http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=NINOxRxze9k
My daughter sent this to me and I thought it was fascinating. The film is a little over seven minutes but worth the price of admission. I found it amazing that everyone had the sense not to get run over. There’d be blood on the streets with today’s population.
I don’t know how much of the narrative below is true.
“This film was "lost" for many years. It was the first 35mm film ever.
It was taken by camera mounted on the front of a cable car.
The amount of automobiles is staggering for 1906. Absolutely amazing!
The clock tower at the end of Market Street at the Embarcadero wharf is still there. (I'm also wondering ... How many "street cleaning" people were employed to pick up after the horses? Talk about going green!)
This film, originally thought to be from 1905 until David Kiehn with the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum figured out exactly when it was shot. From New York trade papers announcing the film showing to the wet streets from recent heavy rainfall & shadows indicating time of year & actual weather and conditions on historical record, even
when the cars were registered (he even knows who owned them and when
the plates were issued!).. It was filmed only four days before the
San Francisco quake and shipped by train to NY for
processing. Amazing but true!
Just think - everybody - every single person you see in this video is
no longer alive... Just think about that for a minute. Makes you
realize just how short our "visit" here really is.”