Last night, "60 Minutes" had a segment showing the 1906 film of a ride down Market Street in San Francisco, evidently done just a four days prior to the catastrophic earthquake and fire that destroyed much of the city. The old film is remarkably clear. For those who have not yet seen it, it runs about 9 minutes and shows the people, cars, cable cars, horses and buggies that populated that street over a hundred years ago. Unfortunately, the "60 Minutes" segment only showed a few clips from the original film. The ride ends right up on the building that still stands at the end of Market Street near the bay. All the people wore hats. One wonders which ones perished in the quake shortly after the filming. Undoubtedly, not one of the people shown in the film is alive today.
I have found what is probably the clearest copy of this film on the internet, fully restored, and complete in its 9 minutes time span. If you haven't seen this yet, treat yourself to some uncanny and genuine time travel here. It's totally fascinating.
It was done on April 18, 1906. It was allegedly the first 35mm movie film ever shot. Shot by the Miles Brothers, the film wound up in New York City about the time the quake struck. Several copies were made; this video is from a very clear one.
John
YouTube - San Francisco Market St, Full & Repaired Version