Frank used to work as a window dresser in a downtown department store, Hart & Winston. Eleanor has heard that he has sent a letter to her via his boss so she goes to the store to get it.
Then ... When she approaches the store she first checks out a window display.
... and Now, The scene was filmed at the Emporium at 845 Market, between 4th and 5th Streets. It was a window display back then but these two pillars now flank a doorway entrance to the building.
Then ... when she leaves the main entrance of the store we see, across the road, Roos Brothers, the smaller white store on the corner of Stockton Street.
... and Now, what was Roos Brothers was recently occupied by the Virgin store and currently the Forever 21 store. But look at those streetlights! They're the same! Don't you just love it?!
... in 1956 ... this vintage photo shows the Emporium as it looked when the movie was filmed. The window display was under the arch at the right end of the building, abutting Hales.
... and Now, the building today has retained the same exterior appearance but is now the San Francisco Westfield Center. The fanciful 'E' logos above the main entrance and on the side of the building are long gone.
On arrival in San Francisco, Johnny Ross takes a cab to the Mark Hopkins Hotel on Nob Hill. In the panorama below the cab has just passed the Fairmont Hotel (center), crossed California Street and is turning into the Mark Hopkins' tiny courtyard. The Pacific Union Club is partially visible at far left and the Brocklebank Apartments are behind the Fairmont; both were prominently featured in the 1958 movie Vertigo.
Then ...
Then ... Ross is expecting a message at the front desk and, surprised it's not there, he turns and leaves, giving us a view of the lobby.
... and Now, the lobby is remodelled but the magnificent chandeliers, reflected in the mirrored wall above, are still there.
Then ... As he leaves the hotel in his cab a doorman tips somebody off that Ross is in town. The cab is seen below heading east on California past the Top O' The Mark entrance.
... and Now, the Top O' The Mark lounge continues to be a popular destination with its sweeping views of the city. Note the towering Bank of America building down California, still under construction (above) when the movie was filmed. In both views the ubiquitous cable car adds a timeless continuity to the scene.
As the credits roll, the movie opens with mob henchmen closing in on informant Johnny Ross (Pat Renella).
Ross hides in his Chicago office as the mob approach from its outdoor patio. This scene according to the director Peter Yates on the Blu-ray DVD commentary was filmed at the Warner Brothers studio (thanks to reader Luis who pointed this out).
... and this is the office (below) as seen by the thugs from the patio.
Then ... Ross slows his pursuers with a smoke bomb and makes his escape from the building's garage. It was set in Chicago but this was filmed in San Francisco - he is on the basement level of the garage at the 450 Sutter Street Medical Building.
... and Now, it's still very recognizable 45 + years later.
Then ... Ross roars at high speed out of the garage exit at the end of Chelsea Place, an alley off Bush between Stockton and Powell Streets (incidentally, just steps away from where Sam Spade's partner Miles Archer was done in by Brigid O'Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon) ...
... and Now, pretty much the same.
Then ... He mounts the narrow sidewalk and tries to take out one of his pursuers who in turn takes a pot-shot at him before jumping into a doorway to avoid being run down.
... and Now, the view up Chelsea Place today to Bush Street at the top. The well-known Masa's restaurant can be seen across Bush.
... and Now, below, this recent picture shows scars on the wall where the fleeing car scraped by - can they be the same ones after more than 40 years? The doorway at far right is the one the gunman backed into as the car went by.
Then ... Scottie pulls up behind Madeleine's Jaguar in front of Mission Dolores, on Dolores Street between 16th and 17th (map). The Mission is the oldest building in San Francisco, dedicated in 1776 and completed in 1791.
... and Now, the venerable structure hasn't changed over the last half century.
Then ... He follows her into the old Mission church and sees her exiting at the far end into the cemetery at the back.
... and Now, there are very few changes as one would expect at such a venerable, historic site.
Then ... In the cemetery, Scottie finds Madeleine gazing at a gravestone.
... and Now, from his viewpoint today we see that the rockery behind her (above) is no longer there.
Then ... Behind the rockery, Scottie creeps nearer to get a better view - note the statue behind him ...
Here's a contemporaneous postcard image taken before the rockery was removed. The statue in the foreground is the one behind Scottie, above.
Then ... She spends several reverential moments in front of the gravestone.
... and Now, the fictitious gravestone is nowhere to be found today but the obelisk in the background (now without the cross on top) and the cloaked statue further back remain in place. The approximate location of Carlotta's gravestone in the movie is indicated in blue.
She moves on and he makes a note of the name on the gravestone - Carlotta Valdes, born 1831, died 1857. A reader has pointed out (see comments below) that in this closeup the side of the obelisk in the background is a different one from that seen in the preceding shot. He wonders if the obelisk has been reoriented but it's also possible that Carlotta's gravestone was moved for the closeup or, more likely, that the closeup was recreated in a studio (the obelisk text looks too pristine for being 120 years old).