vintage views of Atlanta 1987

[Stephane Dumas]

I spotted this vintage views of Atlanta from 1987 including a vintage view of I-85.

[jcarte29]

That is fascinating lol. That wasn't exactly a Sony handycam I bet...

[Truvelo]

One thing I notice about old pictures/videos of American roads is how little the roadscape has changed over the decades. Things like streetlights, signs and lane markings are exactly the same as you see now. The only thing that gives the age away is the vehicles.

Contrast that with Britain where 21st century streetlights are different to those erected in the 80s and lane markings which now consist of more hatching and red paint together with signs that have evolved since the 80s and it would be very difficult to pretend a picture taken in the 80s was taken this decade.

[Road Hog]

That is some high-quality video. Probably shot on Super VHS by a TV cameraman out to get some B-roll of Atlanta traffic.

[cjk374]

It's sad to think that anything from the 80s is now considered "vintage."      My age is showing. lol

[Truvelo]

It's sad to think that anything from the 80s is now considered "vintage."      My age is showing. lol

Yes, the 80's didn't seem all that long ago but the cars of the era haven't aged well. American cars in particular are big square boxes, especially those with square headlights and Rolls Royce type grilles.

[cjk374]

It's sad to think that anything from the 80s is now considered "vintage."      My age is showing. lol

Yes, the 80's didn't seem all that long ago but the cars of the era haven't aged well. American cars in particular are big square boxes, especially those with square headlights and Rolls Royce type grilles.

Now I like my '83 Grand Prix with its square headlights, tail lights,and general looks! It'll probably be the only classic car I'll ever own. 

[NJRoadfan]

One thing I notice about old pictures/videos of American roads is how little the roadscape has changed over the decades. Things like streetlights, signs and lane markings are exactly the same as you see now. The only thing that gives the age away is the vehicles.

"Street Furniture" tends to hang around for a long time in the US. Resources to replace stuff are scarce, so if it isn't broken or knocked down, it remains in service for decades. Around here we still have 1940s-50s incandescent street lights.

The camera used is likely VHS of some sort since Super VHS was released mid-1987 and was very expensive. The comet tails around bright lights indicate the footage was taken with a tube video camera.

[mc78andrew]

There are some nice vintage views of Atlanta in the opening to the movie deliverance.

[ShawnP]

Late 80's were great............shipyard in Maine. The things us rotten Squids did would make Jersey Shore look like Mr. Rogers neighborhood.

[Road Hog]

The camera used is likely VHS of some sort since Super VHS was released mid-1987 and was very expensive. The comet tails around bright lights indicate the footage was taken with a tube video camera.

That would still fit the timeframe of when this video was shot. Since Atlanta is a major market, the TV stations there would be among the first to acquire SVHS.

[MDOTFanFB]

Plus, many vintage views of Atlanta appear in various "Matlock" episodes, though that show probably aired a few years after this video was shot.

[NJRoadfan]

That would still fit the timeframe of when this video was shot. Since Atlanta is a major market, the TV stations there would be among the first to acquire SVHS.

It was taken with a consumer level circa-1985 Canon VM-E1 Video-8 camcorder with a saticon tube. TV stations never used VHS as the resolution was pitiful. Back then many were still using 16mm film for b-roll acquisition! Big stations would have adopted something like Betacam SP for ENG gathering by the end of the 80s.

[brownpelican]

If I'm not mistaken, the Downtown connector construction was part of the "Free The Freeways" project, right?