Take a Cable Car Down Market Street, ca. 1906
Four days before the 1906 quake.
Two observations:
- The yield-to-pedestrians laws were as effective then as they are now.
- I must obtain a black suit with a 1900s cut, and above all, a bowler hat.
Labels: 1906, Haberdashery, San Francisco
posted by Undersecretary to the Deputy Commissariat at 12:00 AM
3 Comments:
What an absolute treasure of a piece of film. It never ceases to amaze me: in this film S.F. is barely 5 decades old as a city; San Francisco became itself instantly, recognizable forever in its particular form and dynamism.
Personally, film of this nature - long, lingering, simple shots of particular places, especially ones transformed in time, are often much more interesting to me than narrative features.
Also, what a sad reminder of the tremendous loss of life.
Notice though - everyone is sharing their cars.
I loved that, and the shocking thing for me is that it's still recognizably San Francisco.
Here is a 1927 color film of London that I believe is as close as you can come to time travel.
Also, the silent film Picadilly (excerpt here) starring the incandescent Anna May Wong has very high-quality footage of London nightlife of that time, some staged and some real.
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