San Francisco California-1939: Art Deco Building and Steamboat at Waterfront

$149 · Editorial onlyDirect license: editorial use only. $149 flat from Stockfilm for documentary, news and educational use, plus internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement.

Year1939
Decade1930s
LocationSan Francisco, California, United States
Duration5s
Price$149 USD
Collection1939 California

$149 · Editorial onlyDirect license: editorial use only

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

Before you add to cart: Editorial use only: documentary, news, educational, internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement. Checkout will only offer editorial, educational, internal and social/web scopes.

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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.

Art Deco Building and Steamboat at Waterfront — Clip Details

Shot on 8mm film in 1939, this vintage home movie captures a scenic view of San Francisco's waterfront from a moving vessel. The iconic Art Deco architecture of the Golden Gate International Exposition stands prominently along the shore, with its distinctive tower and ornate buildings reflected in the blue water. A red steamboat glides past the pier, adding motion to the sun-drenched scene. The footage, viewed through a window frame, shows natural film grain and slight blurriness, evoking a nostalgic, authentic 1930s atmosphere. This archival clip offers a rare glimpse of pre-war San Francisco and the 1939 World's Fair.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: editorial use only Editorial use only: documentary, news, educational, internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement.
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 5s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 124763099

Rights & Clearance

$149 · Editorial only Direct license: editorial use only. Editorial use only: documentary, news, educational, internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement.

No recognizable people, logos, or music are flagged. Editorial use only; commercial use is not offered for this clip.

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 1166 · 8mm · 5″ reel
Original reel label: may
Reel-level year note: 1939
Reel-level location note: california
Date: 1939 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: San Francisco, 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 for 1930s San Francisco waterfront or exposition-era establishing material in documentaries, museum films, education programs, and period commercial edits.
Period detail: The clip shows Art Deco waterfront buildings and a tall tower consistent with the 1939 San Francisco exposition setting described in the source metadata.
Home-movie behavior: The view appears filmed by a visitor or passenger from a moving vessel, with the window frame and changing shoreline position preserving an unstaged travel perspective.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include blue bay water, waterfront buildings, an Art Deco tower, pier railings, a red-brown boat, distant shoreline, sky, and dark window framing.
Film character: The 8mm scan carries soft focus, visible grain, small dust marks, mild exposure variation, and handheld movement that support its home-movie archival texture.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a brief waterfront insert, location transition, exposition cutaway, or memory beat within a 1930s San Francisco sequence.
Historical context: The footage visually situates San Francisco's shoreline as a leisure and civic display space, seen from the water rather than from a formal newsreel viewpoint.
Research note: No people, brands, or audible music are indicated, but copyright, location depiction, and any property or landmark restrictions should still be reviewed for intended use.
Research search match: Matches searches for 1939 San Francisco waterfront 8mm footage, Golden Gate International Exposition buildings, Art Deco shore views, and vintage bay travel film.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent footage from the same reel, then with 1939 San Francisco or exposition material, then with broader waterfront, World's Fair, and prewar travel scenes.

Still Frames From This Clip

1939 San Francisco waterfront view with Art Deco exposition buildings, a tall tower, bay water, and dark vessel-window framing. — Art Deco waterfront buildings and tower seen from the bay.

1939 San Francisco bay view showing a red-brown boat by a pier and pale exposition-era waterfront structures behind it. — Boat passing near the pier in front of waterfront buildings.

1939 San Francisco waterfront frame with a boat alongside pier railings, choppy bay water, and exposition-style buildings beyond. — Boat alongside the waterfront pier, viewed from the water.

1939 San Francisco bay view with choppy water, a boat near the pier, pale Art Deco buildings, and dark window framing. — Waterfront buildings and boat framed by the vessel window.

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