Reel SF

San Francisco movie locations from classic films

San Francisco movie locations from classic films

Bullitt - Cathy's Office

    Bullitt has arranged to meet friends for dinner and picks up his girlfriend Cathy at her office.  The scene was filmed at the office of the renowned San Francisco environmental architect Lawrence Halprin, designer of outdoor spaces across the nation including the F.D.R. Memorial, Sea Ranch, Ghirardelli Square, Levi Plaza and many more.  The office was at the base of Telegraph Hill at 1620 Montgomery Street, Suite 320, and is still home to an architectural firm, Theodore Brown and Partners.  The building exterior is not seen in the movie but a recent photo of 1620 Montgomery is shown below.

 

Then ...  Bullitt is seen here between the 2nd and 3rd floor on his way to the top floor.

... and Now,  the statue is gone but nothing else has changed.

 

Then ...  He is greeted by a pretty receptionist as he enters Cathy's office: Mr. Cool, raincoat nonchalantly slung over the shoulder,  (Does anybody do that any more?).

... and Now,  the open space has since been partitioned off.  It was more welcoming and convivial then.

 

Then ...  Bullitt waits patiently while Cathy finishes off a calculation.

... and Now,  below, note the vertical pipe to the left of where the partition meets the wall.  It's the same as the one above.

 

 ... on location ...  here's a panoramic view of the film crew setting up Cathy's workspace, taken from behind a planter on the mezzanine level.

... and Now,  from the same spot.

 

 ... on location ...  Steve McQueen, inseparable from the raincoat, chats to Lawrence Halprin between takes.

Thieves' Highway - Mike Figlia Fruit & Produce Co.

  After driving through the night with his truckload of apples, a very tired Nick arrives at the market and seeks out Mike Figlia at his corner business, at the southeast corner of the Washington and Davis intersection, the center of activities of San Francisco's Produce Market  (location 1 on this map).

Then ...  Mike Figlia's was at 364 Davis Street, but the signage was created for the movie.

... in the 1950s ...  the vintage photograph below shows us the name of the real business at this location, the Half Moon Fruit and Produce Company.

... and Now,  could this be the same location?  Yes it is, looking south down Davis from Washington.  The entire block, of which this building was a part, is now a park.

 

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Dark Passage - The Steps

  After Parry's plastic surgery he returned to stay at his friend George's house only to find him murdered.  Desperate and with no other option he goes to Irene's Telegraph Hill apartment,  taking a route that leads up the steep lower Filbert Steps that climb from Sansome to Montgomery (map).

Then ...  He gets heckled by a couple of louts as he climbs the steps.

... and Now,  the wooden steps on this section have since been upgraded to concrete and metal.

 

Then ...  He continues the climb and is seen below passing two old cottages, 228 (on the right) and 230 Filbert.  No. 228 dates back to 1882 and is one of the surviving architectural gems of early Telegraph Hill; it was glimpsed in an earlier scene from Irene's patio.

... and Now

... on the set ...  Below on the left is an archival photo of 228 Filbert showing its ground floor level and balcony.  On the right is a photo taken outside the cottage while filming.

 

Then ...  Parry then stumbles up the final flight to Montgomery Street and Irene's apartment, just on the right.

... and Now,  this flight of steps is still exactly as it was ...  OK, so there's a handrail and a little more moss now.

The Lineup - Seaman's Club

  Dancer and cohorts go to the Seaman's Club to retrieve Larry Warner's Tang Dynasty horse and its concealed stash.

Then ...  The club was in reality the Embarcadero YMCA near Howard Street, established in 1908 as the Army Navy YMCA (map).

... and Now,  The grand old Y is still there today but it now shares its building with the Kimpton Harbor House Hotel.  The two buildings to its right are the originals but modified on the ground floor retail level and with additions above.

 

  Julian enters the club lobby with Dancer and they head for the steam room where they have been told they will find Warner.

Then ...  They walk past check-in on the left and a soda fountain.

... and Now,  this room has become the lobby of the Harbor House Hotel.  The curved ceiling and arched doorways have been retained but the soda fountain is gone, as is the check-in desk - the hotel check-in is through the archway on the right, accessed from Steuart Street.

 

  In an amusingly campy scene (were it not for the violence to come) Dancer strips to a towel and meets Warner in the steam room.  Warner foolishly tells Dancer where the Tang Dynasty horse is then mentions he discovered the contraband and suggests his silence can be bought.  Then, incredulous, he keels over after being chillingly dispatched with a single bullet.  One down, two to go.

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