Pal Joey - Pet Shop

Then ...  Joey is enjoying a bright sunny day in the international Settlement when he sees Linda, the dancer from his club, cooing at a cute terrier through a pet shop window.  (A pet shop in a red light district?  Why not? ... "Get your hooch and pooch here!"). He craftily tries to score points with her, claiming he once owned and loved a dog called Snuffy.

... and Now,  this is Pacific Avenue, with Montgomery crossing at left.  The pet shop was at 517 Pacific (map).  The pet shop frontage, above, must have been built for the movie because street directories show that this property was vacant in the years leading up to the movie.  The tubular metal pillar on the corner of Montgomery that supported the 'International Settlement' sign is still there, partially visible below behind the tree at far left.

Then ...  Later we see Joey and Linda return, approaching the shop from across Pacific.  Across the street we can just make out (click on the image for an enlarged view) some of the hot night spots - the Moulin Rouge, Bella Pacific, Hippodrome and Gay 'N Frisky.

... and Now, all the clubs are gone.

Then ...  Linda spots the dog, still for sale, as they pass the archway entrance to Jerome Alley.

... and Now,  that archway has been taken down and admittance to the alley is now blocked by an iron gate.  The current tenant at the pet shop site is Thomas E Cara, purveyor of espresso coffee machines.

  Inside the store she persuades Joey to buy the cuddly canine as a replacement for Snuffy.  He's not too happy but how can he refuse?  This interior was obviously filmed on a studio set because in the real world there was an open parking lot opposite this location, not the Hippodrome club seen here which did exist but was further down the block at 574 Pacific.

... from the 1950s ...  here's a vintage photo taken from Montgomery that shows the pet shop location (arrowed) and the archway next to it, partially obscured by the street sign.  You can just see the parking lot opposite.

... and Now,  the Thomas E Cara shop is shown arrowed but Jerome Alley is hidden behind the tree and the trimming debris.  It's interesting that the tubular pillars have survived here but those at the other (Kearny Street) end of the block have not.

... a vintage photo ...  the photo below, circa 1970, looks across the parking lot to the pet shop building (arrowed), next to Jerome Alley.  Facing us at right is the muraled gable of the Barbary Coast at 533 Pacific, the club where Joey performed, which by this time had become the Little Fox Theater.

... and Now,  a recent view of the Thomas E Cara store and Jerome Alley.

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