The Youtube artist/film technician named NASS specializes in restoring, colorizing and adding ambient sound to film of cities from the past. The results are extraordinary. (See yesterday’s post for his amazing work on old L.A. footage). Here’s a little under ten minutes of old San Francisco circa early-to-mid 1940s (the ‘no cameras’ sign at the pier is a clue–protecting the Pacific from espionage was a serious thing at the time). As always with NASS, the restoration is so perfect–the results so real–that it doesn’t look like the period that we picture in our heads, which is usually in black and white or sadly murky color. This is what it was to be there. We’ll never get closer to a time machine…
September 29, 2023
2 Responses
Dear Ray,
I am FASCINATED with your restored videos on You Tube. I recognize many of the cars and approximate years and then figure the time frame. Do you know if these films were professionally filmed for movie backgrounds and who took them? Also, how did you acquire them. I thought I was the only nostalgia nerd and history buff
Thanks so much
Hi Andy–all these videos exist on YouTube and were created/edited by others, not me. I just dig them up from the vast storehouse of stuff on YouTube and
write about them in the hopes of giving readers some historical context. YouTube is so huge that you have to dig deep to locate some real gems and its one of my daily hobbies/obsessions to do so. I’m glad you enjoy them!