Newspaper.com clipping
Ready For Lincoln Highway Celebration June 21
Allen County's share of the National Highway
Clipped from Fort Wayne Daily News
12 June 1915, Saturday, page 11
Clipped by StanFollisFW, 17 February 2023
The article says a parade of 600 automobiles with the horse troups from Culver and two bands was to go through Fort Wayne from the west and was to be filmed with a photographer on Court Street near the grandstand near the south entrance to the courthouse and will be distributed throughout the country. [a comment to the Liberty Bell arrival in Fort Wayne on July 6, 1915 stated: This event coincided with the Lincoln Highway Association's 1915 film of their journey from New York to San Francisco for the PPIE. Fort Wayne was highlighted prominently in the film. Unfortunately, the film did not survive over the years.
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6 photos titled:
1. Lincoln highway sign east of the city. A number of these have been erected along the highway in Allen county by the Wayne Oil Tank company. M. H. Luecke, highway booster, is in the machine.
2. The arch at the east entrance to the city. The arch is to be electrically lighted and rambler roses have been planted at both sides to twine up the sides. In the center of the arch is the inscription, "Fort Wayne, Population 80,000." There is a similar arch at the western entrance to the city.
3. The committe in charge of the celebration--Rear row, left to right, Ward L. Wilt, William M. Griffin, J. Herman Buert, Edgar H. Kilbourne, Joseph W. Bell, Charles L. Biederwolf, Edward C. Miller, Front row, Van B. Perrine, Martin H. Luecke, Alfred L. Randall, Dr. Edward W. Dodez, Frank E. Bond.
4. Curve at the Four-Mile house. By refusing the proprietor a license to sell liquor here the commissioners have made the road safer to travel, tourists no longer having to dodge drunk revelers and machines driven by the drink crazed chauffeurs.
5. A straightaway east of the city. This is an excellent stretch for speed, but is within the jurisdiction of the motorcycle cops and the twenty-mile-an-hour limit is strictly enforced.
6. Three modes of travel. The Lincoln highway on the left, a section of the old Wabash & Erie canal in the center, and the Nickel Plate tracks on the right.
Three-Mile Picture Show
- 1915 film
Lincoln Highway Special automobile Wayne Oil Tank & Pump Company Fort Wayne, Indiana from Lincoln Highway News
Wayne Oil Pump image from the article: The Lincoln Highway along the Juniata, 1915 March 15, 2019 at LincolnHighwayNews.com stated: From May through August, 1915, LHA vice-president and field secretary Henry Ostermann led a film crew across the Lincoln Highway. The resulting promotion film, the “Three-Mile Picture Show,” was shown for years but no copies are known to have survived.
Three-mile Picture Show film crew at the Indiana Ohio Line
Image from page 22 of the 44 page document Lincoln Highway Nation’s First Transcontinental Highway By Dennis E. Horvath, Lead-Author: Indiana Cars: A History of the Automobile in Indiana, Web Publisher: www.Cruise-IN.com, Web Proprietor: www.AutoGiftGarage.com
A comment to the Liberty Bell arrival in Fort Wayne on July 6, 1915 Timeline post: Fort Wayne was highlighted prominently in the film
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In 1915 The Lincoln Highway Association sponsored a motion picture caravan to film the highway from New York to San Francisco. The 3-hour (16,000 foot) feature became known as the Three-Mile Picture Show. This was also the first motion picture film ever taken of an automobile trip. Upon reaching the Panama- Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, the film was shown almost continually as an enhancement to the panoramic route map and accompanying photos on display. It also provided advertising for the cities it passed through. During the return trip east, the film was shown in citeies and towns that had sponsored its financing.
Copied from page two of the LINCOLN HIGHWAY ASSOCIATION CALIFORNIA CHAPTER NEWS LETTER THE TRAVELER VOL. 9 NO. 2 SPRING APRIL 2008.
The film is also mentioned on page 240 in the Appendix A Lincoln Highway Chronology at LincolnHighwayNebraskaByway.com under 1915:
The LHA sponsored the Motion Picture Caravan to film the Lincoln Highway, creating the Three-Mile Picture Show.
The Lincoln Highway (Harrison Street) Bridge was constructed across the St. Mary's River in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
What Ever Happened to The Three Mile Picture Show? October 27, 2011, on the Louis V. Galdieri's Blog.
The End of the Three Mile Picture Show November 11, 2011 in "Louis V. Galdieri's Blog" states: Natanson and staff packed the film reels in a large case, declared the value of The Three Mile Picture Show at one-thousand dollars, and shipped it Express Collect to Disney. On October 30th, Sheldon wired with this news: four reels of film… have deteriorated to powder and bubbled condition. Extreme explosion or fire hazard. Strongly suggest you grant permission to destroy this material here or will return immediately at your responsibility. Four small rolls of negative in can appear to be alright. On that same day, Natanson wired back: “You may destroy runined [sic] film.” And so they did.
1915 transcontinental film convoy
The 1915 transcontinental film convoy was a four-month motor convoy beginning August 25 and ending at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. The film crew completed the "Three-Mile Picture Show" (named for the length of film). The film was directed by Henry Ostermann, Consul at Large for the Lincoln Highway Association, who travelled in a Stutz touring car.
The last known existing copy of "The Three Mile-Picture Show" was in the film storage vaults of The University of Michigan, having been donated to the university by Henry Ostermann, and his associate, Gael Hoag. In 1957 the university was contacted by Walt Disney Productions, who wanted to use a part of the film in their movie "The American Highway". When the University Of Michigan inspected the film for the first time since the 1920s, they found it very deteriorated, and very flammable. They shipped the dangerous film to Disney, who, sadly, only wanted a few "humorous" moments to use in their movie, "The American Highway" (1958). After discussion between The University Of Michigan and film restorers, this copy of "The Three-Mile Picture Show" was then said to have been destroyed.
Copied from Transcontinental Motor Convoy at Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
A July 1, 2017 Event: First Saturday: The 1915 Transcontinental Film Convoy by Sparks Museum & Cultural Center
Lincoln Highway Association member Leon Schegg presents “The Three Mile Picture Show: The 1915 Transcontinental Film Convoy” at 2 p.m. on July 1. This presentation is part of the First Saturday lecture series, where the Sparks Museum presents free programming 2 p.m. on the first Saturday of every month.
In 1915, a motor film crew directed by Lincoln Highway Consul-At-Large member Henry Ostermann, traveled coast-to-coast for four months recording scenes along the historic route. By contributing to the film’s production, towns along the highway were allowed to proudly promote their communities. The three hour film was shown almost continuously at the Palace of Transportation at the 1915 San Francisco Panama–Pacific International Exposition. After the Expo, the popular film was shown to the public and school children in towns along the Lincoln Highway.
Lifetime member of the Lincoln Highway Association and former President of the Nevada Chapter of the Lincoln Highway, Leon Schegg, will share the fascinating story about the film crew as they travel along America’s first transcontinental highway. The only brief film footage of the movie will also be shown.