Elster has told Scottie he will be dining at Ernie's with his wife and suggests he drop in to see what she looks like. The famous Ernie's, in business for 61 years until it closed in 1995, was at 847 Montgomery Street in San Francisco (map) but these scenes were actually filmed at Paramount Studios in Hollywood where Hitchcock painstakingly replicated the restaurant.
People dressed up when dining out in the 1950s and Madeleine is no exception in her stunning silk gown. Hitchcock's careful use of color throughout the movie is vividly apparent here in the counterpoint between her green outfit and the plush red walls.
Then ... Scottie, sitting at the bar at far right, sneaks a peek at her across the crowded room.
... in 1961 ... here's a vintage photo of customers relaxing in Ernie's Ambrosia room. Note the same wallpaper as in the studio recreation above. Note also the wooden wainscot wrapped around the wall in both images.
Then ... the exterior of Ernie's, seen here as Scottie waits outside, was also recreated in the studio. That's a lot of work for a shot that lasts only for a few seconds but such was Hitchcock's famous attention to detail.
... in 1964 ... this vintage photo shows us how Ernie's looked when the movie was filmed and what a good reproduction Henry Bumstead, Hitchock's renowned art director, achieved.
... and Now, the building is still there but now houses offices and shops.
On their way out Madeleine serenely pauses right next to Scottie ...
... and by the time she has swept out of the restaurant, he's a goner.
Archie and Petulia took a cab to the motel from the Fairmont and afterwards she took another cab home. In both cases, the director repeated the same footage showing the cab crossing Stockton Street heading east on Broadway.
Then ... the cab on its way from the Fairmont to the motel
Then ... later, the cab leaving the motel with Petulia looking back, waving to Archie. That's the World Theater at 644 Broadway on the left.
... and Now, Broadway, looking east from Stockton. The World Theater was replaced by a retail/office building in 1985.
After checking in at the Hilton Union Square Hotel the free-spirited Petulia disregards a 'Do Not Walk On Ramp' sign and urges Archie up the narrow car ramp.
Then ... This is the ramp between the 4th and 5th floor in what is now the Hilton's Tower 3.
... and Now, it's been over 40 years but the same wall patterns are still there.
Then ... They reach the 5th floor. In another nod to technology their key activates a flashing light which guides them to their room, No. 549.
... and Now, the same location on the 5th floor of Tower 3 today. In the movie the door, now painted orange, leads directly into their room but in reality it leads into a perimeter corridor for the 5th floor rooms.
They enter the motel room but Petulia changes her mind - they are not about to become lovers after all. Archie is remarkably sanguine under the circumstances, simply telling her that she's 'a kook'.
Archie goes along with Petulia's suggestion that they go to a hotel - they take a cab to a motel with a novel TV check-in kiosk which automatically dispenses their room key. (Note the psychedelic poster on the cab advertising a concert for Eric Burdon and the Animals, a popular British group at that time).
Then ... This scene was filmed at the garage entrance of the San Francisco Hilton Union Square Hotel at 200 Ellis Street, near Mason. The motel was designed to let guests drive inside the building up to their floor and park close to their room, as they still do today.
... in 1964, in this vintage photo below, the same entrance
.... and Now, the check-in window today is a mural sporting a large Hilton Logo.
... and Now, the garage entrance (on the left) on Ellis Street.