Panorama of San Francisco

On 11 July 1877, Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904) announced in the San Francisco Bulletin the publication of a “Panorama of San Francisco from California Street Hill.” The photographs were taken from the tower of the Mark Hopkins mansion, then the highest point in San Francisco, 116 metres (381 feet) above the harbour, which commanded an uninterrupted, sweeping view of the entire city, its harbour, and San Francisco Bay. One year later, Muybridge re-photographed the view, as seen here.

Taken in April 1878, Muybridge worked with a mammoth camera using 18 x 22 inch plates. Muybridge started at about 11am and, probably with the help of an assistant, made each section within a matter of 15 minutes. The seventh panel from the left was taken last; it is a second shot of a section that was not successful on the first try. He used a 40 inch near telephoto lens, which determined the number of 20 inch wide glass negatives needed to make the complete circle. He had chosen the day for the execution of the panorama carefully; the shadows are sharp and the atmosphere clear. Published as an album and comprising thirteen mounted albumen prints, the resulting panorama exceeded seventeen feet in length when fully extended. He printed nine copies, but never advertised them.