After her overnight with Herbert and hearing that he is convinced that the North Beach killer is Stevenson, Amy returns to her workplace at the Chartered Bank Of London at 465 California Street, described earlier in this post.
Then … Her colleague Carol (Geraldine Bacon) wants to know all about her tryst. Amy is coy, but she invites her to dinner at her place to meet him.
… and Now, the room has been stripped of all vestiges of the former bank. One noticable change - an office designed to match, mirror-image, that of the one behind Amy’s desk has been added between the posts on the left.
Then … A customer walks up. She stiffens - it’s Stevenson, returning to change more money.
… and Now, the maritime themed mural behind him is one of five in the room by artist William Coulter, commisioned by the lobby’s architect Julia Morgan.
Then … Telling him she has to check the latest exchange rate, she instead calls Herbert who says he’ll be right over. Stevenson is seen at her desk in the background .
… and Now, note the identical striations in the marble column at far right matching exactly Then and Now.
Then … When Amy without thinking asks Stevenson if he found room at the hotel she had recommended on his earlier visit he immediately realizes she must have told Herbert where to find him; he angrily storms out.
… and Now, with the customer counters gone the fine details of Julia Morgan’s wainscoted wall design can more clearly be seen. The mural in the center, below, of a merchant ship returning safely to San Francisco Bay was chosen by the U.S. Post Office for the 23 cent stamp in 1923. Note again the matching striations Then and Now on the central columns.
In this chilling closeup he suddenly reappears, threatening her if she doesn’t get Herbert to bring the time machine‘s key to the museum exhibit where it’s still on display.
Then … Talbot’s desire for Nora has reached new heights. He tells her he will ask his wife for a divorce but he can’t bring himself to do it. Below, when he drives to a hospital to perform a scheduled operation he is close to a nervous breakdown and almost kills the patient.
… and Now, this was St. Joseph's Hospital at 355 Buena Vista Avenue East, alongside Buena Vista Park. The historic Spanish Renaissance Revival building was built in 1928; the hospital closed in 1980 and was subsequently converted to condominium apartments. (Trivia: Scottie Ferguson convalesced here in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 classic Vertigo.)
By now Nora can’t handle the relationship any more; she tells him she has decided to accept an offer from her former boss Phil Dinardo to work at his new club in New York City. While resisting his desperate entreaties she gets a call confirming her train reservation that very night.
But fate steps in. Talbot returns to his office and while working late his patient, the one with the suspect heart, shows up in bad shape, staggers in and drops dead of a heart attack. Talbot knows he has no family or friends. He also realizes they are similar height, age and coloring. Right there and then he makes an unbelievably bizzare decision …
Then … He swaps clothes with the dead man, puts his ring on his finger, his watch on his wrist and drives the body to the coast, here passing the famous Cliff House restaurant at Lands End, the far west of San Francisco where it meets the Pacific Ocean. His plan is simple; he will fake his own death leaving him free to marry Nora and sparing his family the stigma of deserting them (how noirish is that?).
… and Now, Cliff House has been at this spot since 1863 in several guises based on 3 successive basic structures. It is currently under renovation after covid and lease issues led to its closing in 2021. It is scheduled for a reopening, likely in 2027. (By the way, for those of you curious about the totem pole at far left - it was erected after the movie was filmed - read about it here).
Then … the camera tracks him continuing on down the hill. The lights of the Playland at the Beach amusement park gleam dimly through the fog. Starting out in the 1880s as a collection of concession stands, it was a well established fairground by the 1920s when it first adopted the Playland name.
Then … Down the coast Talbot pulls up at the edge of a cliff. The lighthouse in the distance is the clue as to this location.
Citysleuth came across this 1966 photo taken from the same precise spot. But this is nowhere near San Francisco; the view, from the Terranea Trail alongside the luxury Terranea resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, looks across Pelican Cove to Point Vicente lighthouse just south of Manhattan Beach in Southern California. The pointed rock mid-center is named Toveemur Rock (map).
… and Now, here’s how that view looks today. The lighthouse is still there behind the palm trees but the buildings around it have changed. (Photo by Ken Collins).
Then … Talbot douses the dead man and the car’s interior with gasoline, sets the car aflame then pushes it over the cliff’s edge. Toveemur Rock, seen off to the left, indicates that this particular spot is a little further down the coast from the one above. (See both locations on this map).
… and Now, a recent photo taken from the patio of Nelson’s Restaurant at the Terranea resort captured the very spot where the car was pushed over; just ahead on the right. Point Vicente lighthouse and Toveemur Rock are seen a short way up the coast. (Photo by Christine Ho).
Then … Stevenson has already struck twice in the red light district of North Beach but he returns, on the hunt for more victims. From a cab he spots a promising multi-block array of clubs emblazoned in neon.
… and Now, this is the south side of Broadway looking east from Columbus Street. There aren’t as many clubs today but still enough to transform these blocks at night when their bright lights turn on. The Garden of Eden girlie club is still in business mid-block but the vertical Off Broadway blade sign seen above on the corner of Kearny Street now displays that of the Little Szechuan Chinese restaurant.
Then … The cab slowly cruises by the Garden of Eden at 529 Broadway. At left is Coffee Ron’s sandwich shop whose overhead sign is clearly visible in the Then image street view above. The doorway between them led to hotel apartments on the upper floors.
… and Now, today’s Garden of Eden sign appears to be the same one. The Coffee Ron’s space, its facade since remodeled and clad with black tiles, is now the home of the Paname night club.
Then … They pass the Penthouse Cinema at 515 Broadway whose offerings include nude girls on stage plus a bonus: two adult porn movies: The Devil In Miss Jones and Deep Throat. Next to it at left the Off Broadway stage entertainment club on the corner of Kearny Street trumpets its Lady Wrestlers show.
… and Now, today a French drinks and tapas lounge, Paris 75, occupies the cinema site while the Off Broadway has morphed into a Chinese restaurant offering Szechuan cuisine.
Here’s a vintage 1970s photo giving us another look at the Penthouse Cinema as it was back then.
… this photo of Off Broadway alongside the Penthouse Cinema was taken in 1980 a year or so after Time After Time was filmed.
Two blocks further down at 345 Broadway on the corner of Osgood Place Stevenson spots a girl dancing atop a pole outside Gorman’s Gay 60’s nightclub. The building in the background advertises its occupant, the Homestead Ravioli Company at 333 Broadway.
… In 1967 … in this vintage photo we can see how the dancer accessed the high perch. Behind her is the parking lot of Gorman’s club (the club itself was set back some from Broadway down Osgood). Note the line of lights to the right of the searchlight in the distance outlining the span of the Bay Bridge.
… and Now, an office building, currently for lease, has been built on that corner parking lot. The Bay Bridge is clearly seen from here.
… In 1964 … this earlier photo was taken of the parking lot and club with its original name of Gorman’s Gay 90’s. Osgood Place runs downhill on the right. Above and behind it are the US Appraisers Building on Sansome (center) and the Gateway Apartments on Battery (left).
… and Now, this recent photo of Osgood Place shows the building that replaced Gorman’s.
Then … The next day Amy drives to work, here passing a block-long brick building.
… and Now, she was approaching Larkin heading east on Beach Street past Ghirardelli Square in the Fisherman’s Wharf/ Aquatic Park neighborhood. Note the octagonal store in the upper left corner - we are about to get a closer look at it …
Then … As Amy turns into Larkin the camera pans up and zooms towards an elevated corner store selling women’s clothing where we see Stevenson turning on the charm with the pretty assistant. The barely legible window sign - it reads William Silva - led CitySleuth to its location; it was listed in the 1978 City directory as the William A. Silva Salon in Ghirardelli Square.
… and Now, the distinctively shaped building is still there, occupied since 2021 by Mexican restaurant Barrio.
She invites him to her place. Bad idea.
The swish of a blade and the deed is done. Once again director Nicholas Meyer chooses to show the consequence, not the gore.
Then … Taking advantage of his wife being away for the weekend Talbot invites Nora to take a trip with him to his family cabin. Flattered, she accepts; we see them leaving the city heading east on the upper deck of the Bay Bridge (filmed in the studio with rear projection footage).
… and Now, this looks back towards San Francisco to the bridge’s first tower. Note that the upper deck is now one-way traffic into the city whereas back then it was two-way. Note too the Bay Bridge light display LED’s arrayed vertically on the right. More recently they have been added to the left side, resulting in a spectacular nighttime display on both sides of the bridge.
Then … in the distance looking to the north, Coit Tower is prominent at far right atop Telegraph Hill.
… and Now, here’s that view today; those high-rises were yet to be built back then.
This contemporaneous capture from a 1940s video shows the view in more detail. The two buildings on the Russian Hill skyline at far left were visible between Nora and Talbot in the movie’s Then image above. The Ferry Building clock tower is in the center.
They arrive at the cabin in a scene almost certainly filmed at the studio’s back lot.
The shot can’t be duplicated so let’s talk about Talbot’s car instead. It’s a 1939 Plymouth Deluxe Convertible Coupe, pictured here in a photo from a classic car sale where it sold for $31,900. The seller claimed it belonged to MGM studios; if so it’s possible this particular car was borrowed by Warner Brothers for Talbot’s use in the movie. It’s fun to speculate from time to time.
In the cabin Nora begins to have qualms, tearfully questioning the wisdom of carrying on with a married man. But she yields to his passionate embrace and kiss.
Then … Talbot for his part has no qualms whatsoever; he’s head-over-heels with the lady. We next see him buying flowers for her in Union Square. The name on the window - Joseph’s Florist - and 1940s city directories revealed its address: 322 Post Street. Facing us across Union Square is the 200 block of Geary Street.
A 1940s vintage photo showed that same block as it appeared in the movie (outlined within the yellow box). Note the same rooftop billboard (blank at that time) and the white vertical Santa Fe Railway ticket office blade sign beyond the Dewey monument, both partially visible above. The iconic City of Paris Store is at far left.
… and Now, the same block today. Macy’s buildings have taken over half of the block and Nieman Marcus has replaced the City of Paris.
Another 1940s vintage photo captured Joseph’s Florist at 322 Post.
… and Now, this whole block has since been replaced except the Bullock and Jones building with its distinctive 3rd story triple arched windows; its most recent tenant, Williams-Sonoma, was there for over 20 years before closing down in early 2026. The yellow circle reveals where Joseph’s Florist used to be, overlapping the left end of today’s Apple Store.
Then … They head to Baker Street near Beach to admire the Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina district at the eastern edge of the Presidio.
… and Now, the Palace is the lone surviving structure at this site from the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. It continues to be a hugely popular visitor attraction.
Then … And why not pay a visit to Chinatown? Talbot may be enjoying himself now but he’s chosen a slippery slope and there’ll be no climbing back to normality for him from here. Like all of the restaurants back then Canton Low down the block at 708 Grant and the Far East Cafe further down across the street at 631 Grant down advertise chop suey, the dish of choice back then for visitors.
… and Now, they were on Grant Avenue; Commercial Street tees off to the left and Sacramento Street crosses behind them. Canton Low is gone, the Far East Cafe is still there but you won’t find chop suey on their menus thanks to pioneering restauranteur Johnny Kan who opened Kan’s restaurant in 1953 at the Canton Low site. Herb Caen at the time wrote … “A word of warning. Don’t ask for chop suey. The highest compliment to Kan’s conception of Chinese food is the absence of this most ersatz of Oriental dishes from his menu” . Foodie historians may want to read Johnny Kan’s interesting life story here.
