1950s San Francisco, Rare colour Home Movie Footage

From the Kinolibrary Archive Film collections. To order the clip clean and high res or to find out more visit www.kinolibrary.... Clip ref LC21a
00:30:30 HA WS city skyline. HA cars along wide road running through city. San Francisco. Oakland Bridge. Great street scene, trolleybuses past. Greyhound sign seen, bus station. Woolworths. Cars past. Hotel Plaza. Car turning right.
00:32:23 POV from front of car driving through San Francisco, up steep hill towards block. EXT First Western Bank. EXT travel agent. US Mail post boxes. Skyscraper. Skyscraper under construction, men at work on building site. Man in suit walks down street smoking. Nice GVS.
00:35:03 San Francisco Chinatown. Man in buddhist robes past, Chinese people along. Chinese children pose for the camera. Traffic along. EXT Chop Suey restaurant. Chinese clothes in shop window. Man reading newspaper pinned in shop window, The Chinese World paper.
00:36:36 EXT San Francisco City Hall.
00:37:00 Black African American and Chinese boys play fighting with sticks on the street outside city hall. People putting money in meter at car park. Multi storey car park. Flyover partially finished. Cars along flyover, billboard for Hill. HA cars along highway with 4 lanes, traffic.

[@larryboysen5911]

Being a native San Franciscan...I'm 76... these shots bring back so many memories...and a tear to my eyes of what we lost...the San Francisco of today is like from another universe!! Not my type of "future"!

[@Mark-yy2py]

Larry Boysen As a native San Franciscan as well, I can’t agree with you more.

[@yoncalla44]

@@Mark-yy2py Ditto here - (born at the old Stanford-Lane Hospital in Pacific Heights in 1953).

[@erikeippel]

Micheal Landon nailed it when he said drugs would ruin this country.

[@melissam6037]

Clean streets, men wearing suits and hats, and women in nice looking dresses. The old Woolworth’s which was a massive wonderland including multiple departments, like a wig section, key making and engraving, hardware, clothing, household goods, photo booths, a bakery, and 2 lunch counters, and so much more - I still haven’t gotten over it, it’s a gap and some other generic mall stores now.

[@jeanhansel5805]

I don't expect I'll ever get over losing Woolworth's. In 2021, the Gap is gone, and the building stands empty and boarded up. I also don't expect I'll ever get over losing the Emporium across from Woolworth's. I have not stepped foot in Bloomingdale's and don't expect I ever will; that is sacred ground to me, and it would be like walking on someone's grave to walk into what once was the Emporium. And Manning's Cafeteria, where I had my first dinner in San Francisco, after having arrived in 1964.

[@kirahastings9900]

@@jeanhansel5805 Yes. The Middle Aisle, the Dome and the Bargain Basement. Not to mention the Christmas rides. Sigh. I used to eat at Moar's cafeteria across from Woolworth's with the strange Buffano murals.

[@edp2260]

Better then. No question about it.

[@nicwalker2175]

The world was simpler back then. Very nice, thank you for posting this footage.😀

[@mdsfo]

Woolworths was a great place to go back in the 60s. As a kid, I loved it. Many people living in SF back then didn't have cars. We didn't. You really didn't need one.

[@harryclay6256]

We still don't

[@yoncalla44]

Video was taken in 1959 - building shown under construction is the Crown Zellerbach Building (Completed Jan. 1960); panel truck turning corner in Chinatown marked "Chung Fat Co." has black on white backround registration tag on upper right hand corner of license plate (color of 1959 CA registration tags) at 4:57.

[@therose8521]

You are amazing!

[@1940limited]

The newest car I saw was a 57. Good catch on the license plates.

[@yoncalla44]

@@1940limited There's a shot of Union Square that's got a car turning left that's a 1959 Plymouth (I think) - it has HUGE tailfins on it.

[@progman965]

I especially enjoyed seeing all those vintage cars in mostly good condition.

[@xXAnchormonXx]

Well, it certainly WAS a beautiful city

[@rr7firefly]

It's amazing how so many landmarks are still around. If you know the SF of today you can tell where every shot in this home movie was filmed.

[@ClueSign]

Not sure where the last segment was with the drive-up burger stand -- Lombard St? Outer Mission? Anyone who knows please help.

[@horseplop9]

ClueSign it’s a dump now

[@bartonpercival2147]

@@ClueSign I believe that drive in place was called Ott’s drive in on Bay Street off Columbus Avenue

[@alexgeronimo8331]

I wish I could go back in Time it was so much more civilized back then

[@lf1496]

alex Kominski Ask Emmit Till about how civilized it was back then. Oh that's right he was beat to death at 14 years old by a crazy mob of sick white men who lynched black people for sport. But hey, it was the 50's and everything was soooo much better then right? You're sick and fragile, no wonder you're all on drugs, committing suicide and dying from cancer and depression. If I lived in denial I would want to end it all too!

[@freddymarcel-marcum6831]

@@lf1496 white people rule😀

[@freddymarcel-marcum6831]

Hate white people all you want, we created EVERYTHING in this film.

[@lf1496]

@@freddymarcel-marcum6831whites rule lying, mass shootings, serial killing, raping, stealing, heroin overdoses, suicide ,low sperm counts and massive insecurity which by your ignorant statement you so predictably confirmed

[@lf1496]

@I Drink Legos for a fragile descendant of monsters, , it would be boring. You were bored when you had picnics during lynchings You are a cliche.

[@dondressel4802]

Look at all those beautiful 🚗 cars 🚙

[@therose8521]

Can we at least have the cars back?

[@dondressel4802]

A Tangerine boy are you ignorant You probably love those ugly little Prius crap cars American cars back then were classic works of beauty

[@hankaustin7091]

@@dondressel4802 I agree with you Don, absolutely beautiful works of art, those old cars!! Give me a 1957 or 58 Chrysler over these pieces of shit today, any day of the week! 1000 thumbs up for your comments!

[@dondressel4802]

Hank Austin thank you My grandfather bought a 59 Chrysler 300 brand new in 59 It was beautiful with big fins and leather interior We as little kids use to sit in the front middle seat while he cruised at 80 mph on the highway It had a 392 hemi motor Sadly his second wife got the car after my grandmother passed away

[@hankaustin7091]

@@dondressel4802 those '59 300s were absolutely the all-time BEST!!!! Hey Chrysler, what's up with not bringing THOSE back, huh??

[@AlsCollectibles]

Fantastic! I see Woolworths! Wow! Thanks for sharing

[@jmjj2682]

Completely Awesome !!! I love to see the actual footage of automobiles, fashion. Scenery at that time instead of duplicated in a hollywood movie..😎

[@MrRezillo]

Thanks for the vid. This was basically the San Franciso Kerouac wrote about in "On The Road" - except for the South of Market skid road where he used to "flop."

[@robert3302]

Mel's Drive-In. I remember eating there with my family.

[@clintonflynn815]

The drive in at the end of the clip is in Oakland on West MacArthur@Telegraph. You can see Lucky Florist, which is still there, in the background.

[@Trentberkeley86]

Robert Coates it’s there and it still sucks.

[@perth45]

The city I love, and the year I was born 1959...GREAT footage....

[@yoncalla44]

Since you were born in the city in '59, check out the book: "The Face of San Francisco," by Hal Gilliam and Phil Palmer. Lots of photos in it that were taken that year.

[@lvsluggo007]

I was born in San Francisco in 1950. This video really takes me back to the times my mother and I went downtown from our house in the Mission district. My mother had asthma and the foggy weather made her sick, so in 1959, we moved to San Diego. My wife and I used to come to SF on vacation in the 90s, but since the left has a stranglehold on the city and let it go to hell, we've not been back.

[@randymitchell5432]

Thanks for not putting in some corney little song. These old home movies did'nt have sound. 👍 Great footage - Thank You.

[@randymitchell5432]

WoW. Union Square and the financial district looks so quiet, as with city hall - does'nt look THAT early in the morning.

[@horseplop9]

randy mitchell union square is a fake Dump now

[@raygordon3728]

Clean. Back when people had respect for themselves and each other.

[@Supertzar999]

Hippies were still a few years off. Then things began going to shit.

[@death2pc]

@@Supertzar999 FILTH hippies !

[@jakedefa5095]

Just remember everyone DIVERSITY IS OUR STRENGTH LMFAO

[@jacobrocks7]

Wow I have been to some of those landmarks in video .. So cool

[@Illtempo-nz1de]

A decade later that place will be turned upside down

[@SuperFinGuy]

Matt Williams, why? The hippies?

[@shizuehicks7442]

Illtempo 1980 It wasn’t really that quick. As a teen we moved up to San Rafael (20 miles north). I started changes galore starting in mid-1970s. The big two? TRAFFIC! PARKING! I’ll always be grateful that I grew up there when it was a CLEAN city in the 1950s and 1960s. I cherish those memories. Sorry to say it’s a dump now.

[@KaLaENT0711]

Wow look at Polk st!!! The trolley still does that til this day lol

[@RaymondStone]

I've been a San Francisco resident since late 2015 and the tomfoolery I see in the comment sections of every video of old San Francisco has convinced me that I probably need to just copy and paste this block of information everywhere to combat the nostalgia addicts. Whenever nostalgia addicts insinuate that the city is now dirty, uncivilized, etc, with feces, needles, and homeless people everywhere, note a few things: 1) These nostalgia addicts are often attempting to couch their politics into substantive sounding comments in a lame attempt to get reasonable people take those opinions more seriously than they otherwise would have 2) The Tenderloin is not the entire city 3) Homeless people flock to major cities due to access to resources for survival, not due to the policies of the political party or group that commenter just happens to be opposed to 4) Homeless people will especially flock to major cities if they exist in mild or warm climates, which is why west coast cities are particularly prone to having visibly large numbers of people on the streets 5) These nostalgia addicts mention how clean the streets used to be, yet we rarely actually see the streets in these videos 6) When we do see the streets, people are walking on them and they are generally clean, which is not unlike today where the city streets are generally kept clean in the high trafficked and tourist areas where people like to photograph and film 7) Even if we did see the streets in these videos, we would hardly be able to tell what was on them since the native resolution of these videos is probably something like 240p, which will make anything look more romantic than your ultra HD vision of today. Whenever you read someone’s comment anywhere on the internet, ask yourself why that person wants you to know that information. Actually, do this with any source of information. And if that person’s information seems inaccurate, feel free to wonder how much of the rest of that person’s worldview is built on a foundation of misinformation that has no more than a kernel of truth to it.

[@spignetti]

Wow....look at that real estate between the cars!! Those days are gone for sure...

[@azia5051]

Who is watching this in 2020 during COVID-19 God bless us all.

[@raudiaz6245]

The Crown Zellerbach Building is one of the first buildings with green glass that became a trend for all new buildings built after 2000 it seems. but those green colored glass I'm told help generate electricity like solar panels or cut back the light that heats the buildings (one of those two). Ocean Wide will be the second-largest building (next to SalesForce) set to open up 2021. I think it will be like 80 feet shorter than SalesForce. Just don't forget to anchor it to bedrock this time. :| just saying

[@Dragon43ish]

San Francisco..........WAS......a beautiful city....WAS....

[@lvsluggo007]

Yup... Was born there in 1950, family moved to San Diego in 1959, used to go back every so often just to enjoy the beauty of the city.. No more... It has been destroyed..

[@williamzavlaris4054]

Still a beautiful city with problems just like San Diego, LA, Seattle, San Jose, Phoenix and Portland. Actually homelessness is a national problem that we won't Address as a nation. Very sad!

[@andytaylor5476]

Indeed, San Francisco is still a beautiful city! I've lived here 40 years and don't plan to move.

[@hadlee189]

@@williamzavlaris4054 - Bingo, & Exactly, you get it! What people fail to realize is that America has a Homeless problem that is chronic. And a lot of it happened under President Reagan who shut down all of the Mental Institutions in America. Homelessness is a Major problem that our Elected Officials are Snoozing on. But "haters" of SF just like to spew empty rhetoric, I guess it makes them feel good about themselves?!

[@charlesjwin]

@@hadlee189 Many of CA's institutions were shut down in the 60's & 70's (process began before Reagan became Gov.). The Nation still has Mental Institutions- just not enough to also house the increased amounts of drug addicts nor the wilfully indignant which society has bred.

[@D.N..]

Would love to drive one of those great cars!

[@galas062]

wow....i have lived in SF since 91......the best era was 90's ..............now....well....maybe we get back to being SF....

[@ralphw7454]

Beautiful... just now sprinkle in the homeless crisis , globs of poop around every corner, scattered needles, garbage and weeks old dried up piss and it’s pretty much the new SF ☺️💕

[@plutoniusis]

That beautiful lady waitress at end of the clip is gorgeous , beautiful San Francisco ...

[@kenowens9021]

Someone should make a video going on Market Street toward the Ferry Building and then put side-by-side the 1906 film of horse-drawn carriages and horseless carriages heading towards the Ferry building.

[@Deeterr]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3bPp52EjdKaa5o

[@iadorenewyork1]

I found the brief footage of the sword play with the Chinese and black children (about 6:10) very interesting!

[@freddymarcel-marcum6831]

As a San Francisco taxi driver, I gotta ask, where's the traffic???😆

[@therose8521]

Why did I ever leave the 50s?

[@death2pc]

4:49 - 4:53 / 5:09 - 5:23 Simply beyond adorable. Great, Great parents, obviously. Thank You. Such a better time........

[@qrplife]

4:45 the guy in the yellow dress is still walking around 61 years later.

[@sharonwhite4847]

lol

[@poetryjones7946]

Could be! He’s a Buddhist monk! 😺

[@edwardmiessner6502]

Since this was filmed, San Francisco has gone through many changes, both good and bad... and the good changes are being threatened by the bad! Except for the removal of the Embarcadero Freeway, of course.

[@hankaustin7091]

What's the Embarcadero Freeway? I live in Ohio, that's why I asking...

[@hankaustin7091]

never mind.. I found pix and an article about it online... looked kinda ugly to me..

[@yoncalla44]

@@hankaustin7091 It sure was ugly - we referred to it as the "concrete centipede."

[@horrorman9]

I just finished driving down Hyde street at Golden Gate street, and it looks like the inside of a toilet bowl that needs a good flushing.

[@KB-jz5rk]

san Francisco had real class back then. Look at Union Squre, so beautiful unitl it was ruined by mayor Wille Brown. Now it has no style at all

[@sounsite]

What's with those giant people walking across the street and under that bridge at 1:11? What's up with that??

[@Zigzag5710]

sounsite omg lol

[@charlesjwin]

...just forced perspective of people crossing in front of the Stockton St. Tunnel at intersection of Post & Stockton Sts.

[@mitchelljamerson706]

Damn the city was clean and no homeless people.

[@brucenicholls213]

Of course there were homeless people! Just because you didn’t see any in this video doesn’t mean they didn’t exist ! Unfortunately there has always been homeless people and sadly I suspect always will be.

[@yoncalla44]

Well, there were "homeless" people - they lived in the old cheap hotels and assorted flophouses in the South of Market area. When redevelopment really started to gather steam in San Francisco in the late 1970's, these residents were dumped into the streets - something that the 1982 recession really helped exacerbate.

[@g.r.x.racer-1737]

+@@yoncalla44 Then came that horrible day Jan 20th, 1981.

[@Adam-gy3tw]

@2:19 shows my old office building 369 Pine Street right next to the old Pacific Stock Exchange which is now Equinox gym.

[@kirahastings9900]

I worked in the small building at 333 Pine until 2012. got my hair cut at 369 Pine.

[@gregwoolliscroft6255]

wow....

[@stuffy321]

Damn! I thought everything was black and white until the early 60's.

[@robertvillarreal4525]

😂

[@rentslave]

The Gino's at 1:18 was NOT the famous hamburger joint,as these places stayed in the East.

[@thomasmulhall4873]

Few people watching this realise how poorly these heavy cars stopped- most had drum brakes, little or no power assist, huge, soft tyres, and no cup holders! When I drive a car from this era, in original, unmodified specification, I gain more and more respect for the drivers of yesteryear. You had to pay 100% attention to driving... Or you were dead or disfigured. Safety glass? Yes, it was coming, but wasn't in any of those cars then. The lone Jaguar was a nice sight. No bums, needles, or maniacal leftists. Please build a time machine and drop me off in post-war SF! Oh yes, leave me there! Look at those boys playing together. Healthy, fun times. Nobody had to hold diversity classes for them to pick their friends! Just picking up a stick and finding another kid to have a play swordfight with was an adventure. I bet those boys all thought they were the 3 Musketeers, or Errol Flynn. Children got to use and develop their imagination. Oh, and they could play outside without fear of a weirdo harming them.

[@heinzbreuer2674]

I left my heart in San Francisco .bis in meinen end. ❤❤🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🥂

[@alanmorris7669]

I never liked playing sword dual when I was a kid because somebody would always hit my fingers. (6:09)

[@haydendavies8638]

JUST FANTASTIC TIME CAPSULE OF AMERICANA, COOL CARS, FASHION😎😊 AND NOTHING COOL TO COMPARE WITH TODAY. 😓😓😓

[@dolcevitausa6448]

Home! Even though in 2019 at times it seems to have very little resemblance to the city I once knew. That is one good/bad thing about the city, it is always evolving. I hope the city is able to keep its unique character and not turn into the little Manhattan of the West with all the architectural atrocities doting the city.

[@farhadnawab7642]

I'm afraid Manhattanization has already begun. Look at those ugly skyscrapers south of market..yuck.

[@farhadnawab7642]

@A Tangerine yes I do remember. Same fir Ifel tower in Paris. But have you looked at South of market recently? All sense of proportion and aesthetics has been thrown out if the window.

[@yoncalla44]

That "Manhattanizing of San Francisco" goes all the way back to 1964, when the then-called Hartford Building was completed on California St., followed by the Wells Fargo Building at 44 Montgomery St. in 1966.

[@AllenMQuinn]

Tech has destroyed this beautiful city.

[@lvsluggo007]

No, the left has destroyed this beautiful city.

[@jonmacdonald5345]

@3:58 Not one piece of 💩to be found on the sidewalk amazing!

[@californiamade5608]

Jon MacDonald it’s not like there is any in that part of SF anyways today

[@jonmacdonald5345]

Orlando Nunez yes there is tons of it

[@rajivpanda9711]

im an uber driver in sf now. feels great to watch this and be like 'wow i know that street" lol

[@daniel1571]

Born there and grew up there, to bad its so expensive and the crime and homeless population is out of control, that what you get with extreme left wing politics.

[@cestbonbon5961]

Adding music to this video will be great 😄

[@dondressel452]

Everything is so clean and everyone is dressed so nice I won’t even go to the city nowadays because of the homeless everywhere and needles and syringes and shit all over the streets It’s sad

[@yoncalla44]

Yup - I was born in SF in 1953, and it's become the "The Black Hole of Calcutta of the West Coast."

[@g.r.x.racer-1737]

+@@yoncalla44 Yup! Since Jan 20th,1981.

[@marisgarcia6314]

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

[@RaulLopez-kb5fc]

What happened? 😢

[@janejames9173]

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@danielsaintjames2923]

Does anyone know where that circular drive-in restaurant was?

[@lvsluggo007]

I was born there in 1950, family moved to San Diego in 1959. I vaguely remember seeing that drive-in and I want to say it was down near where Mission St ran into Market St. At least thats what my tiny brain (was 5-9 y/o then) remembers..

[@danielsaintjames2923]

@@lvsluggo007 it was Mel's on South Van Ness. Just South of Mission Street.

[@andytaylor5476]

@Billy Doyle If you don't like it, leave!

[@charlesjwin]

@@andytaylor5476 You first... the Leftists came to power here in 1980 & this coincided with the ruining of it, after all. 🤔

[@andytaylor5476]

What/Who happened in 1980?@@charlesjwin

[@OZRIC1985]

The next time I go to San Francisco I will have to wear galoshes and plug my nose while I'm wading through the feces and urine...pfft. They have to figure out a way to quickly get all the homeless off the streets and relocated in to some kind of shelters somewhere else.

[@andytaylor5476]

Oh yea, you'll need protective glasses and a bag over head so you won't even have to look at the "homeless". Second thought just stay out. We won't mind.

[@charlesjwin]

Courtesy of the Leftists, it's attracting other cities' vagrants with free handouts... no prior local residence required. And the politicans are (illegally) giving out unlimited free needles in a futile effort to control deaths from needle sharing... it just results in (city) tallies of hundreds of thousands of used needles (yearly) discarded upon the streets of Tenderloin & SOMA neighborhoods, for kids to step on. Thanks, Socialists!

[@ericfisher1203]

andy taylor yeah, you told him.... enjoy your filthy city

[@StevenTorrey]

@@ericfisher1203 STAY AWAY--DO SAN FRANCISCO A FAVOR!

[@ericfisher1203]

Steven Torrey I am!!! I like that we can keep the filthy people in one area....I’m glad your happy wallowing in your own turd city. Please enjoy!!!

[@thetakongpancake1003]

8:28 - Is that Doggy Diner? lol

[@thetakongpancake1003]

I was a carhop but Not at Doggy Diner O:)

[@thetakongpancake1003]

See how they got us comfortable in our cars? We are suppose to eat at the table with family and now two of my sons have blankets in their cars and other people live in their cars. It was a giant set up and those old cars had plentyof room but they cant be tracked so they were taken off the road with the Cash For Clunkers program courtesy of Obama Its so sad

[@gersonluizandradediversida3532]

Muito moderna já na época

[@wildearth3992]

Before liberalism, globalization and individualism

[@sharonwhite4847]

People are going to have to take their city back. Keep on your elected officials to get it cleaned up. San Francisco had some of the mystery of the Orient about her, so very beautiful.

[@g.r.x.racer-1737]

Yep! America needs a Marshall Plan. Since Jan 20th, 1981.

[@8176morgan]

Late 1950's to be sure. Say around 1959. I was born that year, but not in San Francisco. I live there now however, and its not nearly as nice as it was back then.

[@hadlee189]

SF native here, I'm pretty sure New York, Los Angeles, & Chicago are not the same as they were in the 1950's either...

[@boofert.washington2499]

It's not nice at all. I've lived there recently.

[@1974dormouse]

Amazing! No long lines and people waiting for an hour to take the trolley, cause government employees aren't standing around or doing push-ups in the trolley while people wait.

[@andytaylor5476]

You are a riot!

[@Naruto_black03]

La ciudad de San Fierro gta San Andreas 50's

[@vlgstr2803]

Mels drive in mmm that reminds me time for breakfast yummy

[@thomassmith4616]

What a Joke to ride those trolleys, San Fran. as rude as hell, no one stands up for people with back problems, even the children sit there like stupid!

[@daveerickson9524]

So much more haunting without an idiotic "musak" background.

[@abefroman8528]

Clean streets. People worked and dressed well. Baby boomers shit the bed and let us all down

[@ShakespeareCafe]

California St is not that steep in real life

[@brainmaker4495]

Hahaha! This is a film. It’s not animation. Real life? What do you mean?

[@kirahastings9900]

You wouldn't say that if you had to walk down it from Powell to Montgomery in high heels.

[@characterunderconstruction5891]

I'll trade you two Teslas for any car in this video, and I don't mind the cost of gas.

[@buckshot6481]

Before hippies, LSD and Pelosi !

[@patriciacolombini6567]

Is pelosi that bad. Homeless people were given lots of benefits. Poop and homeless people and drugs is what is in Dan Francisco now. Horrible.

[@leoinsf]

This was a car-oriented look at the city. It was artistically done, but the concentration upon cars, freeways, and streets took the human touch out of the film. I personally think music should have been added because what you have is a "cold, mechanized" home movie. It needed more people-shots. Too much more would have made it boring!

[@hetzelmondragonmondragon4621]

Where’s the sound

[@hankaustin7091]

it's labeled a home movie from the 1950s for good reason.. need I say more?

[@MensAsses33]

Embarcadero freeway under construction, no longer exists.

[@ShakespeareCafe]

that thing was a monstrosity...the tyranny of the automobile was in full swing in the 50s

[@cgeorge6786]

Every time I see that double decker structure I remember about the poor people crushed to death. Wah Wah Wah