Miles Brothers
Encyclopedia
The four Miles brothers, Harry, Herbert, Joseph, and Earle C, were pioneers in American cinema. In 1902, they established one of the first motion picture exchanges in the United States.
Their 1906 film, A Trip Down Market Street, is an historic 13-minute journey down Market Street in San Francisco from 8th Street to the Embarcadero, giving a rare view of the street before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
. The film was long thought to have been made in September 1905, after being dated as such by the Library of Congress
based on the state of construction of several buildings.
However, in 2009 and 2010, film historian David Kiehn, a co-founder of Niles Film Museum in Niles, California
, a museum devoted to Essanay Studios
, dated the film to the spring of 1906 from automobile registrations and weather records. Kiehn and eventually found promotional materials from the film's original release. The film was sent to New York City by train the night before the earthquake, which destroyed the Miles Brothers' studio where it had been kept. Three prints survive as of 2010, and it has been digitally restored.
Their 1906 film, A Trip Down Market Street, is an historic 13-minute journey down Market Street in San Francisco from 8th Street to the Embarcadero, giving a rare view of the street before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
. The film was long thought to have been made in September 1905, after being dated as such by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
based on the state of construction of several buildings.
However, in 2009 and 2010, film historian David Kiehn, a co-founder of Niles Film Museum in Niles, California
Fremont, California
Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California. It was incorporated on January 23, 1956, from the merger of five smaller communities: Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Mission San Jose, and Warm Springs...
, a museum devoted to Essanay Studios
Essanay Studios
The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company was an American motion picture studio. It is best known today for its series of Charlie Chaplin comedies of 1915.-Founding:...
, dated the film to the spring of 1906 from automobile registrations and weather records. Kiehn and eventually found promotional materials from the film's original release. The film was sent to New York City by train the night before the earthquake, which destroyed the Miles Brothers' studio where it had been kept. Three prints survive as of 2010, and it has been digitally restored.