Iowa man finds 1930s film reels in basement, hopes to digitize historic footage

About two dozen old film reels, which could feature rare historic footage from the 1930s, were recently discovered in the basement in Davenport, Iowa. 

The reels' labels hint that there is footage of the 1933 and 1934 Chicago World's Fair and other Illinois events from the Great Depression era, according to KWQC-TV. 

One reel was developed by the Chicago Film Archives - one of the few companies in the Midwest that have the equipment to digitize it. 

The 33-second video, which cost $330 to develop, shows a large crowd in Springfield, Illinois, on June 17, 1931 during the re-dedication of President Abraham Lincoln's tomb. President Herbert Hoover spoke that day, but he's not obvious in the clip.

"There's a lot of interesting things in it that you can look at," said businessman Rodney Sebastian, who found the film reels in the basement of a building he recently purchased in downtown Davenport.

The Lincoln tomb video is the only reel that Sebastian has been able to watch. 

First of all, it's expensive to digitize the film - about $10 per second. 

"I'm trying to get some kind of funding because it's going to be very expensive," Sebastian said. "Eventually I'll get all of it developed if I have to do it all on my own." 

The problem is that the film is 35mm, which back then was professional-grade, the kind that was used in movie theaters. However, it's very rare today. 

Like a lot of film from the 1930s, Sebastian's film is made with highly flammable nitrate, which is illegal to send through the mail. 

Sebastian and his son spent hours making call, but could not find a local video company to help. 

"We kept getting the door closed on us," he said. 

The local TV station, KWQC, stepped in and took the Lincoln tomb video to the Chicago Film Archives in Chicago. 

Sebastian said he's already watched the 33-second Lincoln tomb re-dedication clip 100 times, noticing new little details each time. 

The outdoor event was held in 90-degree heat, yet everyone is dressed up. 

"Everyone is wearing hats," Sebastian said. "The hat guy was doing very well." 

Hydration during the event was remarkably information, he also notes. 

"Everybody's drinking out of the same water bucket. If you watch the little Boy Scout, everybody drinks out of that same bucket with the same cup. That's just amazing. You would not do that today," Sebastian said.

Man finds 1930's film reels in basement of 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair