San Diego’s 1970s photolog tapes, rescued from the Internet Archive, give a crystal‑clear view of 1973 streets. 35mm film scans reveal pastel‑colored cars, family diners and spinning neon signs that feel like a Wes Anderson set. The collection, curated by the San Diego Transportation and Storm Water Department, captures a era of signage and road life that drivers rarely see.

Jon Keegan, the author, applied color correction and contrast boosts to remove the film’s gray veil, revealing a palette of pastels, bright reds and vivid greens. He notes that today’s cars converge to white, silver and black, a loss of visual diversity. The vibrant hues once defined neighborhood identities, a contrast to the uniformity of modern vehicle paint schemes today.

Keegan used Meta’s SAM2 segmentation model and ImageMagick to extract cars, people and signs, creating image quilts that showcase the era’s typography and motorized signage. He shared the footage with designers like Aaron Draplin, who explained how computer precision erased the charming imperfections of handmade signs. The collection reminds us that automated design can strip character from everyday visual culture.