A Trip Down Market Street

Shot by the Miles Brothers just days before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, this single continuous take rides a cable car down Market Street toward the Ferry Building, passing horse-drawn wagons, early automobiles, and pedestrians who wander casually into the frame. It is one of the most haunting pieces of early actuality footage ever made: the city it shows was largely destroyed by the quake and fire less than a week later. Historians have used everything from the cars' license plates to puddles on the street to pin down the exact filming date. The film is in the public domain.