Reading Pennsylvania-1938: Hotel In A Busy City

$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.

Year1938
Decade1930s
LocationReading, Pennsylvania, United States
Duration6s
Price$149 USD
Collection1938 Reading Pennsylvania

$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.

Hotel In A Busy City — Clip Details

Shot on 8mm film in 1938, this vintage home movie captures a bustling street scene outside the Hotel Berkshire in Reading, Pennsylvania. Men in suits and fedoras stand near the entrance, while a woman in a light dress walks past. Classic automobiles line the curb, including a delivery van for Ensslen's Cheese House. The grainy black-and-white footage shows a lively urban moment with pedestrians, luggage, and period clothing, offering a nostalgic glimpse into mid-1930s American city life.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Shot details: Black & white
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: 6s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 127399568

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.

Editorial use only; commercial use is not offered for this clip. Review the flags below for your editorial context.

People visible: Yes
Minors visible: No
Logos / trademarks: Yes
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: Reading, Pennsylvania, 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 1930s urban Pennsylvania sequences needing a brief hotel-front street insert with pedestrians, cars, and sidewalk activity.
Period detail: Visible clues include fedoras, suits, long dresses, prewar automobiles, a hotel awning, and an Ensslen's Cheese House vehicle or sign.
Home-movie behavior: The camera observes ordinary sidewalk movement from across or near the curb, preserving unstaged arrivals, waiting, and street conversation.
What appears in frame: The frames show the Hotel Berkshire awning, suited men, a woman in a light dress, parked automobiles, a cheese-house sign, luggage, and city buildings.
Film character: Black-and-white 8mm footage has soft focus, visible grain, slight exposure variation, and handheld framing that reads as original home-movie texture.
Edit role: An editor could use this as a short establishing cutaway, transition, or memory beat for a 1930s city, travel, hotel, or street-life sequence.
Historical context: The scene offers visual evidence of downtown hotel frontage, curbside vehicles, and public dress in Reading, Pennsylvania, in the late 1930s.
Research note: People and a visible business name require likeness, trademark, and location review separate from any film copyright assessment.
Research search match: Likely matches searches for 1938 Reading Pennsylvania 8mm street scene, Hotel Berkshire exterior, 1930s city pedestrians, and vintage hotel curb activity.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with adjacent shots from the same reel, then other Reading 1938 material, then broader 1930s hotel, city street, and automobile scenes.

Still Frames From This Clip

1938 Reading, Pennsylvania street view outside Hotel Berkshire with pedestrians, parked cars, and an Ensslen's Cheese House sign. — Pedestrians gather near the Hotel Berkshire entrance as cars line the curb.

Street activity outside the Hotel Berkshire in Reading, Pennsylvania, with suited pedestrians, parked automobiles, and a cheese-house sign. — A small group moves along the sidewalk beneath the Hotel Berkshire awning.

1938 home-movie frame showing men on the sidewalk outside Hotel Berkshire, with an automobile and Ensslen's Cheese House marking visible. — Men stand near the curb while hotel and business signage remain visible.

Reading, Pennsylvania hotel-front street scene with pedestrians under the Hotel Berkshire awning and prewar cars parked along the curb. — A man walks past parked cars as pedestrians remain near the Hotel Berkshire entrance.

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