Out of the Past
2010-10-20 17:14:00.844059+02 by
petronius
3 comments
An intriguing video from CBS's 60 Minutes, a silent movie ride down Frisco's Market Street on the front of a streetcar. Digitally remastered, you see more commerce on horse wagons than autos, and apparently a total lack of traffic laws. Passing newsboys wave as the trip ends at the old Ferry Terminal. What is remarkable is the recent discovery by a film historian that the footage was shot only a week before the city was destroyed in the 1906 Earthquake and Fire. It probably wouldn't have survived if the filmmakers hadn't shipped the negative to their distributor in New York the day before the disaster. Even more eerie is the way everybody goes about their business unaware of the caastrophe about to befall them.
[ related topics:
Movies Bay Area History Travel Earthquake
]
comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: made: 2010-10-20 23:07:55.486515+02 by:
Dan Lyke
[edit history]
I'd seen the straight YouTube of the video, alt YouTube link, but that 60 Minutes segment actually adds quite a bit of good context.
#Comment Re: made: 2010-10-21 02:16:48.330182+02 by:
jeff
Great clip and story!
#Comment Re: made: 2010-10-21 16:50:39.304145+02 by:
petronius
It would have been interesting if the filmmakers could have taken the same trip down Market the week after the quake, and we could have a comparison of the damage.
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