Check out this video of Market Street in San Francisco in 1905, just before the city was destroyed by the famous 1906 earthquake set to a relaxing Air soundtrack. What’s really great about the footage, taken from the front of a streetcar, is that you can find just about every type of transportation available.
Pedestrians are everywhere, including elegantly dressed ladies, delivery men, and some children running in front of trolleys and cars. Horses and wagons, early cars, bikes, cable cars, and trolleys are also plentiful. Note as well how slow traffic moves on such a wide and busy thoroughfare. Pedestrians don’t cross at crosswalks or run for their lives across the middle of the street. Also interesting is how the street apparently functions in chaos without any real rules.
Great video, however, judging by the motion of the horse who appears to be galloping at an unusually slow rate it almost looks like the film is slowed down. The horse is at about the 3:25 mark
I think you’re right, Victoria. Even if it were real time speed, though, the speeds of, say cars, would still be a lot slower than today even though the street life in general would be more hectic.
What we need is a comparison to modern Market Street. I submit that modern Market Street carries more people by rail, more people by bicycle, more people by bus, more people by car, and almost as many on foot as this video. Currently Market Street has SIX SETS OF TRACK – 2 BART, 2 Light Rail, and 2 Heritage Streetcar (4 of these sets are underground). It has two full 10′ lanes dedicated to bicycles. And it has between 2 and 4 lanes dedicated to buses and cars. The street is amazing. Look at this 5:45 rush-hour bike mode share: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syTOzF7iQjk
In the mid-century the rest of the country was building expressways, the Bay built heavy rail. That looks brilliant now.
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