A Trip Down Market Street [San Francisco], 1906

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In summary, the TV program "60 Minutes" featured a story about the film A Trip Down Market Street Before the Fire. The film was originally thought to have been filmed in September 1905, but recent research revealed that it was actually made in April 1906, the week before the great earthquake and fire. The film was digitally restored and the clips shown on the program were of much better quality than the older versions. The chaos and busy traffic in the film was due to the rules of the road being to drive on the right side, with the exception of some cars driving on the left. The large number of automobiles was actually just two or three, hired by the producer to add more action to the scene. Overall, the film
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The TV program "60 Minutes" tonight featured a story about the film A Trip Down Market Street Before the Fire which was shot from the front of a cable car traveling down Market Street in San Francisco. It was originally thought to have been filmed in September 1905, but recent research revealed that it was actually made in April 1906, the week before the great earthquake and fire which destroyed most of the buildings that are seen in the film, and probably killed some of the people in it. The studio that produced the film was also destroyed, but the film escaped because it was shipped to New York by train the night before the earthquake struck.

The film has been digitally restored, and the clips that were shown on "60 Minutes" look a lot better than the older versions that you can download from the link. You can even read the license plate numbers on the cars that circle around the cable car, one clue which led to the correct date of filming (by way of the cars' registration dates).
 
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  • #2
Busy, busy place, and utter chaos! It appears the rules of the road back then were drive on the right side of the road, unless by chance you want to drive on the left side of the road.
 
  • #3
The apparently huge number (for 1906) of automobiles weaving around is actually just two or three. They were hired by the film producer to drive in circles around the cable car to liven up the scene a bit.
 
  • #4
Very cool!

I thought for sure the guy on the bike was going to get his tire stuck in the rut of the track.
 
  • #5
That was very cool, thanks for sharing it. I'm glad I did not live there.
 

1. What is "A Trip Down Market Street [San Francisco], 1906"?

"A Trip Down Market Street [San Francisco], 1906" is a short film shot by the Miles Brothers in 1906. It shows a journey down San Francisco's Market Street just days before the devastating earthquake and fire that destroyed much of the city.

2. Why is this film significant?

This film is significant because it offers a rare glimpse into daily life in San Francisco in the early 1900s. It also captures the city just before it was drastically changed by a natural disaster, making it a valuable historical document.

3. How was the film made?

The film was shot using a hand-cranked camera mounted on a cable car, giving viewers a unique perspective of the bustling street. The Miles Brothers used a technique called "motion picture photography" to capture the footage, which involved filming at a high frame rate and then projecting it at a lower frame rate to create the illusion of movement.

4. Is the film authentic or staged?

The film is authentic in the sense that it captures real footage of Market Street in 1906. However, it is believed that some scenes may have been staged or reenacted for the camera, as was common in early films. Additionally, the film was edited and spliced together to create a cohesive journey down the street.

5. Why is the film in black and white?

The film is in black and white because color film technology did not exist in 1906. Early films were all shot in black and white and it wasn't until the 1930s that color film became widely used in the film industry.

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