New York-1959: Empire State Building Against Sky

$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.

Year1959
Decade1950s
LocationNew York, 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.

Empire State Building Against Sky — Clip Details

Shot on 8mm film in 1959, this vintage home movie captures the iconic Empire State Building from a low-angle perspective, its green-tinted facade rising against a pale sky. The footage shows slight camera movement as the camera pans upward, revealing the building's Art Deco spire. The image exhibits classic Super 8 film grain, color shifts, and subtle scratches, offering a nostalgic glimpse of New York City's most famous landmark from a mid-century perspective.

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: 125576339

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 1101 · 8mm · 7″ reel
Original reel label: north pole,game farm,amusement park, reel 2
Reel-level year note: 1959
Reel-level location note: new york
Date: 1959 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: New York, 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

sky
tower
building
green
new york
empire
state
buildings
landmarks
1959
Empire State Building
1959 New York
vintage 8mm film
Super 8 home movie
Art Deco architecture
classic skyscraper
New York City landmark
retro film footage
1950s architecture
historic building
low angle shot
film grain
vintage color
archival footage
nostalgic cityscape
American landmark
1950s home movie
8mm film
New York skyline
vintage documentary

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: 1950s New York landmark footage for documentary inserts, museum timelines, city-history programs, or commercial edits needing a brief Empire State Building view.
Period detail: The low-angle view of the Empire State Building and its Art Deco spire supports the 1959 New York setting supplied in the metadata.
Home-movie behavior: The clip has a visitor-shot perspective, with the camera looking up from street level and adjusting as it follows the tower toward the spire.
What appears in frame: Visible elements include the Empire State Building facade, stepped upper floors, spire, pale sky, dark film-edge borders, and green-tinted color shifts.
Film character: The 8mm scan shows soft focus, visible grain, slight scratches, uneven exposure, and handheld movement that read as original home-movie texture.
Edit role: Editors can use this as a brief establishing insert, vertical city cutaway, transition into New York material, or memory beat for mid-century travel.
Historical context: The footage places a well-known New York skyscraper within a casual 1950s tourist-view record rather than a staged architectural survey.
Research note: No people, logos, or audible music are indicated, but landmark, copyright, and property-related uses should still be reviewed for the intended context.
Research search match: Useful search matches include 1959 New York 8mm Empire State Building, vintage home movie skyscraper, and mid-century Manhattan landmark footage.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent shots from the same reel, then other 1959 New York footage, then broader vintage landmark and city-skyline material.

Still Frames From This Clip

1959 New York home-movie frame showing the upper Empire State Building facade from a low angle, with dark film-edge borders. — Empire State Building rises into a pale sky in a low-angle 8mm view.

1959 New York frame of the Empire State Building upper floors and spire, seen through a soft green-tinted 8mm scan. — The tower's stepped crown and spire come into view between dark film borders.

1959 New York home-movie frame with the Empire State Building crown smaller in the frame beneath a pale sky and dark edge shadow. — A slightly wider view shows the Empire State Building crown below the sky.

1959 New York frame showing the Empire State Building's upper windows, stepped crown, and spire in soft 8mm color. — The camera settles on the building's upper stories and spire.

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