Film, Video Panorama, Union Square, San Francisco Panorama of Union Square, San Francisco

Title

• Panorama, Union Square, San Francisco

Other Title

• Panorama of Union Square, San Francisco

Summary

• This film shows the crowd gathered in San Francisco for the dedication of the Dewey Monument in Union Square, on Thursday, May 14, 1903, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:20 a.m. The Monument, which is still in place, commemorates the victory of Admiral George Dewey and the American fleet over Spanish forces at Manila Bay, the Philippines, on May 1, 1898, during the Spanish-American War. The monument is also a tribute to the sailors of the U.S. Navy. Ground was broken for the monument by President McKinley, Roosevelt's predecessor, on May 12, 1901. The dedication of the monument was President Roosevelt's last official act before leaving San Francisco. Union Square was - and is - the center of San Francisco's retail district, and is located two blocks north of Market Street. Originally a tall sand dune, the square was set aside as a public park in 1850. It got its name from the pro-Union rallies held there on the eve of the Civil War. The camera was located on the roof a building at the southeast corner of Stockton Street and Union Square Avenue (today's Maiden Lane). Looking north on Stockton, the camera pans left along Post Street, and across Union Square to Powell Street and the St. Francis Hotel to the west. The pan continues south to Geary Street and on to the Stockton Street intersection, then sweeps back north to Stockton Street before drifting back into the square.
• Scene-by-scene description: The opening view is north up Stockton Street toward the eastern slope of Nob Hill. The large building along Post Street is the Pacific Union Club, now located on Nob Hill. In Union Square to the left of the flagpole is the foliage "Arch of Triumph" through which the arriving and departing President passed. Behind it across Post Street is the Savoy Hotel. The Dewey Monument is at center and the official dais below it to the left. The crowd is gathered for the ceremony. In the background rises the Saint Francis Hotel, which opened in 1904. The spire at right rear is the steeple of the First Congregational Church at Post and Mason streets. Note men hanging from the tall pole in the square, at right. After a cut, the pan continues to the left. The view is west, along Geary Street. Note the large Cordes Furniture Company Building (later Breuners Furniture). The wall advertisement reads "Furniture, Carpets, Draperies, Rugs, Mattings, Linoleums -- Your Credit is Good." At the end of the southern pan, the distant, unfinished steel frame of the Flood Building on Market Street can be seen. To the right is the rear of Delmonico's Restaurant, which hides most of the Alcazar Theater. Note the ice van at the corner of Geary and Stockton streets. After a cut in the continuity of the film, the ceremony has concluded and the crowd is seen surging toward Post Street to watch the departure of the President. The camera follows the crowd to Post and Stockton streets, then pans back into the square as crowds continue to gather along Post Street.

Names

• Miles, Herbert J., camera
• American Mutoscope and Biograph Company
• Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)

Created / Published

• United States : American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, 1903.

Headings

• -  Dewey, George,--1837-1917--Monuments--California--San Francisco
• -  Roosevelt, Theodore,--1858-1919
• -  Crowds--California--San Francisco
• -  Union Square (San Francisco, Calif.)

Genre

• Actualities (Motion pictures)
• Silent films
• Short films
• Nonfiction films

Notes

• -  H32394 U.S. Copyright Office
• -  Copyright: American Mutoscope & Biograph Co.; 4Jun1903; H32394.
• -  Duration: about 3:07 min.
• -  Biograph production no. 2376.
• -  Paper print shelf number (LC 2125) was changed when the paper prints were re-housed.
• -  Additional holdings for this title may be available. Contact reference librarian.
• -  The entry for this film in Niver's Early motion pictures gives the date May 26, 1903, but does not indicate that the film was actually photographed on that day. Research indicates that May 26 is the date information about the film was entered into the Biograph production log.
• -  Sources used: Niver, K. Early motion pictures, p. 240; The Boston herald, 5/13/1903, p. 11 viewed online via Newsbank/Readix database, June 4, 2014; Biograph production logs, v. 1: 1899-1903; Biograph bulletins, 1896-1908, p. 83.
• -  Camera, H.J. Miles.
• -  Photographed: May 14, 1903. Location: Union Square, San Francisco, California.
• -  One of several films taken during President Theodore Roosevelt's visit to San Francisco on May 12-14, 1903 as part of his presidential tour of the West in 1903.
• -  Early motion pictures : the Paper Print Collection in the Library of Congress / by Kemp R. Niver. Library of Congress. 1985.

Medium

• viewing print 1 film reel of 1 (88 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.
• viewing print 1 film reel of 1 (183 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm.
• dupe neg pic 1 film reel of 1 (88 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.
• dupe neg pic 1 film reel of 1 (183 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm.
• paper pos 1 roll of 1 (ca. 200 ft) : si., b&w ; 35 mm.
• paper pos (copy 2) 1 roll of 1 (ca. 200 ft.) : b&w ; 35 mm.

Call Number/Physical Location

• FLA 5139 (viewing print)
• FEC 1503 (viewing print)
• FRA 2858 (dupe neg pic)
• FPE 6819 (dupe neg pic)
• Box 0941B (paper pos)
• Box 5671A (paper pos, copy 2)

Repository

• Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA dcu

Digital Id

• https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/ntscrm.00045683

Library of Congress Control Number

• 00694415

Online Format

• image
• video

LCCN Permalink

• https://lccn.loc.gov/00694415

Additional Metadata Formats

• MARCXML Record
• MODS Record
• Dublin Core Record