The Laughing Policeman - Cruising
Tailing the suspect around town has convinced Larsen of one thing: "He's a classic fruiter", he tells Jake. Meanwhile Camerero, possibly aware that he's being followed, gets bolder, leading them on a tour of some of the city's gay bars.
Then ... They catch up with him in the Tenderloin neighborhood across from the Minerva Cafe, a greek taverna at 136 Eddy Street (map), in the storefront of the Empress Hotel.
... and Now, the 100 block of Eddy Street has hardly changed. The Empress Hotel is still there but the cafe is long gone.
The cafe, seen here in a 1974 photo, was owned and managed by restauranteur Vasilios Glimidakis and was one of three Greek eateries within the space of one block. It seated 250, offered both dining and dancing and was a popular venue for social events and political dinners and luncheons.
Then ... Camerero's destination is The Ramrod, a pickup gay bar at 1225 Folsom Street in the SoMa district (map).
Here's a 1970s photo of the bar, at far right, as it would have looked when the movie was filmed. To say it was popular with the biker/leather crowd would be an understatement.
... and Now, The Ramrod opened in the late 1960s and the bar is still in business but has cycled through many names over the years - My Place, Cip, Chaps, Kok (!); it's currently called Driftwood. As can be seen, windows have since been added to the frontage.
Then ... Inside The Ramrod, leather seems to be de rigueur. But Camerero, suavely dapper in suit and sunglasses, doesn't seem to fit in and, not finding what he wants anyway, decides to try elsewhere.
... and Now, the shape of the bar has been redone otherwise the feel of the place looks to be much the same. Driftwood's clientele is more mixed than in the past but it continues to be popular with the gay community.
His next stop, plusher and with entertainment and a canopied ceiling, seems more his type of place.
When Larsen steps out we see where this was - the Frolic Room mid-block at 141 Mason Street at the edge of the Tenderloin (map), just around the corner from the Minerva Cafe where we saw Camerero at the beginning of this post.
Then ... Larsen joins Jake in their unmarked car across the street to continue the surveillance. They watch as Camerero, pickup in tow, exits the club. Just past the small parking lot is another bar at 111 Mason, previously the Robin Hood Tavern before being renamed the Chez Paree.
... and Now, a community affordable housing building now sits on the site of the Frolic Room and the parking lot. But there's still a tavern at 111 Mason - the Union Square Sports Bar; its marquee awning has survived too.
CitySleuth recognizes that sexy-leg Chez Paree sign in the Then image above. He would bet you a dime to a dollar that this was the sign, below, that used to adorn the Barbary Coast club at 533 Pacific Avenue in the International Settlement during the 1950s (also seen here in Frank Sinatra's 1957 movie Pal Joey). Same sign, different name.
But it was Al Barna of the Neon Historic Sign Preservation site sfneon.org who verified that both signs are one and the same. In this 1970s photo taken at about the same time as the movie was filmed, he noticed a series of small holes in the base metal below the Chez Paree lettering that spell out “BARBARY COAST”. These were the holes left when the original neon tube lettering was removed. You can read about it in this article.
They follow the pair to a townhouse apartment where a little "love in the afternoon", as Larsen snidely puts it, prompts the closing of the drapes.
Then ... The townhouse is the one seen across the way, beyond Larsen's shoulder. By now the two cops are beginning to get frustrated at not being able to get Camerero to drop his guard.
... and Now, this was filmed at Sydney G. Walton Square park by the footbridge that links the park across Jackson Street to the Davis Court Apartments. Named after a San Francisco banker, the park was built in 1960 at the north end of the city's former Produce Market (map). Today's comparative view shows just how much the Financial District has proliferated over the years.