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Want to support this channel and help us preserve old films? Visit Visit our website This film, produced by M. Minter Culver in 1941, is a film in the obscure series titled “Story of Civilization” to tell the story of humans and our history. This episode covers the first cities of our ancient world and the establishment of worldwide trading routes followed by the industrialization and modernization of the greater cities in the world. “Story of the City” title banner (00:07). “Chapter I – Cities for Defense” title banner (00:19). Native American Inuit or Eskimos traveling through Northern American snowy landscapes, using huskies dog sleds to transport their belongings (00:28). Crops planted on hillsides (01:45). Footage of the stone cliff dwellings from the Native Americans’ first cities (01:51). Footage from a city on level ground built with sundried mudbricks or adobe from the Native American ethnic group: the Hopi Pueblo (03:31). Similar constructions seen in tribes of ancient China (03:46). Scenes from the walled city of Jerusalem (04:31) and so-called Tower of David. A map highlighting the city of Rome as one of history’s most famous ancient cities built on high grounds (05:11). Scenes of constructions in Rome dating back to ancient times (05:25). The Colosseum (05:49). St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican (06:03). A map highlighting the city of Paris (06:55). Views of the River Seine (07:11). The Notre-Dame Cathedral (07:47). Birds-eye-view of Paris (08:11). The Eiffel Tower (08:26). Views of the island city of Venice in Italy (08:39). A gondolier sailing through the canals of Venice (09:00). “Chapter II – Cities for Commerce” title banner (10:02). Caravans of camels transporting goods for trading through mountains (10:09). Elephants transporting goods for trading through mountains (10:28). The goods are unloaded from the backs of the Elephants (10:51). The goods are sold at fairs and markets (10:57). Different traders and artisans work their skills (11:19). A map highlighting trading routes between the east and Europe (11:51). Views of the city of Istanbul (12:07). Trade-goods being transported by ship down the Yellow River from China (13:13). “Streams as Highways in the United States” title banner (13:50). Early trappers sail down streams to selected trading posts (13:57). A map of the United States highlighting trade routes to San Francisco (14:46). The San Francisco Bay (15:04). The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (15:22). Views of San Francisco and Chinatown (15:42). A map of the United States highlighting the trades of New Orleans (16:41). Scenes of agricultural landscapes, waters, and the city of New Orleans (16:55) with steamboat traffic. Views of the City of Chicago on the Southern shore of Lake Michigan (17:33). A map highlighting the railroad routes from Chicago (17:38). Footage of the trains on the railroads (17:47). Stockyards of Chicago (18:04). Footage of the city (18:23). A map highlighting New York City and its trading routes (19:01). River streamers sailing down the Hudson River (19:38). Railroad traffic (19:47). A map showing the increasing stream of traffic to New York City and on to Europe (19:55). Scenes of New York City (20:04). “Chapter III – Problems of the City” title banner (20:39). A sunrise and the morning routines of the locals of New York city (20:48). Fresh water pipelines and production (21:20). Fresh milk delivery, production, and transportation (21:55). Daily newspaper production (23:12). Goods, fruits, and vegetables arriving at the wholesale districts (23:30). Street cleaners work from the early hours (24:03). Views of the work taking place in the industrial harbor (24:40). Views of the New York Elevated and subway as well as factory-work (25:09). Views of the city’s public transportation (25:15). The skyscrapers of the city and their construction (26:14). Streets and lobbies are crowded with worker (28:02). Scenes of the everyday life of people in the City of New York (29:05). The New York Stock Exchange market (30:28). The automobile traffic in New York City (31:15). A man is hit by a car (32:11). An ambulance arrives (32:21). Workers strolling through the city at noon (32:42). The hotels and homes of the city including tenements (32:58). The work of the fire department (34:41). A public school (35:32). Public parks and playgrounds (35:44). An amusement park (37:18). Workers going home at 5 o’clock (37:44). The sunset and evening routine of a local family ends with prayers before bed (38:11). 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
