DV25 version (editable quality) of the famous film. Feel free to reedit/recombine/remix. Please consider uploading your derivative works to Internet Archive.

This version was transferred from a new 35mm print made from a restored 35mm negative, which was made from our 1906-era 35mm print. The frameroll problem seen in other versions has been fixed.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Miles Brothers
Production Company: Miles Brothers
Audio/Visual: silent, b&w
Keywords: san francisco; earthquakes; 1906; market street; cities; urban history; lost landscapes; traffic
Contact Information: Prelinger Archives; footage@panix.com

Creative Commons license: Public Domain Mark 1.0

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Reviewer: Aprildog - - July 30, 2012
Subject: Trip down Market Street before the fire
This is so interesting. I loved going back in time.
Notice everyone just takes u-turns in the middle
of the street. People running in front of trams
and horses. Great!

Reviewer: Spuzz - - May 25, 2012
Subject: Look out!
Much cleaner version of this film! I agree! From my original review, and it still holds up...

One big thing I noticed about this film, is the traffic carnage happening. I mean, you think all the jaywalking, speeding, unsafe turning is bad NOW, you should see this film, where pedestrians come out of nowhere, cars make totally unsafe crossings of the street, and people just zig and zag out. Watch for the kids running around looking at the camera, and the wonderful bit at the end, where the kid looks out from a covered horse and wagon.

Reviewer: rlneva1941 - - May 2, 2012
Subject: Just Imagine This
All those people in this film are dead, gone, never to breathe again! Running this way and that, nothing has changed in life, we are still bound to stuff and the dizzy rushing here and there, just think about it. You too will be gone soon, take time and enjoy what you have before it is all over!

Reviewer: alanevil - - January 21, 2012
Subject: Better Times?
Very special. Such a glimpse of day to day life from a time we can hardly imagine.

Reviewer: celluloid1234 - - January 7, 2012
Subject: lovely
really nice footage, lovely infact and inspiring. how do youy downlad it?

Reviewer: TheMyxl - - December 14, 2011
Subject: Great tracking shot
This Miles Bros footage completely captivates me,with its perspective and narrative created by the ever-approaching tower of the Ferry Building. The Archive earns my thanks for its curation.My Scottish g-grandparents lived in San Francisco before the earthquake. I imagine them taking the kids,including my 8yr old grandfather Jamie,on the cable car. With some added sound FX and music they are having an exhilarating ride. I'll upload it when finished

Reviewer: cpotoso - - November 11, 2011
Subject: Very nice
and i notice the lack of obese/overweight people! How much damage has the explosion of the use of cars done to us..

Reviewer: JidThorax - - August 27, 2011
Subject: Fascinating
Apparently filmed from the front of a cable car moving along Market Street at a stately pace. The cameraman hand-cranking the camera was clearly the center of quite a bit of attention, as most of the passersby gawk at him (and us) unashamedly. An odd thing is the open-topped automobile with license number 48671, as it keeps appearing ahead of us, again and again; a friend of the filmmaker, or another curious San Franciscan?

Reviewer: Beforeyourtime - - May 15, 2011
Subject: you are there 1906
This really wets the appetite for more time capsules , what a trill to experience such a long gone age and in such quality. My thanks to the up-loader and encouragement for more, as mentioned by other appreciators here.

Reviewer: micah6vs8 - - April 15, 2011
Subject: Good Work
Much clearer. For those who haven't seen the post earthquake vid, it's on IA.

We need more pre-1910 film! London, Paris, NYC, ect. I saw a snippet of Peking from 1902 that put me right on the street. These films are little time capsules and worth their viewing in gold.

Reviewer: Deichbrand_1 - - April 15, 2011
Subject: 2011/04/15 ... 105 years later
Impressive to see these pictures. This 'film' provides a rare glimpse into an era that seems long gone already.

Reviewer: ERD. - - March 20, 2011
Subject: Nice film restoration
It's like stepping back in 1906 just before the terrible earthquake struck. Very poignant.

Reviewer: Earle Bruce - - March 8, 2011
Subject: great fun
this is fun to watch

Reviewer: splue - - February 28, 2011
Subject: 5*****
5*****