A recently restored bit of film from New York City in 1911; our connections here are the electric railway material that's present, and the look at this large city from over a century ago in some remarkably clear images, enough to suggest the "immersive experience" we have spoken of in the past.

Now, how do we get this close in the "immersive experience," even if we are not trying to recreate this place, on its immense scale?

http://www.openculture.com/2018/04/imma ... -1911.html

Anyone trying for an immersive experience needs more model Ts! They were everywhere.

An observation on human behavior. Hardly anyone watched where they were walking.

Several electric railway museums in the US are working toward this goal:
Illinois Railway Museum
Pennsylvania Trolley Museum
Orange Empire Railway Museum
National Capital Trolley Museum

Each are in various stages of planning or construction of streetscapes.

The National Tramway Museum in Crich, England has a street facade in place.


Wesley

Including the kids who walked right into a pile of road apples.

Ar those steetcars powered by plow pick-up? 1911 seems kind of late for cable railway, but I'm surprised none of the cars on the track with slots had poles hooked down.

Yes, overhead wires were verboten in Midtown and lower Manhattan until the end of streetcar service so far as I know. Instead the cars used a plow system similar to Washington DC or London. Many Third Avenue Railway cars lacked poles (though many others had them for use on lines to the Bronx) and most, if not all, of the New York Railways fleet lacked poles.

How about that side wheel walking beam steamer at the end? That was a real treat as well. What I noticed was the dust. New York is still a dirty place but it isn't dusty like the film shows.

Is that a Bleecker Street & Fulton Ferry Line horsecar at 1:25?

Depending on the time period, you would need a bunch of Model Ts! At one point, Ford was around 50% of all auto sales, and had something like 90% of the low priced car market.

As to people walking around and not looking, that used to be common. The streets, going back to antiquity, were for everybody, and let's recall that animal traffic (i.e., wagons) would normally be at a walking pace as well. It wasn't until cars became fairly common that we chased pedestrians from the streets.

The way some people drive, and with the accidents we see (including people who hit or are hit by trains and trolley cars), maybe we do need downtowns to become car-free zones.

https://www.vox.com/2015/1/15/7551873/j ... ng-history

https://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus ... vals.0.pdf

If this film is 1911, the Model T had only been in production for 2-3 years (introduced Oct.1, 1908). I'm seeing a couple of what are most likely electric delivery trucks in this film. Also, note the chauffeur in the tailgating auto; that is likely an ostentatious vehicle, for the well-to-do (I'm leaving model-spotting for the car experts).

You really have to pay attention to what shows up in your "experience" lest someone shows up campaigning for Wilkie in a 1910s setting.......

It's definitely a horsecar, so I think it might be. I wish we had a clearer view of it than just a glimpse in the background.

I wonder, could the amputee on crutches at 2:20 be a Civil War veteran? He looks like he might be around the right age (~70 years old in 1911).

What a great film!

-Philip Marshall

One thing I noticed is that EVERYBODY wore a hat, male and female!

Les

Did you notice the arc lights on the high poles. That street was probably lit up like daytime at night.

Interesting to see the trolley shoe slide by about 6:16. Fantastic image clarity.....mld

Nice that Museum of Modern Art play it out at the correct frame rate of 19 per second, impressive at 1080P. Most silent films are played out at 24 giving it the Keystone Cop look. Here are direct Youtube links to that and another 1903 film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LxxoaIa_uk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jvUrAtwbgc