. At the very end at 8:30 you can see a horse-drawn wagon from Eureka, California. How would you've liked to make that trip back in 1905? Yikes!
The cars (and the carts too!) are all RHD - but they're driving on the right. When did they change to LHD cars? Good to see anarchistic road usage too; Drachten isn't a new idea.
The original is video transcript is almost 14 minutes long. Where did the four minutes go? Is this sped up (relative to the first transcript) in addition to having the rolling corrected? It appears so.
Wow the Police Officers back then actually look approachable as opposed to being decked out in para-military garb looking like hired mercenaries like today.
Do you think the filmmaker paid those men to sit in the "black" car (there was no other car colour available at that time! ) and drive around 5 or 6 times? I wonder how many pedestrian casualties, struck by cars, there were in 1906 ?
Do you think the filmmaker paid those men to sit in the "black" car (there was no other car colour available at that time! ) and drive around 5 or 6 times? I wonder how many pedestrian casualties, struck by cars, there were in 1906 ?
Do you think the filmmaker paid those men to sit in the "black" car (there was no other car colour available at that time! ) and drive around 5 or 6 times? I wonder how many pedestrian casualties, struck by cars, there were in 1906 ?
Do you think the filmmaker paid those men to sit in the "black" car (there was no other car colour available at that time! ) and drive around 5 or 6 times? I wonder how many pedestrian casualties, struck by cars, there were in 1906 ?
Yes, you're right. I thought about this later, that it was mechanically wound and not operated by power... I researched a little bit on the Miles Brothers who made this video, found a great little article. Copy this link:
@truejava1 I had never looked into this film beyond the info held at archive.org, but thanks to your link "truejava1" we have a definitive name for the creators of this magical piece of film and a wealth of other info on the life & career of another great pioneer "Otis M. Gove".
It might be worth noting that this isn't a street car, but a cable car. Market street began it's cable car service in 1883 . There's a major difference, and you can notice street cars CROSSING this route (note the electric contacts at their top - the cable cars are run by cables under the street (see the center third "rail" - which is really a slot under the tracks). Great film, no matter what.
It's like 1906 meets 2010... At first I wasn't sure about the music, but it actually goes well and ads to the intrigue, and this film is extremely engaging. I keep coming back to watch more (and listen)! I too wonder about the power cable... Did they use something in the trolley car to power the camera? I don't know my early movie cameras.
@truejava1 Early film cameras were mechanical, and not powered electrically, the operator would wind the film by hand past the lens exposing it to the light and capturing the image. Later cameras would be powered by clockwork, and eventually battery powered.
@truejava1 It's not a trolley car. Trolley cars were powered electrically by means contraptions called trolleys that slid on wires above. It's a cable car, powered mechanically by a cable in a slot between the tracks.
@Eightbanger "Too intrusive" is a comparative term, but still one that I disagree with. The soundtrack's very existence is "too intrustive." But I also believe in the Power of the Remote...or mute button in this case...and still enjoy the window into early 20th century SF once I kill the soundtrack you added.
@Eightbanger I'm sure I wasn't the first to use the "glaringly obvious" mute button, and I'm quite sure I won't be the last. Fortunately you don't choose music beds for a living or you'd have to find another job which doesn't require you to choose music beds for a living.
I wonder if author Jack Finney ever got to see this- it would've made his day! What a magical trip this was, Thank You so much!
Re: illoominate's remark Just think, too, that out there somewhere nearby is Ansel Adams, about to take a blow to the head in the Earthquake. I wonder who else was nearby...come on, folks, let's hear from ya!
A TIME CAPSULE: April 18, 1906: allegedly first 35mm movie film ever shot. This is Market Street 4 days before the great San Francisco Earthquake. Runs several minutes, but worth your time!
The car you see returning over and over is probably the film maker himself i think his name was Miles.........he killed himself a few years after this.........The little boys are curious remember they have never seen a camera.........ou're thinking like a modern person.................Funny...............
Things are not as random as they seem. Some of the cars pass the camera, make u-turns, circle the streetcar, and appear again. Some of the kids are doing the same thing.
@tfclarkin The cars were staged, it was a deliberate attempt by the film maker to give "Market Street the appearance of a prosperous modern boulevard with many automobiles".
This film is wonderful. I have seen shorter clips of the film. The longer version is amazing. How in the world did the cars, wagons and cable cars avoid accidents. What a hoot.
evelynkennedy8 1 week ago
This is so amazing! I love old films of daily life - you really get a feel for the times.
And...okay, so, maybe it IS promotional...but, still,..
Also, did people really drive that insanely?! How many near-fender-benders can you spot?
Was the film done on a streetcar or an actual automobile? Because, we keep following the streetcar tracks but everything else just keeps going back and forth across.
P.S. The music is neat - but probably not what they would've been listening to! :)
CodexArgenteus 2 weeks ago
@CodexArgenteus The whole thing was shot from the front of a Cable Car.
Glad you enjoyed it...:)
Eightbanger 1 week ago
They looks like they never saw a video camera..today if you say something like this " i just bought a new 3D, HD digital camcoder!"..then they will reply "WHO THE HELL CARES!!!"
erone2203 2 weeks ago
Wow such a shame to think the once beautiful city is now a slum overrun by yuppies, latte sippin' liberal fags, and gang bangers. Oh yah, this coming from
A 4th generation native, so you hipsters that have lived there for like a year and think you know SF, stfu
Robertjcksn40 1 month ago
@Robertjcksn40 Thank God the long tradition of bigotry and hatred remains intact. Suck on that, yuppie scum.
smrose 3 weeks ago
Knowing that the autos were supposed to be cutting back and forth in front of the streetcar makes this slightly less horrifying, but this completely uncontrolled traffic makes it very clear how desperately necessary things like lane markings, stop signs, crosswalks and traffic lights were - and still are. It took a great many injuries and deaths for several decades for people to finally start regulating what is permitted in the street.
hebneh 1 month ago
this is so great!
dysflexica 2 months ago
Why was the tram system still intact after the quake
MrAssholeTan98 2 months ago
fake
turkeysub3000 4 months ago
jaywalking is A LOT easier then than it is now.
chaoswurm 4 months ago
This was videographed by a time traveller form the year 2012.
Using a Sony HDR-AX2000 video camcorder he stepped out onto the cable car platform and began recording.
Many of the people shown in the video are watching him to see what he is holding.
They are also looking at him and the strange looking clothes he is wearing from 2012.
Although the video was shot in HD color, he made a copy in black and white and released it on Youtube.
I have seen the HD color version.
Believe it or not!
planetcheck 4 months ago
i like the guy at 1:50 who tries to play it cool after almost getting hit twice haha
tyoelin 4 months ago in playlist tyoelin's Favorited Videos 2
boy the movies of that time did not exaggerate with the fashion of ordinary people, unlike today where most movie stars are half naked
sleepyfish 5 months ago
You gotta love the cop with his nightstick!
1953gking 5 months ago
Looks like kids may not have needed to go to school back then. As an earlier post noted, it's haunting to know that just a few days later many of these ppl would be killed by the quake and fire which devastated The City. I miss my hometown....
ripperduck 5 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
all DEAD people
yikescat56 6 months ago
The music really sux!
suavedave69 6 months ago
Nothing wrong with this music that the mute won't fix.
Seems like just yesterday I was on Market St..
Oh yeah, I was. ;)
CarlV49 6 months ago
My 2nd great grandfather was born in San Francisco on February 7th, 1852, and died just days after the 1906 earthquake of a heart attack. This footage is fascinating, and goes well with the photos I have of my family from this period in San Francisco.
P.S. My family is still in San Francisco, and scattered throughout the Bay Area. How's that for roots! ; )
skiltch 6 months ago
Note around 7:50 the horse-drawn omnibuses. Market Street had two cable car tracks down the middle, and tracks on each side of these to accomodate horse-drawn omnibuses. Also interesting to see the middle-class youngsters in their short pants -- getting your first pair of long pants was considered the transition from childhood to teen/adulthood.
tikibarman5 6 months ago
very interesting clip, just like taking a time machine...
ZorgDK 6 months ago
Would be better without the non period music
1918alf 6 months ago
I know this may sound a bit convoluted, but I couldn't help seeing the disparity of wealth displayed in the film, and how things have not changed all that much in that regard. Those cars were all owned by wealthy people, some even driven by chauffeurs, and those young boys running about carrying newspapers, news boys, were young children who should have been in school, but due to the poverty of their families had to work instead. Child labor laws now exist, but a huge wealth gap still exists.
21gramsofsoul 6 months ago
@21gramsofsoul , you sound like a commie to me....Move to Russia....Maybe, you would be better suited there....
Reavelt 6 months ago
@Reavelt And you sound like an idiot...so move to Texas...maybe, you would be better suited there...if you're not living there already, asswipe...or just keep watching Fox News you little fascist!
21gramsofsoul 6 months ago
@21gramsofsoul , I knew I was right about you.....A Texas hater? Do you hate it worse than Russia? Cuba? Venezuela? Yes, I think you do....You don't deserve to be living in what's left of a free country after you and your kind get through destroying it....I'm the facist? Look in the mirror at your jealousy of rich people....First is class warfare, then total communism, and I can guarantee you, because of your stupidity, that you would one of the first to go to the labor camps or be shot....
Reavelt 6 months ago
Traffic is about the same but less horse poo now.
HenryJonesSikan 6 months ago
Well done. I like the music. I would also like to see this film scored with layered sound effects - street cars, horses & carriages, horseless carriages, people walking and talking, ambient city sounds, and some period music thrown in.
gompth1966 6 months ago
Look how thing people were back then
OffDWallNotDRack 6 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Realize that some of the young children from this film could still be alive!! Eerie for sure!
FreeBlago1 6 months ago
This was not the normal Market Street traffic for that time in 1906; it was perhaps a promotional film. In this film most people were recruited to make San Francisco look livelier. Notice that the same motor cars make many U-turns to reappear in the film and every person is wearing a hat to look dressy with the exception of only one. Can you find that person? It is also eerie to see that most people in the film died just for days later in the earthquake.
DFWmetro 6 months ago
@DFWmetro With the exception of the cars which were indeed asked to repeatedly circle the cable car to give the impression SF had more automobiles, this was in fact completely normal everyday life, the reason for the films success is just that, it is heralded as a complete unedited document of everyday life from an extremely important time in the life of SF. Everyone, man, woman & child wore hats over a hundred years ago they were certainly not for the benefit of the camera.
Eightbanger 6 months ago 8
Why are people complaining about the music??? This track is Hauntingly PERFECT for this footage. Look how the beat fits with the pace of the people walking; the cars, the horses; the kids playing; even the shaking of the camera from time to time fits the rhythm. Well Done, Eightbanger....thanks for posting this.
Man, what a trip! The white horse galloping at 4:07 freaks me. What happened to that rider and his horse 4 days later............
randyf1234321 6 months ago 3
@randyf1234321 Thank you...glad you liked it.
Eightbanger 6 months ago
Music is silly and does not do the footage any justice. Film is great for sure.
RobbCapielo 6 months ago
Fucking music gave me a migraine, Wtf
southrules 6 months ago
Great film silly choice of music ruins the effect. I hope someone has the smarts to use the top song of the time in San Francisco instead...or even the song San Francisco.
Arieliondotcom 6 months ago
Now the other AIR one has been taken off as well!
TheCaleyman 6 months ago
What is up with the guy at 1:49 coming in from the left, acting all sneaky, and making a hand off to the guy getting on the carriage?!?!
BrentSmith38501 7 months ago
@BrentSmith38501 "Hi, wanna come back to my home in the Castro District for a queer, (er I mean a beer?")
Well it is San Francisco! OK so that wouldn't have happened in 1906, or would it?! Hope I've got at least some facts correct about SF? I'm in Scotland UK, and I've never been out of the British Isles.
TheCaleyman 6 months ago
Great footage. Notice how EVERYONE, even the poor, is dressed well. Notice how almost everyone is thin. Notice how everyone is respectful of everyone else. Notice how clean the streets are. I think that the majority of the people who lived through this period would be shocked to see how far we've actually degraded as a society in term of our self-respect and respect for others.
LedWhisky69 7 months ago 2
It is hard to believe that I am half as old as this movie and this looks ancient.....
maureenhirzel8 7 months ago
why the theme from "shaft" for SF circa 1904 ?
woodenmajor 7 months ago
grew up in the city-my family since 1916. hey-the music is perfect for this glimpse back in time like it was yesterday. the music is like mystical and going through a time tunnel-time machine. how classic is this. no stop lights-lanes, just a free for all. and to think each person in that photo was somebody--and every one of them is dead-the kids, women, and men in the cars. lost history which should be teached and shown to kids in school. life is short-for sure! classic!
jimmyd10100 7 months ago
It's the clash of the end of the 19th century entering the new 20th century that is truly representing this culture classic documentary...just the recording of moving film from this proped up camera on a moving cable-car is a complte mind blower! Back to the Future should be the title!
1947classic 7 months ago
Notice how people reacted to the camera...and how many times the same cars show up time and again.
dpjr47 7 months ago
@dpjr47 Those cars were probably the only 3 cars in SF in those days!
SuperBrianm 6 months ago
@EVN12383 The track I should have used I put to this version....Copy & Paste...
Somewhere in time, San Francisco Market St, Side By Side Comparison.
Eightbanger 7 months ago
No offence Eightbanger, but I preferred Air's La Femme d' Argent version, but now it's been blocked on copyright grounds. I'll just have to watch one of the many versions of this film while playing the track on my CD.
TheCaleyman 7 months ago
@TheCaleyman None taken, I wanted something long enough to go with the vid and this fit at the time, I will admit I rushed it and should have given it more thought. But playing your own choice of music over it or muting is the way to go.
Eightbanger 7 months ago
@Eightbanger I'll stick with this one now. A backing track version is preferable to a silent one. Hope THIS one isn't removed!
TheCaleyman 7 months ago
No offence Eightbanger, but preferred Air's La Femme d' Argent version, but now it's been blocked on copyright grounds. I'll just have to watch one of the many versions of this film while playing the track on my CD.
TheCaleyman 7 months ago
It gives me goosebumps- I was completely transported to another time...
Abcflc 7 months ago
I'll bet there were less accidents and fatalities then than there are now:) LOL
spiritofshiloh 8 months ago
Astounding! What a marvelous piece of history. Everyone drives like the Keystone Cops. LOL! Thanks so much for posting this!
IAPETUSGIANTS 8 months ago
They didnt have plastic at the time... I wonder what was the car's ..sheet, made of, at 6:33 ??
yacetube 9 months ago
I just noticed that @7:00 a Stanley Steamer Automobile can be seen on the right hand side. It's quite rare to see a car like that in a motion picture from their time because they weren't around all that long. The internal combustion engine proved a lot more popular and reliable, so the Stanley Steamer disappeared rather quickly.
cunard61 9 months ago
Wow, people drove in either direction on either side of the road. The term "Jay Walking" obviously didn't exist. and you could make a U-turn from any point in the street without giving so much as a warning. It's unreal the number of close calls people had in just this single trip down Market St. It remainds me of what it was like to be on a major city roadway in Alexandria Egypt today; the car horns can be heard continuously there. I wonder if it was the same then?
cunard61 9 months ago
really, they couldn't find any better "music"!? something that was period appropriate would have more context
carolynann1 9 months ago
Is that the Ferry Building at the end...
SHAUNERDANIEL 9 months ago
@SHAUNERDANIEL Yes, that is indeed the Ferry Building at the end. It is about the only building in this video to have survived the great quake. Very weird seeing "my" town, knowing the street corners, and seeing different buildings all along the way; the only landmark to focus on was the one they were headed for. Great film, thanks so much for posting it!!
buckylarue 6 months ago
they had gopros back then?
stoneyjewdas 9 months ago
How can anyone put this film a thumbs down? how idiotic!
astoria791 10 months ago
Fabulous video, but why the idiot noise in the background? Thank God for the mute function.
zorntap 10 months ago 2
I like it with the 1911 button.
murcielago06gt 10 months ago
Turn off the sound
bagginsatwelldotcom 10 months ago
This video actually makes sense with the 1911 button.
Wyzera 10 months ago
I think the Music is perfect.......like to know who it is.....
SuperSKYHAWK777 10 months ago
@SuperSKYHAWK777 Mental Generation - Café Del Mar - Underworld Mix
camcoh 9 months ago
@SuperSKYHAWK777
Cafe Del Mar (Underworld Mix)
jacobus4444 9 months ago
I come back to this....it's beautiful...I even like the music! The images are haunting...
RockyMissouri 10 months ago
I'll be damned, there's Charles Darwin at 8:45.
b1naryd1g1t5 10 months ago
It's a beautiful film, and one that is unusually long for its year. The music doesn't work at all for me; while it matches in a roundabout way to the pace of the cable car, it isn't responsive at all to what happens in the space of the screen; it's just there. It will sound terribly dated in a decade, whereas this movie is eternal.
dlewis4621 10 months ago
I think the track is perfect! I love it! The Air, La Femme D'Argent is also great, but sadly too short!
What is the name of this track, I could dance to it all day and I am 60! Talk about greasing old bones!
jacobus4444 10 months ago
@EVN12383 Even more amazing to think thousands of people today are related to them.
DJBell1986 10 months ago
This is now one of my favorite pieces of film footage, the dynamic energy in this piece is wonderful. Ha! no intimidation whatsoever re walking/driving (repeatedly!) in front of moving street car. The news boys with papers. Wonderful. Thanks for posting.
banzaicat2 10 months ago
This movie is just plain gorgeous. But the music tries real hard to ruin it. It is highly recommended to turn the sound off in order to enjoy the pictures!
MisterRaintown 11 months ago
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Totally inappropriate music selection unfortunately ruins this version.
jeddyimposter 11 months ago
Totally innapropriate music selection unfortunately ruins this version.
jeddyimposter 11 months ago 3
At 3:10 that dude just left his bitch!!!
dkseaverns1 11 months ago
Well done superb footage, loose the music
stevejpreston 11 months ago
a great video!
Yanko1965 11 months ago
Excellent video
1400deadwood 1 year ago
ZZ Top's great great grandpa at 8:47. lol!!
sporto10101010 1 year ago
Check out the guy on the right side of the screen cleaning up horse poo at 0:52
redradiodog 1 year ago
notice how the cars are right hand drive ..
why760nitro 1 year ago
How many cars throughout the film are staged? I can count at least two. One of them contains about 5 or 6 men. The producer? Love this video - I come back to view it often. Thank you.
indianajoanes 1 year ago
I love how people dressed back then.
Everyone dressed very mannered.
Now , we have a total different fashion!
Girls showing they're cleavage and men dressing like slobs! Lol
danicastification 1 year ago 3
This is amazing :)
MasacruRo 1 year ago
That's truly amazing that the street car kept a steady pace and never slowed down or sped up and it still made it between horses, cars, people and carts. Such timing.
Another amazing thing is that it took less than 10 minute to go from the area it started to the end and back around. Today it would take 20 minutes or more.
nathantw 1 year ago 2
This version seems speeded up from the original, just watched it (frame rolls and all) and it's much more realistic as far as how fast people walked, etc. This one (maybe to keep up with the music?) is way too fast, kind of like a cartoon. Be sure to watch the original to get the authentic feel of the times.
JULIALAURIETOO 1 year ago
@JULIALAURIETOO Yeah, this seems a bit sped up, but not nearly as much as other films from this period are, so it's fine by my standards. Also, has anybody noticed that modern Indian and Chinnese streets look like this? ie. seemingly total chaos, every man for himself, etc.
Glad I didn't live back then, I'd die of road rage.
ThrilloVanHouten 1 year ago 2
What a riot. It was every man for himself once you entered the street. Great effort.
horsegoggles 1 year ago 8
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horsegoggles 1 year ago 2
PERFECT music for this. Awesome.
lgndsgn 1 year ago 2
Those were the days, you could drive on any side of the rode, walk across the street where ever you liked, run in front of cars and trolleys. Watch the Market Street Video from 2005, it looks very tamed and orderly compared to this video from 1906.
peteo100 1 year ago
I grew up in the city since 1953. family since 1916. how great to look back in history and see these people and busy city. all these people are gone! and what's this song? its great! like going on a trip. trippy music--classic! job well done. love going back in time--wow!
jimmyd10100 1 year ago
I like how it's a windy day.
TheRs07 1 year ago
It is great to see this footage. The music is absolutely TERRIBLE. Ridiculous, really. But it you put the sound on mute the film is fascinating and really NEAT! Thank you for posting it!
scottgilesmusic 1 year ago
@Eightbanger Freedom of speech means the government cannot stop you from saying things.
You, however, are on your own property so to speak, and you have the right to kick someone off your lawn if they misbehave. You aren't the government.
StellaOmega 1 year ago
@StellaOmega The stains removed....bad call on my part, my apologies everyone.
Eightbanger 1 year ago
Getting Ready For The World Series Parade Down Market Street ...
socoolbob 1 year ago
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StellaOmega 1 year ago
@RLTRUELOVE1972 screw freedom of speech. The 1st amendment is referring to government actions not individuals. It is only censorship when it's the government using its force. When we as individuals restrict someone's ideas and speech, that is YOU exercising your freedom to govern your personal realm and this page is your personal realm. Block and delete this idiot.
When a society shuns those who oppress and hate, then that society will be made better for it.
emeryemery 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Just think, their great-grand kids will be insain marxist liberals voting for Obama and Pelosie.
kensmdad 1 year ago
Caruso (the opera tenor) was in S.F.(as previously mentioned) and he was staying at the Palace Hotel. I believe is on the right side of Market St. It is a seven story building and it comes into view at 3:07. The camera reached the hotel after the sight seeing trolley crossed the street from right to left. My grandmothers father was known to stay there.
The hotel site has historic pictures for comparison.
zzzinger 1 year ago
Imagine how many people were smooshed and mangled on those streets back then.
InZeeValley 1 year ago
@RLTRUELOVE1972 - There were a LOT of Chinese in San Francisco in 1906, and city officials of that day thought it necessary to enact anti-Chinese legislation.
A good friend of mine is descended from that Chinese population, and still lives in San Fran today with his wife & four daughters.
AshburnStadium 1 year ago
I saw this clip just last night on my local PBS. It blows my mind that we can watch moving images from over 100 years ago! It's like something from another planet. I'm fascinated.
Hodenkat 1 year ago 2
side note, can we all agree that the soundtrack needs to be changed? doesnt really fit
thirsty247247 1 year ago 2
All the cars are right hand drive! How come?
kafcan 1 year ago
@kafcan Early American motor vehicles were produced in RHD, following the practice established by horse-drawn buggies. This changed in the early years of the 20th century: Ford changed to LHD production in 1908 with the Model T, and Cadillac in 1916. Wikipedia.
Eightbanger 1 year ago 5
@kafcan Henry Ford put the driver on the left in the Model T in 1909, and because so many thousands of Model Ts were on the road, the other companies followed suit and put theirs on the left. It should be mentioned that these vehicles that you see were very expensive at the time, and could only be afforded by the well to do in most cases, until the Model T put your average Americans on wheels.
Hendo56 1 year ago 2
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zzzinger 1 year ago
Guitar lick fail at 3:45
CrandMackerel 1 year ago
@CrandMackerel Make that 3:44
CrandMackerel 1 year ago
@CrandMackerel Man...great call!!.. I've listened to this track dozens of times and never picked that up...:)))
Eightbanger 1 year ago
Still the horse and buggy days for the most part and people had to be careful where they stepped when crossing a street because of the poop. Not really the good old days according to my grandparents who were born in 1890. People could die then from a cold or a cut on the finger.
carrotville 1 year ago
I see such modesty and innocence that this film is very hard to describe. It's like it was filmed on a different planet.
DouglasUrantia 1 year ago
Just saw this on 60 Minutes, they determined the film was made only about a week before the earthquake, so in watching I can't help but wonder of the people in this file who lived and who died. Great music btw.
peteo100 1 year ago
where can i download this version of the footage? thanks! afraidtorejoice@yahoo.com
actingeric 1 year ago
just watched parts of this on 60 minutes and came here looking...
187SicknesS 1 year ago
The music is great, much better than ragtime or Charlie Chaplin-type music would have been. Enrico Caruso, the world's greatest opera tenor, was appearing in SF that week. The quake terrified him so that he never returned to the city the rest of his career.
carrotville 1 year ago
@carrotville Thank you! it was a toss up between finding a track long enough and that wasn't to up tempo. And thanks for the info on Caruso, I wasn't aware he was there at the time.;)
Eightbanger 1 year ago
Everyone is wearing a hat or cap. Not a traffic cop in sight! Fascinating!
carrotville 1 year ago
@carrotville Is that a traffic cop at 2:36 in this video?
Zapadac 1 year ago
@Zapadac No! just a beat cop....dedicated traffic cops weren't around yet.
Eightbanger 1 year ago
There is another great film very similar to this one on Youtube of the 1900 Exposition Universelle or World's Fair in Paris.
fredrickausterlitz 1 year ago
Great and such good music !
afegus9 1 year ago
Thanks! Very interesting.
jdlempi 1 year ago
Look at how everyone is driving!
harrah5 1 year ago
What a piece of historic film.
It is like being a time traveler and going back in time to look at these people and their buildings.
Wouldn't it be great if time machines existed?
You could take a HD video camera and record these people in HD color.
Wouldn't that be something?
planetcheck 1 year ago 2
The music is still perfect! Don't change it... It makes the video even better. But please get rid of these horrible posts. Low-life talk! (And yes, I realized my faux paus calling this a "trolly" when it is a "cable" car. I did a lot of research on the video after seeing this.) By the way, I love the music!!!
truejava1 1 year ago
@truejava1 Thank You.
Eightbanger 1 year ago
For all our kids....I've posted this before but I'm posting again...just for you. Papa Blevin was born this same year...clear across the country in Vermont. This is so interesting to me....I hope you enjoy it. At the very end at 8:30 you can see a horse-drawn wagon from Eureka, California. How would you've liked to make that trip back in 1905? Yikes!
queenlamama 1 year ago
Wow, if only these people knew what would happen just a few days later.
OldHickory 1 year ago
I was hoping there was a corrected version of this. The one the guy did to the Air sountrack i is phenomenal, too.
Sejaynus 1 year ago
The cars (and the carts too!) are all RHD - but they're driving on the right. When did they change to LHD cars? Good to see anarchistic road usage too; Drachten isn't a new idea.
robzrob 1 year ago
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JiveDadson 1 year ago
The original is video transcript is almost 14 minutes long. Where did the four minutes go? Is this sped up (relative to the first transcript) in addition to having the rolling corrected? It appears so.
JiveDadson 1 year ago
@JiveDadson I can't help you regarding any extra or missing 4 mins, I have this on DVD and uploaded it in it's entirety.
The Annotation has been removed, they can be annoying.
Eightbanger 1 year ago
O.K. what was the music? I really enjoyed it. I would like to hear more? Thanks, Christine.
chrissiehayward 1 year ago
Shame about the music!
williamblake 1 year ago
Wow the Police Officers back then actually look approachable as opposed to being decked out in para-military garb looking like hired mercenaries like today.
Cassidan 1 year ago 2
Do you think the filmmaker paid those men to sit in the "black" car (there was no other car colour available at that time! ) and drive around 5 or 6 times? I wonder how many pedestrian casualties, struck by cars, there were in 1906 ?
indianajoanes 1 year ago
Do you think the filmmaker paid those men to sit in the "black" car (there was no other car colour available at that time! ) and drive around 5 or 6 times? I wonder how many pedestrian casualties, struck by cars, there were in 1906 ?
indianajoanes 1 year ago
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Do you think the filmmaker paid those men to sit in the "black" car (there was no other car colour available at that time! ) and drive around 5 or 6 times? I wonder how many pedestrian casualties, struck by cars, there were in 1906 ?
indianajoanes 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Do you think the filmmaker paid those men to sit in the "black" car (there was no other car colour available at that time! ) and drive around 5 or 6 times? I wonder how many pedestrian casualties, struck by cars, there were in 1906 ?
indianajoanes 1 year ago
I am so glad you enjoyed the link!
truejava1 1 year ago
Yes, you're right. I thought about this later, that it was mechanically wound and not operated by power... I researched a little bit on the Miles Brothers who made this video, found a great little article. Copy this link:
william-m-drew.webs.com/2firstnarrativefilm.htm
truejava1 1 year ago
@truejava1 I had never looked into this film beyond the info held at archive.org, but thanks to your link "truejava1" we have a definitive name for the creators of this magical piece of film and a wealth of other info on the life & career of another great pioneer "Otis M. Gove".
Thanks.
Eightbanger 1 year ago
It might be worth noting that this isn't a street car, but a cable car. Market street began it's cable car service in 1883 . There's a major difference, and you can notice street cars CROSSING this route (note the electric contacts at their top - the cable cars are run by cables under the street (see the center third "rail" - which is really a slot under the tracks). Great film, no matter what.
martire01 1 year ago
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martire01 1 year ago
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truejava1 1 year ago
It's like 1906 meets 2010... At first I wasn't sure about the music, but it actually goes well and ads to the intrigue, and this film is extremely engaging. I keep coming back to watch more (and listen)! I too wonder about the power cable... Did they use something in the trolley car to power the camera? I don't know my early movie cameras.
truejava1 1 year ago
@truejava1 Early film cameras were mechanical, and not powered electrically, the operator would wind the film by hand past the lens exposing it to the light and capturing the image. Later cameras would be powered by clockwork, and eventually battery powered.
Eightbanger 1 year ago
@truejava1 It's not a trolley car. Trolley cars were powered electrically by means contraptions called trolleys that slid on wires above. It's a cable car, powered mechanically by a cable in a slot between the tracks.
JiveDadson 1 year ago
the camera must have had a bloody long power cable.
ryanbrownnew 1 year ago
I wonder when the finally outlawed horses on the street.
dLimboStick 1 year ago
I love this but what is with the music!?!
CAROLKL 1 year ago
@CAROLKL Can't win em all!! you enjoyed the video that was the important thing.
Eightbanger 1 year ago
@Eightbanger "Too intrusive" is a comparative term, but still one that I disagree with. The soundtrack's very existence is "too intrustive." But I also believe in the Power of the Remote...or mute button in this case...and still enjoy the window into early 20th century SF once I kill the soundtrack you added.
Thanks for posting it!
BuzzworthyMedia 1 year ago
@BuzzworthyMedia At least you realized the glaringly obvious the "Mute Button" ;)
Eightbanger 1 year ago
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@Eightbanger @BuzzworthyMedia I'm sure I wasn't the first to use it and I'm sure I won't be the last.
BuzzworthyMedia 1 year ago
@Eightbanger I'm sure I wasn't the first to use the "glaringly obvious" mute button, and I'm quite sure I won't be the last. Fortunately you don't choose music beds for a living or you'd have to find another job which doesn't require you to choose music beds for a living.
BuzzworthyMedia 1 year ago
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BuzzworthyMedia 1 year ago
I wonder if author Jack Finney ever got to see this- it would've made his day! What a magical trip this was, Thank You so much!
Re: illoominate's remark Just think, too, that out there somewhere nearby is Ansel Adams, about to take a blow to the head in the Earthquake. I wonder who else was nearby...come on, folks, let's hear from ya!
anniepajamie 1 year ago
A TIME CAPSULE: April 18, 1906: allegedly first 35mm movie film ever shot. This is Market Street 4 days before the great San Francisco Earthquake. Runs several minutes, but worth your time!
sonofdreamsailer 1 year ago
Love it! Love the music! Love the feeling that I was there 104 years ago!
jenfilzen 1 year ago
Man there were still crazy drivers out there, cutting people off! haha
stinkynbuttuns 1 year ago
The reason they walk differently is only an illusion caused by the frame rate of the origional film
brendankays 1 year ago
The car you see returning over and over is probably the film maker himself i think his name was Miles.........he killed himself a few years after this.........The little boys are curious remember they have never seen a camera.........ou're thinking like a modern person.................Funny...............
vistamarilyn 1 year ago
Great video, There were some great examples of early electric vehicles and i even spotted a steamer.
An amazing look at bygone years. I miss that city.
imcoolyoudrool 1 year ago
Things are not as random as they seem. Some of the cars pass the camera, make u-turns, circle the streetcar, and appear again. Some of the kids are doing the same thing.
tfclarkin 1 year ago
@tfclarkin The cars were staged, it was a deliberate attempt by the film maker to give "Market Street the appearance of a prosperous modern boulevard with many automobiles".
Eightbanger 1 year ago
@Eightbanger you got proof of that or just pulling that statment from your arz
RLTRUELOVE1972 1 year ago