Reel SF

San Francisco movie locations from classic films

San Francisco movie locations from classic films

Vertigo - Scottie Can't Sleep

  Perplexed and confused by Madeleine's strange trance-like behavior and by his feelings for her, Scottie has trouble sleeping and wanders around town in the very early hours.

Then ...  In the lower right corner we can just make him out crossing a deserted street at the corner of a city square.

... a vintage photo ...  Any San Franciscan and many tourists will recognize this one - it's Union Square, the heart of the city's downtown hotel and shopping area.  Scottie is crossing Stockton Street on Geary (map).   The 1955 photo below shows us a clearer picture of how it looked back then.  This photo was taken from atop the old City Of Paris Store (it became Nieman Marcus in 1980).

... and Now,  a recent view (below) from the same corner.  To the right, all of the buildings but one on the Post Street block have been replaced but the tall building rising behind them, the Sir Francis Drake hotel, is still there.  That's the St Francis hotel on the left; it opened in 1903 and added its highrise tower in 1972.  The Dewey 'Victory' monument in the center of the square was dedicated in 1903 and survived the devastating 1906 earthquake.  A useful history of Union Square can be seen here.

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