Palm Desert California-1953: Dock at Salton Sea with Picnic Area

$149 · CommercialDirect license: commercial and editorial use. $149 flat from Stockfilm. Royalty-free worldwide license for commercial and editorial use, delivered as the restored 4K master.

Year1953
Decade1950s
LocationPalm Desert, California, United States
Duration5s
Price$149 USD
Collection1953 California

$149 · CommercialDirect license: commercial and editorial use

$149 USD flat · royalty-free worldwide · 4K restored master (MP4)

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Stockfilm licenses the rights identified in the applicable agreement. Additional use-specific review may be required. See the Licensing Guide and Archive Integrity.

Dock at Salton Sea with Picnic Area — Clip Details

Shot on 8mm film in 1953, this vintage home movie captures the Salton Sea in Palm Desert, California. The footage shows a weathered wooden dock extending into the deep blue water under a clear sky, with sparkling reflections on the surface. A prominent informational sign reads 'Salton Sea 241 Ft Below Sea Level,' with picnic tables and a thatched umbrella visible on the sandy shore. The grainy, color-bleached aesthetic of the Super 8 footage evokes a strong sense of mid-century Americana and historical nostalgia.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: commercial and editorial use
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 5s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 123349793

Rights & Clearance

$149 · Commercial Direct license: commercial and editorial use. $149 flat from Stockfilm. Royalty-free worldwide license for commercial and editorial use, delivered as the restored 4K master.

No recognizable people, logos, or music are flagged. Lower-risk for commercial use, subject to your own review.

People visible: No
Logos / trademarks: No
Audible music: No

Flags come from automated catalog metadata, not a legal opinion. The source is an original 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie reel. For high-stakes commercial use, request a full rights review.

Source & Documentation

Source reel: Reel 1398 · 8mm · 6″ reel
Reel-level year note: 1953
Reel-level location note: california
Date: 1953 Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Date evidence: Catalog estimate. A reel-level note shows the same year, but the clip-to-reel link is itself a catalog match, so this is not counted as independent confirmation.
Location: Palm Desert, California, United States Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Location evidence: Catalog estimate. A reel-level location note is linked, but the clip-to-reel link is itself a catalog match, so this is not counted as independent confirmation.
Licensing route: Direct license available from Stockfilm

Confidence labels are defined on Archive Integrity. Fields without a recorded value are shown as not recorded rather than assumed.

View source reel context Open Clip Documentation Record Request source information

Topics & Keywords

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: Useful 1950s 8mm California resort-shore footage for documentary inserts about Salton Sea visitation, desert travel, or mid-century leisure landscapes.
Period detail: The sign typography, simple shore furniture, dock structure, and color 8mm home-movie stock support a 1950s visitor-view record of the Salton Sea area.
Home-movie behavior: The camera records the shore from a casual visitor position, lingering on the water, dock, sign, picnic table, and shade structure rather than staging action.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include blue water, a wooden dock or pier, a Salton Sea elevation sign, sandy shore, picnic table, umbrella or thatched shade, and strong sunlight.
Film character: The clip has saturated blue-purple color shift, visible grain, soft focus, gate edges, and slight handheld framing typical of scanned 8mm home-movie material.
Edit role: An editor could use it as a brief establishing insert, geographic cutaway, travel-memory beat, or transition into material about the Salton Sea or desert recreation.
Historical context: The footage documents a visitor-facing shoreline display where the lake, elevation sign, and leisure furniture present the Salton Sea as a stop for sightseeing or recreation.
Research note: No people, faces, logos, or audible music are visible or flagged, but users should still review copyright status and any property or location-use concerns.
Research search match: Matches searches for 1950s 8mm Salton Sea home movie, California desert shoreline footage, below sea level sign, vintage dock, and mid-century picnic area.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent shots from the same reel, then other 1953 Salton Sea or Palm Desert material, then broader 1950s California travel and lake-shore scenes.

Still Frames From This Clip

1953 8mm view of the Salton Sea shoreline with blue water, a low wooden dock, and dark film-gate borders. — Wooden dock extending across the Salton Sea under a clear sky.

Salton Sea water and a low dock appear in a handheld 1953 8mm frame with bright reflections on the surface. — Low dock and sparkling water at the Salton Sea shoreline.

1953 visitor view of a sign reading Salton Sea 241 ft. below sea level, with water, shade, and shore furniture behind it. — Informational Salton Sea elevation sign on the sandy shoreline.

1953 8mm frame showing the Salton Sea 241 ft. below sea level sign, picnic table, and shoreline water in Palm Desert metadata context. — Salton Sea sign and picnic table along the shoreline.

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