Cumberland Maryland-1938: Abandoned Construction Site Undergoes Investigation

$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.

Year1938
Decade1930s
LocationCumberland, Maryland, United States
Duration6s
Price$149 USD
Collection1938 Cumberland Maryland

$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.

Abandoned Construction Site Undergoes Investigation — Clip Details

CUMBERLAND MARYLAND-1938: Black-and-white 8mm home movie footage captures an abandoned construction site undergoing investigation. The grainy, high-contrast film shows a deep excavation pit with exposed earth layers, wooden formwork, and scattered debris. A pickaxe lies on the ground, and temporary wooden supports frame the dig. The camera pans slowly across the site, revealing the scale of the unfinished foundation and the surrounding dirt path. This authentic archival footage offers a glimpse into mid-20th century construction practices and urban development in a historic American town.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Shot details: Black & white
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: commercial and editorial use
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 6s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 127265902

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 record not linked for this clip
Date: 1938 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: Cumberland, Maryland, 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: 1930s 8mm footage for productions needing a brief archival cutaway of an unfinished excavation or construction site in Cumberland, Maryland.
Period detail: The rough excavation, timber supports, exposed earth, and black-and-white 8mm texture may show small-scale construction or foundation work in the late 1930s.
Home-movie behavior: The camera observes the site from nearby ground level, giving the scene the feel of a passerby or family filmmaker recording an unusual local disruption.
What appears in frame: Visible details include a deep dirt cut, plank formwork, loose boards, a pickaxe-like tool, scattered debris, rough paths, and temporary wooden edging.
Film character: High-contrast black-and-white 8mm grain, soft focus, gate shadows, and slight handheld drift give the clip a physical home-movie archive texture.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a construction cutaway, investigation insert, neighborhood disruption beat, or transition into a story about development and abandonment.
Historical context: The footage visually documents unfinished ground work and exposed manual tools without showing workers, signage, machinery, or identifiable buildings.
Research note: No people, logos, or audible music are indicated, but property status and underlying copyright should still be reviewed before publication.
Research search match: Useful searches include 1930s 8mm construction excavation, Cumberland Maryland home movie, abandoned foundation site, and vintage dirt work footage.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent same-reel Cumberland scenes, then other 1938 Cumberland footage, then broader 1930s construction, excavation, or urban change material.

Still Frames From This Clip

1938 Cumberland, Maryland home-movie frame showing an exposed dirt cut, plank edging, scattered debris, and rough ground. — Excavated bank and wooden formwork mark the unfinished site.

1938 Cumberland, Maryland frame showing a rough excavation area with a trench, scattered boards, exposed soil, and a small hand tool. — Loose boards and a hand tool lie beside the open excavation.

1938 Cumberland, Maryland home-movie frame showing a deep cut in the ground, plank formwork, dirt mounds, and construction debris. — The camera looks across a deeper section of the unfinished foundation.

1938 Cumberland, Maryland frame showing a wider view of the excavation, with timber formwork, steep dirt banks, and debris on the ground. — A wider view reveals the scale of the unfinished excavation.

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