San Francisco four days before the earthquake
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oubsaFBUcTc
I recently came across this film clip on You Tube. It is a journey back in time when everyone wore hats. The full film is in the public domain and can be downloaded at the Internet archive. The clip was originally thought to be from 1905 but further research has shown the film clip to be from 1906 and was submitted for processing just 4 days before the earthquake.
You can see women in long dresses and big hats. Here is a world where electric streetcars (trams) co-exist with automobiles and horse drawn wagons. Traffic chaos reigns supreme here and it is a wonder that people were not run over frequently. Perhaps they were but I have no statistics. Enjoy going back and looking at the great hats. It’s a bit spooky watching it knowing that very shortly there would be a disaster. The buildings on Market Street shown in the film were completely destroyed and you can find footage of this by searching You Tube. It is a bit similar to watching the movie Titanic at the beginning where people were having fun oblivious to that which was about to happen.
Please let me know what ladies you like best -- check out the lady ay minute 2:36 and again at minute 6:11.
There are many versions of the film clip on You Tube. The one I have embedded is my favorite but there is a more popular one with great music that has way over a million views and you can find it at the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NINOxRxze9k
I am very grateful that the footage has been preserved for us to see over one hundred years later.
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What a cultural treasure! And not just for the hats! The concept of crosswalks obviously had not been conceived yet and did anyone else notice those crazy “lane changes”? Thanks for sharing a great clip, Darla!