I’m surprised by how many motor cars there are in that video. That was the year before the Model T came out, which was really what made car ownership widespread. I guess that Market Street was disproportionately frequented by the wealthy?
Is that cable car/street car that crosses the tracks (at around 2:35) of the camera car on a track of its own?
From the comments.
My favorite part is when the cop crosses in front of the cable car, billy club in hand, as if he was in an old Mack Sennett comedy.
I like the two kids running around hanging onto the back of the one car. It pulls back into view of the camera two or three times.
The video’s uploader on Youtube. From the video description;
Fascinating perspective. The slightly slowed down pace gives it a real other-world air. It makes the place look even more relaxed than the slack road laws suggest.
You can barely see the cross track because of the angle, but it’s there. There are two visible on the film and they’re streetcars. You can see the angled pole extending from the top of the car up to a trolley line.
At first I misread the title and thought it said 1960 instead of 1906. For a second I was thinking “wow, the '60s were way more primitive than I thought!”
Well bust my buttons, that is an impressive piece of vintage vehicular video!