Reel SF

San Francisco movie locations from classic films

San Francisco movie locations from classic films

The Sniper - Gunman On A Roof

  The police have posted lookouts on rooftops across the city.  One of them spots a man on a roof.

Then ...  The background view from this roof is of the Financial District.

... and Now,  in the recent view below taken from the same rooftop looking down Montgomery Street, the Financial District has been completely rebuilt but a number of the foreground buildings, such as the white U.S. Appraisers Building at center right, still match up.  The gunman was on the flat green roof of the house in the right foreground.

 

Then ...  The cop sees that the man is carrying a rifle.

... and Now,  the same rooftop, with an added roof patio ...

... Below, the rooftop is the one at 1065 Montgomery, on the corner of Vallejo (map).

 

Then ...  The cop whistles (1950's communication technology?) to alert a fellow lookout.

... and Now,  the Mark Hopkins Hotel on the horizon (above) is hidden behind the newer Fairmont Hotel Tower (below).

 

The cop gives chase, adeptly jumping down the cascading rooftops.

Then ...  Coit Tower is in the left background and the Montgomery steps can be seen to the right - the same steps traversed earlier when the sniper stalked his first victim.

... and Now,  the same view taken from the roof of 1177 Montgomery.  (Trivia note - the red cone roofed house at top right was the home for many years of famed San Francisco attorney Melvin Belli, the 'King Of Torts').

The Sniper - Mayor's Office

  The police are under intense pressure from the media and the public to solve the case.  A meeting is convened in the Mayor's office in City Hall (map) to review where the investigation stands.

Then ...  The view from the Mayor's office seems, at first glance, to be the correct one - it looks across Civic Plaza to the corner of McAllister and Larkin Streets.

 ... and Now,  this is the matching office view today, but it's not the mayor's office, which is room 200 in the center of the east side of city hall.  Instead this office is room 208 on the same corridor but at the north end of the building.  CitySleuth has concluded that the office scene was filmed in a studio using a photo view taken from room 208.

... from 1955 ...  in this contemporaneous vintage photo taken from City Hall we see on the left the State Building on McAllister, on the right the building that is now the Asian Art Museum on Larkin and between them the Astor Hotel with the large billboard, all clearly visible in the mayor's view above.  The tower in the distance is 100 McAllister, now occupied by the UC Law College.

 

 

  Police psychiatrist James Kent (Richard Kiley) makes a plea to the administration to better understand and preemptively reach out to the mentally ill with psychiatric help instead of locking them up after the fact.  His impassioned words fall on deaf ears.

Woman On The Run - Hart & Winston

  Frank used to work as a window dresser in a downtown department store, Hart & Winston.  Eleanor has heard that he has sent a letter to her via his boss so she goes to the store to get it.  

Then ...  When she approaches the store she first checks out a window display.

... and Now,  The scene was filmed at the Emporium at 845 Market, between 4th and 5th Streets.  It was a window display back then but these two pillars now flank a doorway entrance to the building.

 

  Then ...  when she leaves the main entrance of the store we see, across the road, Roos Brothers, the smaller white store on the corner of Stockton Street.

... and Now,  what was Roos Brothers was recently occupied by the Virgin store and currently the Forever 21 store.  But look at those streetlights!  They're the same!  Don't you just love it?!

 

... in 1956 ...  this vintage photo shows the Emporium as it looked when the movie was filmed.   The window display was under the arch at the right end of the building, abutting Hales.

... and Now,  the building today has retained the same exterior appearance but is now the San Francisco Westfield Center.  The fanciful 'E' logos above the main entrance and on the side of the building are long gone.

Bullitt - Hotel

  On arrival in San Francisco, Johnny Ross takes a cab to the Mark Hopkins Hotel on Nob Hill.  In the panorama below the cab has just passed the Fairmont Hotel (center), crossed California Street and is turning into the Mark Hopkins' tiny courtyard.  The Pacific Union Club is partially visible at far left and the Brocklebank Apartments are behind the Fairmont; both were prominently featured in the 1958 movie Vertigo.

Then ... 

... and Now

 

Then ...    Ross is expecting a message at the front desk and, surprised it's not there, he turns and leaves, giving us a view of the lobby.

... and Now,  the lobby is remodelled but the magnificent chandeliers, reflected in the mirrored wall above, are still there.

 

Then ...    As he leaves the hotel in his cab a doorman tips somebody off that Ross is in town.  The cab is seen below heading east on California past the Top O' The Mark entrance.

... and Now,  the Top O' The Mark lounge continues to be a popular destination with its sweeping views of the city.  Note the towering Bank of America building down California, still under construction (above) when the movie was filmed.  In both views the ubiquitous cable car adds a timeless continuity to the scene.

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