I’ve watched Trip Down Market Street many times. It was shot just a few days before the quake hit. Lots of people ‘mugging’ for the camera. How many only had a couple days left? How many of the buildings you see were destroyed in the quake/fire? There’s a shot of an old man, right at the very end with a long beard—he could have been a 49er!
This sleuthing that went into nailing down the actual date that the film “Trip Down Market Street” is amazing. Youtube has an excellent 60 minutes interview with the guy who did all the research and archival records search that put its date about four days before the earthquake. Previously, people had thought it was made in February or March, not April. It’s really cool hearing how the guy figured out the date.