The Greatest Dolly Shot Ever

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=NINOxRxze9k
 

Thanks for passing this on, Pop:

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A friend sent me this. It gets more interesting the longer you watch and think about its status as a document in the dawn of the automotive era. I like to think you will live to see the end of that era.
 
Here are some comments that accompanied the link. Don't know how accurate.
 
Enjoy, Pop
 
 This is fascinating!  A movie that is over 100 years old.  Perhaps the
 oldest "home movie" that you will ever see!
 
 This  film was "lost" for many years.  It was the first 35mm  film ever.  It
 was taken by camera mounted on the front  of a cable car and was shot only
 four days before the Great San Francisco Earthquake of April 18th 1906  and
 shipped by train to NY for processing.  Amazing, but true!  It truly is
 historic.
 
 This  film, originally thought to be from 1905 until David Kiehn with the
 Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum figured out exactly when it was shot. From
 New York trade papers  announcing the film showing to the wet streets from
 recent heavy rainfall & shadows indicating time of year & actual weather and
 conditions on historical record, even when the cars were registered (he even
 knows who owned them and when the plates were issued!)..
 
 A camera on the front of a street car 104 years ago.  The scene is of the
 street car going up Market Street towards the Clock Tower in the
 Embarcadero, which is still standing today.  It depicts an eclectic mix of
 pedestrians, horses, street cars, cable cars and automobiles.  I watched it
 a couple of times.  Look at the hats the ladies were wearing and the long
 dresses.  Almost all the men wore a coat and tie.  Some of the cars had the
 steering wheels on the right side,  I wonder when they standardized on the
 left?  Sure were still a lot of horse drawn vehicles in use.  With no motor
 vehicle codes, it looked like everybody had the right of way.  No wonder
 there had to be laws created to regulate driving habits.  Good thing they
 couldn't go very fast.
 
 The number of automobiles is staggering for 1906. Absolutely amazing! Wonder
 how many "street cleaning" people were employed to pick up after the horses