Historic video: Footage of San Francisco from the 1920’s & 1930’s

RichmondSFBlog reader Rob sent me some great old videos of San Francisco, showing life in the 1920s, 1930s and even earlier in some shots. If you’re into this kind of thing, be sure to catch the free screening of Lost Landscapes of San Francisco, Part VI coming up at the Internet Archive on January 24.

Sarah B.

These first three are worth watching for the humorous narration alone. Shots of cable cars, Chinatown (“Where ancient East and modern West serenely blend”), the Marina harbor, Seal Rock, the Bay Bridge (“The City that knows how, did it!”), great footage of of the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge (“The bridge that couldn’t be built!”), and the 1939 Golden Gate Exposition (which apparently cost $50M to build).

This next video is 13 minutes in length but has no soundtrack. It’s labeled 1939 but also contains earlier footage. You’ll see great shots of the Conservatory of Flowers, the Japanese Tea Garden, Musee Mechanique?, footage after the 1906 earthquake including a rubble-filled Market Street, a ferry unloading, the Great Highway, City Hall, Golden Gate and Bay bridges, what appears to be footage of the 1939 Golden Gate Exposition on Treasure Island, SFO, panoramic views of the city, and lots of old cars.

This next 8 minute video is set to lovely Rachmaninoff piano concertos and features life scenes from the early 1920s. More cable cars, the Ferry Building, Chinatown, the piers, overhead aerial footage (incl. ones of the Richmond District + Golden Gate Park!), dock laborers, a great steam locomotive running along the Embarcadero, a shot of a stadium (not sure where?), and Golden Gate Park.

This last video has a brief history and historic stills of the Cliff House and Sutro Baths, some 1897 film footage of Sutro Baths from the Library of Congress Edison films catalog (previously posted) plus film of Ocean Beach.