The alarm has been raised and the first responders jump into action as the movie's opening credits roll. Views from the length and breadth of the city welcome the audience to beautiful San Francisco as each of the responders are shown.
Then ... An ambulance pulls out of a driveway and heads down the hill. Citysleuth is indebted to Reel SF reader and fellow sleuth CDL, who found this location. This is on the south edge of Cole Valley - the view looks north down the entire length of Cole Street from Carmel Street with the University of San Francisco main campus on the hilltop in the distance beyond the Golden Gate Park Panhandle (map).
... and Now, the view today, with the same houses on the Cole/Carmel corners. St. Ignatius Church at the University of San Francisco campus is visible on the far horizon.
Below is a closer look at St. Ignatius Church and the USF campus as seen from the higher vantage point of Twin Peaks, just south of Carmel Street, viewed along the same line as the Cole Street view above.
Then ... Next we see police motorcyclists heading south along the Great Highway past Lincoln Way at the southwest corner of Golden Gate Park in the Outer Sunset district (map). The Pacific Ocean is to the left and Cliff House (featured later in the movie, see it here) can be seen above the letters LL in writer Stirling Silliphant's name.
... and Now, Cliff House is still there, albeit remodelled.
Then ... We cut clear over to Potrero Hill where a police car responds on Wisconsin Street near 22nd Street (map). Here, Wisconsin points north towards a fine panorama of the city.
... and Now, still a fine view but it's truncated by the sidewalk trees. CitySleuth often wonders why trees and views in San Francisco have to be mutually exclusive.
Then ... Another police car responds from Sea Cliff on El Camino Del Mar at 32nd Avenue (map). The vista looks over Sea Cliff to the Presidio.
... and Now, some newer houses show up in the foreground amongst the recognizable survivors.
Then ... Finally, the responders arrive at Pier 41 near Fisherman's Wharf, the scene of the crime (map). The open lot to the left on the corner of Powell and Jefferson had only recently been cleared of a huge gas holder.
... and Now, a Gap Store and the Radisson Hotel sit on the site of the old gas holder.
The movie takes on a menacing undertone as Victoria begins to harbor suspicions about her husband Alan's behaviour. She comes across an old shed in her garden and, inside, is horrified to see a gaping hole in the side with a sheer drop down to the street, way below.
Then ... In the distance are three piers and beyond them a view across the Bay.
... in 1952 ... the movie photo above was taken from the Pioneer Park parking lot at the base of Coit Tower looking north across the Bay to Alcatraz and Angel Island. The piers are, from right to left, Piers 35, 37 and 39. Below is a 1952 vintage photo of the same view but taken higher up from the top of Coit Tower.
... and Now, the view from the parking lot today is blocked by trees but here's the matching view from the top of Coit Tower (below). Pier 35 is still there, on the right. Next to it is a marina where Pier 37 used to be and, on the left, Pier 39 was expanded in 1978 into a mega tourist attraction.
Then ... Suddenly Alan appears and startles his wife. Our hearts stop as she steps back into the void but fortunately he grabs her as she falls, narrowly avoiding a premature end to the movie. Below them is a tall industrial building with a single-storied building abutting it, filmed looking vertically down from the same spot at the edge of the parking lot used for the above location view.
... in 1949 ... a 1949 vintage photo shows us where this building was (arrowed), on the corner of Lombard and Montgomery directly below the Coit Tower parking lot. The low building next to it can also be seen.
... and Now, seen from the top of Coit Tower, the industrial building has been replaced by the Park Telegraph Apartments at 200-240 Lombard. In the foreground at left is the edge of the parking lot whence the movie backgrounds were filmed.
Paula, concerned for Bigelow, heads to Los Angeles to meet him for what will turn out to be their final farewell.
Then ... She waits for him outside his hotel, the Allison, with a distinctive art deco entrance.
... and Now, this was filmed at the entrance to the A. G. Bartlett building at 215 7th Street a half block east of Broadway (map). The building is still there but the bland entrance today lacks the class of the one above.
... from a vintage photo ... this circa 1940s photo looks east on 7th towards Spring Street and shows the A. G. Bartlett entrance as it was. It clearly is the one used for the movie - note the brass and glass doors and the art deco moderne flashes on the upper sides of the doorway. Note too the darker stone facing on each side of the entrance. They all match, as does the street number, 215. For the movie, the 'Allison Hotel' sign was simply mounted over the 'A G Bartlett Bldg' sign.
... and Now, here's the A. G. Bartlett building today. It was built in 1911 and received its art deco embellishments in a 1937 renovation. Most of the building changes since then have been confined to the street level frontage.
Then ... Bigelow pulls up in his car and Paula steps forward to meet him. But this scene was filmed not outside the A. G. Bartlett building but across the street outside the Lankershim Hotel (map). The view looks west along 7th Street where it crosses Broadway, with Bullocks over to the right and Hamilton's Jewelers opposite it in the Loews State Theater building (click image to enlarge).
... and Now, in today's view the building that used to house Bullocks is still there, as is the State Theater, now operated as a church. The Lankershim Hotel, just off the photo to the left, is no longer there, having been replaced in the 1980s by another building.
Then ... They stand next to the pillar on the corner and, in a heart-wrenching conversation, they ardently profess their love for each other. Then he leaves, never to see her again.
... and Now, the same corner today - new building, no pillar.
... from the 1950s ... this vintage photo of the 7th and Broadway junction on a rainy day includes the same corner, with the pillar on the left below the Cola sign.
... from 1907 ... the vintage photo below shows the Lankershim when it first opened. It was a grand hotel with 250 rooms and 160 baths, a good ratio in those days. It closed down after damage from the 1971 Sylmar San Fernando earthquake was deemed too expensive to repair.
... and Now, the hotel was replaced with this retail/parking structure. 7th Street is on the left and Broadway on the right.
After rescuing Madeleine from the frigid waters of San Francisco Bay Scottie takes her to his Russian Hill home. The home's exterior scenes were filmed at 900 Lombard Street on the corner of Jones (map), one steep block below the famous 'crooked street'. The interior scenes were filmed on a studio sound stage.
Then ... From inside the house, Hitchcock wanted a window view of Coit Tower - "... because it's a phallic symbol", he said in a later interview.
... and Now, from outside 900 Lombard we see the same view today which now has an unsightly apartment building blocking the distant twin spires of Sts. Peter and Paul church on Washington Square.
Madeleine recovers after a restful sleep (naked, no less!) and as they talk it becomes clear that Scottie is hopelessly besotted.
Then ... Later, she returns to the home to drop off a thank you note for so valiantly saving her life.
After the movie was filmed this special location retained its original character for over half a century (Citysleuth took the matching photo, below, in 2011), but in 2012 the current owner decided enough Vertigophiles had knocked on his door ...
... and Now, so he added a parapet around the roofline, built a wall across the front entrance and plastered over the red brick chimney. Unique to eunuch ... grand to bland. While CitySleuth respects owners' rights, he will silently weep each time he passes by.
Then ... Scottie wasn't in but he shows up while she's there and they chat on the front porch (this closeup was filmed on a set).
... as of 2011, here's a peek at the front door (it was painted red for the filming) before it was walled off. The railing, almost hidden behind the shrubs, is different from the one in the movie.
... in 2011, another look at 900 Lombard before its makeover. This view looks west up the hill towards the crooked street at the top of the block.