Dirty Harry - Ransom Note
Then … Taking an inexplicable route from the scene of the crime, Callahan heads towards us on his way to the Bank of America Center to confirm the sniper had fired his fatal shot from there. Filmed from the corner at Pine Street, this looks south down Montgomery (map). The building in the center facing us across Market Street is the historic Palace Hotel.
… and Now, this recent view reflects the loneliness of the 2020 coronavirus lockdown. The Mills Building with its archway entrance is on the left; the Russ Building is on the right. The Palace Hotel is still there too - originally built in 1875, it survived the 1906 earthquake then burned to a shell in the fire that followed but was rebuilt by 1909. It has since been through a major renovation and seismic upgrade after the 1989 earthquake and another extensive upgrade and renovation in 2015. A true survivor and city icon.
Then … He rounds the corner into Pine. His destination, the shiny Bank of America building, is across the street.
… and Now, the building has since changed hands and is now known simply by its address, 555 California Street - what we see here is the Pine Street side. In the distance atop Nob Hill is the Mark Hopkins Hotel.
Then … The camera slowly pans up to the top of the towering high-rise.
… and Now, a more detailed recent view. The modernistic 52-story granite and glass tower was the tallest in the city when it opened in 1969. The 31-story Russ Building on the left, one of CitySleuth’s favorite early high-rises, reigned as the highest building in San Francisco when it opened in 1927; here it reveals some of its neo-gothic architectural adornments. Opposite is 315 Montgomery, originally the Commercial Union Assurance Building, another elegant 1920s structure.
Then … Callahan walks around the tower’s rooftop perimeter walkway in a series of shots that show off the city’s vistas in all directions. In this west-facing view Twin Peaks and Mount Sutro look bare two years before Sutro Tower made its jarring appearance. Note the building’s air conditioning cooling towers lined up behind Callahan.
… and Now, in this Google 3-D satellite view the updated cooling towers are clearly visible as too is the flat graveled roof section that he walked around.
To the south, paralleled streets climb Potrero Hill; Bayview Hill is behind them, as too are the San Bruno Mountains in the distance at far right.
Looking to the east, the western double suspension spans of the Bay Bridge reach across to Yerba Buena Island on its way to Oakland.
The panoramic tour is complete with this northwest view capturing high-rise apartments atop Russian Hill at far right and the flats of Cow Hollow and the Marina beyond them. The Golden Gate Bridge in the distance spans the north bay, connecting the Presidio to Marin County.
Now facing due north, Callahan looks down to the hotel rooftop pool, watching as the sniper’s victim is carried off to the morgue.
After finding a spent shell at the spot where the sniper had been he spots a note pinned to an antenna - a chilling ransom note addressed to the City of San Francisco.