7 of the Oldest Surviving Films of San Francisco

Chinatown in San Francisco in 1895. Public Domain photo via GetArchive 

San Francisco is an old, iron safe filled with gold, glory, disaster, and secrets. SFCentric History is a column, by SF writer V. Alexandra de F. Szoenyi, that digs in the vaults of local history and shares the sensational people, places, and things that rocked San Francisco.

San Francisco has always been a city in motion. Influxes of people from around the world; planet-changing events; epic businesses opening their doors; while others shutter theirs. While The City experiences another series of massive changes, it is as important as ever to keep our history and culture(s) alive, preserved, and shared with others. We need a reminder of what San Francisco was, still is, and can still be. 

This installment of SFCentric History takes us way back, to find the oldest surviving films of San Francisco. While many are familiar with the April 14, 1906 film, A Trip Down Market Street Before the Fire, my research found several films that predate that antique film gem. These films all are part of a Library of Congress YouTube playlist of SF films, dating from 1897 to 1916. 

Arrest in Chinatown, San Francisco, Cal, October 25, 1897

It is amazing to learn that there is a surviving film of San Francisco in 1897. Unfortunately, its subject matter isn’t as positive. This film shows a Chinese man being arrested on October 25, and being hauled off in the police department’s horse-drawn wagon. According to the film’s caption, “the camera was placed at the northwest corner of Washington Street and Stout’s Alley (now Ross Alley), midway between Stockton Street and Grant Avenue,” and the man’s arrest could have been due to the smuggling of undocumented immigrants, tong activity after a kingpin’s murder, or illegal gambling. 

Sutro Baths, August 22, 1897

Another antique film of The City is this one of the Sutro Baths, recorded on April 22, 1897. It shows crowds of fun-goers splashing around in the pool, and sliding down an epic slide that, according to the film caption, was a whopping 50-feet high. Alas, Adolph Sutro’s grand creation is no more, with demolition starting on it in 1964, and a fire destroying the rest of it in 1966, but at least we still have bits of the Sutro Baths’ history such as this. 

Launch of the Japanese Man-of-War “Chitosa” [i.e. “Chitose”], January 22, 1898

On Saturday 22, 1898, at 10:25 a.m., this fifty-four second film was filmed showing the launch of the Imperial Japanese Navy cruiser Chitose. In it, you can see people in small boats watching the massive ship sail by, waiting until it was their turn to ride the Pacific Ocean waves. Two men then proceed to dive into the water, completely clothed. Per the Library of Congress’ caption, the location was the Union Iron Works shipyard. 

“The camera view is east, across a small inlet of Central Basin, to slipway #1. Four additional slipways lay beyond to the west. The inlet and slipway remain today, now covered with chunks of abandoned piers, adjacent to the Southwest Marine shipyard. The camera viewpoint is today called pier 68, part of Southwest Marine’s facilities.”

Troops Embarking at San Francisco, May 13, 1898

Many historic films that have withstood the test of time portray brave young men going off to war. This film from May 13, 1898, depicts troops boarding the SS City of Peking, a Pacific Mail Steamship Company ship, that, as chronicled by the Daily Alta California (shared by The Maritime Heritage Project) would travel to The City from Hong Kong and Yokohama, taking passengers and cargo, including silk, tea, mail, and merchandise from companies including J.A. Folger & Co. This time, according to the film’s caption, over a thousand First Regiment, California Volunteers troops boarded to “serve in the Philippine theater of the Spanish-American War.”

Scene in Chinatown, September 15, 1900

Most historic film, as is history itself, are centered solely around the Anglo experience. So it’s cool to see antique films that show BIPOC people, their neighborhoods, and their lives. This grainy September 15, 1900 film, taken by the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, takes place in a Chinatown alley, specifically suggested to be “north from Washington Street down Washington Place (today’s Wentworth Street) to Jackson Street.” The Library of Congress also shares in the film’s caption that the white men in the film were most likely inspectors with the Health Department Committee. 

Panoramic View of the Golden Gate, 1902

Train travel was all the rage when this film was taken in 1902. Titled a Panoramic View of the Golden Gate, it lets us hop aboard a steam engine to ride along the winding road (heads up for those who get motion sickness!) on the Ferries and Cliff House Railroad route, “the last of San Francisco’s steam railroads,” according to the Library of Congress’ film caption. The film depicts “the return trip from the Cliff House and Sutro Baths to the train terminal at California Street and Central Avenue (now Presidio Avenue).”

Over Route of Roosevelt Parade in an Automobile, May 12, 1903

President Biden may have visited San Francisco recently, but now you can learn about when former President Theodore Roosevelt visited The City. The Library of Congress has several films that showcase the festivities, including Market Street Before Parade, and TR in San Francisco, 1903. In this one, called Over Route of Roosevelt Parade in an Automobile, we are transported to May 12, 1903, right before the President’s parade.” This is the route the driver took, per The Library of Congress:

“Passing northwest up Third Street, the automobile turns northeast onto Market Street, then north onto Montgomery Street. After a cut, the driver has made the first left turn from Montgomery Street and is half a block west on Sutter Street. The driver turns south from Sutter to Kearny Street, and crosses Post Street en route to Market Street. Having come “full circle,” the driver turns right (southwest) onto Market Street and continues along Market to the Grant/O’Farrell streets intersection (at right).”