Early San Francisco Films
This page lists 49 early San Francisco films (1897-1915) from Library of Congress American Memory collections:
- America at Work, America at Leisure: Motion Pictures from 1894-1915
- Before and After the Great Earthquake and Fire: Early Films of San Francisco, 1897-1916
- Inventing Entertainment: The Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies
The early Edison films are what the Lumière Brothers called actualités: unstructured footage of events and places. Some provide a wonderful window into their time. Later films are somewhat longer, many documenting special events like parades and presidential visits. For me, the most interesting is A Trip Down Market Street Before the Fire, filmed just days before the 1906 earthquake and fire. A companion piece filmed after the fire resurfaced in 2018, but it is not yet available online.
The list below is roughly chronological; some dates are approximate. Clicking on a title will play the film directly if your browser supports .mp4 streaming; the info pages include other playback options as well as very detailed descriptions. Timings include added head/tail credits. The films and info pages are hosted at the Library of Congress. The total running time for all the films is a little over two hours.
Producers:
- Biograph: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company
- Edison: Thomas A. Edison
- Keystone: Keystone Film Company
- Miles: Miles Brothers
Prelinger Archives
The Prelinger Archives has some 1906 San Francisco post-quake footage, in addition to many S.F. films from later years. But most significantly, Prelinger posts a stunning digitization of a 35mm print of A Trip Down Market Street.
| Title | Info | Date | Length | Producer | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sutro Baths, no. 1 | info | 8/22/1897 | 0:46 | Edison | Sutro Baths, San Francisco |
| Sutro Baths, no. 2 | info | 8/22/1897 | 0:45 | Edison | Sutro Baths, San Francisco |
| Leander Sisters | info | 8/22/1897 | 0:52 | Edison | Sutro Baths, San Francisco |
| Cupid and Psyche | info | 8/22/1897 | 0:47 | Edison | Sutro Baths, San Francisco |
| Lurline Baths | info | 8/1897 | 0:42 | Edison | Lurline Baths, San Francisco |
| Fishing smacks | info | 8/1897 | 0:52 | Edison | Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco |
| Fisherman's Wharf | info | 8/1897 | 0:51 | Edison | Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco |
| Launch of life boat | info | ca. 9/1897 | 0:47 | Edison | Presidio, San Francisco |
| Capsize of lifeboat | info | ca. 9/1897 | 0:49 | Edison | Presidio, San Francisco |
| Return of lifeboat | info | ca. 9/1897 | 0:42 | Edison | Golden Gate Park, San Francisco |
| S.S. 'Coptic' at dock | info | 9/02/1897 | 0:51 | Edison | San Francisco |
| S.S. 'Coptic' in the harbor | info | 9/02/1897 | 0:50 | Edison | San Francisco |
| S.S. 'Coptic' sailing away | info | 9/02/1897 | 0:44 | Edison | San Francisco |
| Arrest in Chinatown | info | 10/25/1897 | 1:17 | Edison | Chinatown, San Francisco |
| Hotel Vendome | info | 10/25/1897 | 1:09 | Edison | San Jose |
| Union Iron Works | info | 1/22/1898 | 0:31 | Edison | Union Iron Works shipyard, SF |
| Launch of Japanese man-of-war 'Chitosa' | info | 1/22/1898 | 1:05 | Edison | Union Iron Works shipyard, SF |
| Launching, no. 2 | info | 1/22/1898 | 0:50 | Edison | Union Iron Works shipyard, SF |
| After launching | info | 1/22/1898 | 0:53 | Edison | Union Iron Works shipyard, SF |
| Feeding sea gulls | info | 1/22/1898 | 0:52 | Edison | San Francisco Bay |
| Procession of floats | info | 1/24/1898 | 0:34 | Edison | San Francisco |
| Parade of Chinese | info | 1/24/1898 | 0:53 | Edison | San Francisco |
| Native daughters | info | 1/24/1898 | 1:00 | Edison | San Francisco |
| Mount Tamalpais R.R. | info | 1/1898 | 1:19 | Edison | Marin County |
| Mount Tamalpais R.R., no. 2 | info | 3/10/1898 | 0:56 | Edison | Marin County |
| Mount Tamalpais R.R., no. 3 | info | 3/10/1898 | 2:21 | Edison | Marin County |
| Troops embarking at San Francisco | info | 5/13/1898 | 1:09 | Edison | Pacific Mail Steamship Co. dock, SF |
| Troop ships for the Philippines | info | 5/25/1898 | 2:22 | Edison | Pacific Mail Steamship Co. dock, SF |
| Scene in Chinatown | info | 9/15/1900 | 1:38 | Biograph | Chinatown, San Francisco |
| Bird's-eye view of SF from a balloon | info | 1/11/1902 | 3:28 | Edison | San Francisco |
| Panoramic view of the Golden Gate | info | 1/11/1902 | 2:50 | Edison | Mt. Tamalpais, Marin |
| Over route of Roosevelt parade in an automobile | info | 5/12/1903 | 3:37 | Biograph | Market Street, San Francisco |
| Market Street before parade | info | 5/12/1903 | 2:07 | Biograph | Market Street, San Francisco |
| The President's carriage | info | 5/12/1903 | 2:04 | Biograph | Market Street, San Francisco |
| TR in San Francisco | info | 5/13/1903 | 2:47 | [Unknown] | Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco |
| Panorama, Union Square | info | 6/04/1903 | 3:28 | Biograph | Union Square, San Francisco |
| SF Chinese funeral | info | 9/23/1903 | 2:29 | Edison | Dupont Street (Grant Avenue), SF |
| Panorama of beach and Cliff House | info | 9/30/1903 | 1:56 | Biograph | San Francisco |
| A trip down Market Street before the fire | info | ca. 1905 | 8:38 | Miles | Market Street, San Francisco |
| SF after the earthquake and fire | info | 4/1906 | 9:18 | [Unknown] | San Francisco |
| SF earthquake and fire, April 18, 1906 | info | 1906 | 12:36 | [Unknown] | San Francisco |
| Army pack train bringing supplies | info | 1906 | 2:24 | Edison | San Francisco |
| San Francisco Disaster | info | 5/05/1906 | 3:27 | Biograph | New York City (studio) |
| Scenes in SF [no. 1] | info | 5/09/1906 | 3:02 | Biograph | San Francisco |
| Scenes in SF [no. 2] | info | 5/09/1906 | 5:43 | Biograph | San Francisco |
| A trip to Berkeley | info | 5/24/1906 | 3:23 | Biograph | Berkeley |
| Exploded gas tanks, U.S. Mint, Emporium and Spreckels Bld'g | info | 1906 | 2:57 | Edison | San Francisco |
| Mabel and Fatty viewing the World's Fair | info | 4/22/1915 | 19:06 | Keystone | San Francisco |
| SF's future | info | ca. 1916 | 6:14 | [Unknown] | San Francisco |
