Take a Trolley Tour of Boston, Circa 1906

In Norway, they're tapped into the video phenomenon of "Slow TV," soothingly long and visually interesting explorations of, say, the Norwegian coast, or a winding, cross-country train ride across the country. We think we've stumbled on something similar, in the form of a throwback.

The short film Seeing Boston by Trolley was made in 1906, when America's motion picture was still in its infancy. To watch it is to step back in time for eight minutes' travel from the former Washburn's Department Store, on Washington Street, on up Boylston to a then only 10-year-old Boston Public Library.

We picked up on the video this week through the New England Historical Society website, which writes that the short film (one of the earliest made in America) comes from cinematographer G.W. ‘Billy’ Bitzer, born in Roxbury in 1872.

You can watch the video in full below, accompanied by some soothing music. If the video quality or music distract you, there's also a cleaner version available here.

Image via Youtube