A friend sent this to me earlier today and I thought it was really interesting to see just how much times have changed. Imagine traffic like this today.
A seven minute streetcar ride in San Francisco in 1906.
'Frisco Street 7-minute Car Ride 1906 - No lights, no traffic direction,
all at the pace of a horse or bicycle. . thought the young people might not
believe what life was like 100 years ago! Even some cars with right hand
drive!
_http://www.flixxy.com/san-francisco-1905-historical-footage.htm_
(http://www.flixxy.com/san-francisco-1905-historical-footage.htm)
This fascinating bit of film was shot from the San Francisco Market Street cable car estimated taken just a few days before the '06 earthquake.
Amazing to see the casual way the early cars just wove in an out of traffic and the pedestrians seemingly taking their lives in their hands as they walked in front of anything on wheels.
Notice the heavy goods wagons running on tracks on the right as they get close to the Ferry Building. The wagons appear to have extra large
steel wheels with a standard track width. And what about the fat cop with
his truncheon ready to deal with any civil disturbances. Wonder what he did
during the earthquake.
Some comment from a local historian:
This gets identified as 1905 to 1909, but recent research by some transit experts concludes that it was done possibly on Monday, April 16,
1906 or Tuesday, April 17! Yep, a day or two before the earthquake that would greatly alter this landscape.
The other interesting thing is to watch the traffic and the chances people took when crossing the street. Street accidents were endemic throughout the US as the country changed with the advent of the horseless carriage. The cable cars that are visible were running at a predictable 9.2 MPH.
Horses moved slowly on city streets too. But the automobile could reach
speeds of 20 MPH!
A seven minute streetcar ride in San Francisco in 1906.
'Frisco Street 7-minute Car Ride 1906 - No lights, no traffic direction,
all at the pace of a horse or bicycle. . thought the young people might not
believe what life was like 100 years ago! Even some cars with right hand
drive!
_http://www.flixxy.com/san-francisco-1905-historical-footage.htm_
(http://www.flixxy.com/san-francisco-1905-historical-footage.htm)
This fascinating bit of film was shot from the San Francisco Market Street cable car estimated taken just a few days before the '06 earthquake.
Amazing to see the casual way the early cars just wove in an out of traffic and the pedestrians seemingly taking their lives in their hands as they walked in front of anything on wheels.
Notice the heavy goods wagons running on tracks on the right as they get close to the Ferry Building. The wagons appear to have extra large
steel wheels with a standard track width. And what about the fat cop with
his truncheon ready to deal with any civil disturbances. Wonder what he did
during the earthquake.
Some comment from a local historian:
This gets identified as 1905 to 1909, but recent research by some transit experts concludes that it was done possibly on Monday, April 16,
1906 or Tuesday, April 17! Yep, a day or two before the earthquake that would greatly alter this landscape.
The other interesting thing is to watch the traffic and the chances people took when crossing the street. Street accidents were endemic throughout the US as the country changed with the advent of the horseless carriage. The cable cars that are visible were running at a predictable 9.2 MPH.
Horses moved slowly on city streets too. But the automobile could reach
speeds of 20 MPH!
