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Want to support this channel and help us preserve old films? Visit Visit our website This film is the first part of a four-segment feature filmed by Norman Schley from Wisconsin. Schley founded the travel industry film company called Picturelogue. This particular feature takes viewers through some of the islands in the West Indies beginning with Puerto Rico. It opens with footage from within a plane of the Caribbean Sea (:59) as it moves to the capital San Juan (1:14). The Caribe Hilton Hotel is spotted (1:37) which was the first international Hilton hotel constructed in 1949. Tourists enjoy beverages sipped from pineapples (2:20) as the wait staff snaps photographs. A speed boat cuts through the water (2:55). A Kool Aide delivery truck rides through the scene (3:23). Castillo San Felipe del Morro (3:41); constructed between the 16th and 17th centuries, is visited. The San Juan capital building’s dome peaks above the city skyline (4:20). Vacationers explore Castillo San Cristobal (5:08); the largest fortress constructed by the Spanish in the new world. Tourists then enjoy the El Morro golf course (5:50). The film then turns to the neighborhood of Las Croabas as a sign points to an area nearby housing the US Coast guard (6:36). The beautiful sands and waters of Balneario Luquillo are captured with sail boats resting on the shoreline (7:02). Tourists are greeted by a local Puerto Rican band (7:33). Dancing erupts with barefoot Puerto Ricans (7:41). A young native pours sugar syrup over a snow cone (7:58). A cable car is spotted moving up the hilly terrain (9:29). Construction on new and modern apartments are seen nearly completed (9:46). Tourists driving down the road pull off to purchase fresh produce from a man riding a horse with food commodities in his saddle bags (10:46). Sugar cane fields are harvested by workers (11:12). Cargo trains move the stalks down the road (13:10). The film heads to downtown San Juan (13:44). Young Puerto Rican boys work as shoe shiners in the city (13:59). Modern homes and apartments follow (14:51). Cornell University is then visited which houses the Arecibo Ionospheric Observatory (15:29). The San Juan Mountains (16:43) preclude a waterfall in the lush hilly area of the country (17:03). Viewers are taken to St. Thomas (17:26). Elegant white boats bob in the harbor (18:18) with one offering a ‘Wind Jammer Maverick Virgin Island’s Cruise’ (18:09). The flag of the Virgin Islands waves next to an American flag at (18:42). A hotel pool overlooks the blue waters of St. Thomas (18:47). Vacationers enter a restaurant called The Left Bank (19:00). Later, they move around Main Street littered with shops and restaurants (19:19). A tobacco stand (20:07) shows the cheap cost of cigarettes at the time to only be $ and $. The A.H. Riise Mall in St. Thomas (20:24) is still known as one of the biggest retail sellers of alcohol and tobacco. Bulova watches and alligator bags are advertised for sale (20:39) at the Oriental Bazaar. A woman walks with a parcel of goods perfectly balanced atop her head in the open-air market (21:31). Sellers negotiate prices with tourists at a fruit stand (21:41). A horse race on a dirt race track is captured by viewers (22:55). Small native goats to the area move around along the street (23:24). The film turns to Bluebeard’s Beach Club Resort at Great Bay (23:54). Tourists enjoy sail boat rides (24:07) and a large crowd enjoys banquet style dining (24:09). Small white boats sit in the harbor (24:31). Antigua is pointed as the next destination (24:42) and the small passenger plane which is to take tourists here follows (24:49). Bird’s eye view footage is captured as the plane takes to the sky (25:04). The film begins to wrap up with shots of rural and more modern housing in the area (25:16) as well as scenic footage of white sandy beaches and red flower blossoms (26:19). To continue to the second part the feature: We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit
