# Travel back in time to San Francisco: April 14, 1906, 4 days before the earthquake **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 21, 2022, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travel-back-in-time-to-san-francisco-april-14-1906-4-days-before-the-earthquake/963171 "2022-04-21T14:17:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travel-back-in-time-to-san-francisco-april-14-1906-4-days-before-the-earthquake/963171/21 "2022-04-22T17:37:05Z")
That’s fascinating, and I learned a lot. Thanks! The 1906 San Francisco film wasn’t filmed for Hale’s Tours, though. The Miles Brothers–there were four, two of whom made the movie in the OP–[were a big deal in their own right:](https://web.archive.org/web/20130526095455/http://www.silentfilm.org/pages/detail/2082) > The first movie studio on the West Coast, built and operated by the Miles brothers, was also destroyed, debilitating San Francisco as a film production center and forever changing the industry. > … > In those early days, films were sold outright to theaters, but it wasn’t until exhibitors could rent films that theaters became a profitable business. **One of the first companies to establish a film rental exchange office was Miles Brothers.** Harry, Herbert, Earle and Joe Miles set up shop in the spring of 1903, importing films from Europe and buying from the five film producers then in the United States. The Miles Brothers soon established a national reputation, expanding to New York later that year and becoming the first film exchange company to operate from coast to coast. I think the answer to your question: > [@CalMeacham](#): > > Who the hell needs a movie shot from the front of a cable car going down a street? is “The miles Brothers, because in those very early days, moving pictures were so fascinating in and of themselves, people would pay to see footage shot from a cable car.” ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travel-back-in-time-to-san-francisco-april-14-1906-4-days-before-the-earthquake/963171/22 "2022-04-22T17:37:49Z")
That’s a fascinating film. I had seen the original version,in black-and white, and silent. But the colorization and added sound track makes it even more realistic. It shows a genuine and realistic view of daily life…so chaotic, lots of dangerous near-misses…all so different than our lives today. And so, since it’s so real… I’m gonna raise another issue about realism(and I wonder if I’m the only one who thought of this): sanitation. Well, actually…I’m talking 'bout is : horse shit. And the lack thereof in this movie. I have read reports that major cities everywhere in those days were reeling under the huge quantities of shit that was inevitable in the days of horse power. [https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Great-Horse-Manure-Crisis-of-1894/](https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Great-Horse-Manure-Crisis-of-1894/) But in this film clip…there are lots of horses, yet the streets seem pretty clean. What’s up? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travel-back-in-time-to-san-francisco-april-14-1906-4-days-before-the-earthquake/963171/23 "2022-04-22T18:18:11Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > But in this film clip…there are lots of horses, yet the streets seem pretty clean. > What’s up? Street Sweepers. A lot of 'em ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travel-back-in-time-to-san-francisco-april-14-1906-4-days-before-the-earthquake/963171/24 "2022-04-22T18:19:58Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > The 1906 San Francisco film wasn’t filmed for Hale’s Tours, though. Actually, your own cite says that the footage WAS shot for Hale’s Tours: > [@](#): > > In 1906, Miles Brothers built a studio at 1139 Market Street in San Francisco to produce narrative films. That spring, **they finished two nonfiction movies for the popular Hale’s tours theaters:** “Climbing Mt. Tamalpais” (copyrighted April 21 as “A Trip Down Mt. Tamalpais”) and “A Trip Through Market Street” (known today as “A Trip Down Market Street”). The Market Street film, shot on April 14, was filmed on a cable car traveling from Eighth Street toward the Ferry Building. It provided a remarkable record of a moment in time - San Francisco four days before the disaster. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2022, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travel-back-in-time-to-san-francisco-april-14-1906-4-days-before-the-earthquake/963171/25 "2022-04-22T18:28:23Z")
D’oh! I don’t know how I missed that after reading the article twice. Thanks much for the correction! ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travel-back-in-time-to-san-francisco-april-14-1906-4-days-before-the-earthquake/963171/26 "2022-04-23T16:08:06Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > > [@chappachula](#): > > > > But in this film clip…there are lots of horses, yet the streets seem pretty clean. > > What’s up? > > Street Sweepers. A lot of 'em I’m pretty sure some of the nondescript debris on the ground is house manure, but you can actually see one street sweeper doing their thing around 1:20. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travel-back-in-time-to-san-francisco-april-14-1906-4-days-before-the-earthquake/963171/27 "2022-04-23T16:13:37Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > There is a school of thought that says removing traffic signals (and center-lines, etc) actually improves traffic flow and safety: There is that school of thought, but [I’m not convinced](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate). ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travel-back-in-time-to-san-francisco-april-14-1906-4-days-before-the-earthquake/963171/28 "2022-04-23T17:31:20Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > I have read reports that major cities everywhere in those days were reeling under the huge quantities of shit that was inevitable in the days of horse power. [The Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894](https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Great-Horse-Manure-Crisis-of-1894/) From that link: “By 1912, this seemingly insurmountable problem had been resolved; in cities all around the globe, horses had been replaced and now motorised vehicles were the main source of transport and carriage.” At first, I read that as “…now motorised vehicles were the main source of transport and carnage.” ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travel-back-in-time-to-san-francisco-april-14-1906-4-days-before-the-earthquake/963171/29 "2022-04-23T18:14:57Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > At first, I read that as “…now motorised vehicles were the main source of transport and _ **carnage** _.” You may have misread it, but you’re not wrong: > **[Traffic deaths considerable compared with leading causes of death](https://news.umich.edu/traffic-deaths-considerable-compared-with-leading-causes-of-death/)** > > When it comes to road crash fatalities, the Northeast may be the safest place in the United States, say University of Michigan researchers. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travel-back-in-time-to-san-francisco-april-14-1906-4-days-before-the-earthquake/963171/30 "2022-04-23T18:24:04Z")
I just watched the last part of the video. I love the fish-eye the dame in the elaborate hat gives the streetcar camera as it approaches. She does not strike me as the sort of person who appreciated modern documentary techniques. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travel-back-in-time-to-san-francisco-april-14-1906-4-days-before-the-earthquake/963171.md?page=1)