cool streetcar video

[phil]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsHMJma13bU

this is a fairly long video. first they run you through the video , then they do it again with a description of the area and buildings that are seen , finally they compare it with a modern video side by side showing the same streets.

It really gives one a sense of how things were before cars were common. this is just before the time when the model T was finding popularity. what stood out for me was how busy the streets were with the horses and buggys and people crossing dangerously close to the streetcars.
the population was predominately english. the Chinese districts were actually stormed by residents breaking windows etc.
there is only one car in the video. note that the cars still follow the British with respect to the direction of traffic. we now drive on the right.

some of the streets it covered, in particular Carnegie hall on hastings are now full of desperate people living in tents and falling off the curbs due to rampant drug use. They will change and be updated, Just west of there the city is modern and a very busy metropolis. rents are extremely high and much of what was a warehouse district is converted to a yuppie area of studio suites. most of the surrounding areas are bush at this point in time, now things expanded and the forested areas are confined pretty much to the mountains with the exception of Stanley park where you can pay a buck and a half to see Em. these areas are dense now ith many high rises. It's interesting to see the video because it really takes you back in time Its a window into the past.
some may only be interested in the first part and not all the detail, I found the whole thing interesting, being local.

[Manalto]

I like this video and the other one online, probably from the same photographer, that moves through the streets of San Francisco.

When I lived in Bellingham, Vancouver was the closest city, so I was a frequent visitor. I really enjoyed exploring. I must say, however, I don't recognize anything from 1907 except the street names.

[1918ColonialRevival]

I believe this is the one you are thinking of, James:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YRbMMqj0qw

Market St., San Francisco, April 14, 1906. Just four days before the infamous San Francisco Earthquake.

Watching the video made me realize that people driving like idiots is not a recent phenomenon.