Chicago Illinois-1958: Chicago Skyline with Lake Michigan and High-Rises

$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.

Year1958
Decade1950s
LocationChicago, Illinois, United States
Duration5s
Price$149 USD

$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.

Chicago Skyline with Lake Michigan and High-Rises — Clip Details

Aerial views of Chicago's skyline in 1958, captured on 8mm film. The footage shows a dense cluster of mid-century modern high-rises and office buildings along the shoreline, with Lake Michigan visible in the background. The blue-tinted color palette and film grain give the clip a distinct vintage quality. The camera pans slowly across the cityscape, revealing the urban density and architectural style of the era. The image quality reflects the characteristics of home movie footage from the late 1950s, with slight blurriness and film imperfections. This archival footage offers a nostalgic glimpse of Chicago's urban development during the post-war period.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Shot details: Aerial
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: 124936647

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 record not linked for this clip
Date: 1958 Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Date evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual or technical evidence; no reel-level note is linked.
Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Location evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual evidence such as signage, landmarks, or terrain; no reel-level note is linked.
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.

Open Clip Documentation Record Request source information

Topics & Keywords

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: Useful for documentary or educational requests needing late-1950s Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan aerial establishing footage from 8mm home-movie material.
Period detail: The frames show mid-century high-rise office blocks and a shoreline city core, with the supplied 1958 Chicago metadata supporting the period identification.
Home-movie behavior: The clip has a visitor-shot aerial viewpoint, observing the skyline through moving framing rather than a staged or commercial city survey.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include clustered downtown towers, office buildings, Lake Michigan, shoreline, rooftops, a tall pointed tower, and dark film-frame borders.
Film character: The 8mm scan shows blue color cast, soft focus, visible grain, gate edges, and minor dust that give the city view a physical home-movie texture.
Edit role: Editors could use this as a brief establishing insert, transition, or memory beat for Chicago, postwar urban growth, travel, or city-history sequences.
Historical context: The view places Chicago's dense downtown architecture against Lake Michigan, offering visual context for a shoreline metropolis in the late 1950s.
Research note: No people, logos, or audible music are indicated, but copyright status and any property or location permissions should be reviewed before use.
Research search match: Search matches include 1958 Chicago aerial skyline, 8mm Lake Michigan city view, vintage downtown Chicago buildings, and home-movie urban establishing shot.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent reel material, then other 1958 Chicago or Illinois footage, then broader mid-century city skyline and aerial travel scenes.

Still Frames From This Clip

1958 Chicago skyline with clustered high-rises and Lake Michigan in the background, framed by dark 8mm gate edges. — Aerial view across downtown Chicago toward Lake Michigan.

Chicago skyline in 1958 with Lake Michigan beyond, including a tall pointed tower and dense office buildings. — The aerial pan shifts toward taller shoreline buildings.

Aerial 8mm view of Chicago high-rises and rooftops with Lake Michigan behind the city core. — Downtown buildings fill the foreground with the lake behind them.

Late-1950s Chicago skyline segment with Lake Michigan, shoreline structures, and soft blue 8mm film texture. — The pan reaches a more open lake-facing section of the skyline.

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