Take a trip back to 1930s New York .... in Colour

The film is shot on Kodak colour film and is believed to have been taken by a rich family on holiday as they take in the sights by air and by land.
Thanks to the wonders of modern tech it looks good and runs at the right speed , through youtube chat it's believed the film was shot around Christmas 1937
How we used to live.
Runtime 42 min

The film shows many images of New York's buildings (Empire State, Chrysler and Woolworth buildings a.o), Bridges, Aircraft, Neon lights and Steamships. Especially the footage of the famous ocean liners RMS Queen Mary, which was brand new at that time, and the SS Normandie and SS Conte di Savoia footage (in color!) is intriguing.
The film was probably made by a wealthy family involving an elderly lady who appears half a dozen times in the film. Maybe they booked the famous SS Normandie cruise to Rio in Feb.1938 or Feb.1939.

I find old films of everyday life fascinating but this is particularly interesting as it wasn't filmed for public distribution , just people taking in the sights.

a reply to: gortex

Wow, that is pretty epic. I've only scanned through for now but I will give this the time it deserves when I get some alone time.

When you see the 1930's in colour it really doesn't seem so long ago.

Thanks for posting.

a reply to: gortex

Come on, tell us the truth. You filmed it.

a reply to: gortex

Very cool, I recognized pretty much everything in there, much of it hasn't changed at all except for the signage.

Nice shot from the Empire State Building of the now demolished Pennsylvania Station. This action kicked off the historic preservation movement in 1960's New York.

I will note that department stores were a lot more classy looking. I personally have never lived in NY but I can assume a lot of the shops are cookie cutter corporate layouts by now.

Love stuff like this. Like taking a time machine. Color is a bonus.

I see dead people.