In his letter Frank tells Eleanor he can be found "out in the open in a place where I first lost you". To jog her memory she and Leggett visit places she went to with Frank, places that inspired his painting. The director chose a series of well-known tourist spots, beginning with Fisherman's Wharf.
Then ... They begin by strolling down a boardwalk with a white building off to the right.
... from 1951 ... below is an aerial photo of Fisherman's Wharf taken the year after the movie was shot. They were walking along the boardwalk in the center of the harbor. The same white building is there (arrowed) and above that is the twin Piers 45, Sheds A and B.
... and Now, the white building has been replaced by the Fisherman's and Seamen's Memorial Chapel but Pier 45 Shed B can still be seen behind it.
Next they go to Pioneer Park at the top of Telegraph Hill with its sweeping Bay vistas.
Then ... They have an unobstructed view of Treasure Island, Yerba Buena Island and the Oakland Hills beyond.
... and Now, ah, an opportunity for CitySleuth to vent a pet peeve. The expansive views have become blocked by the overgrown trees. We see this again and again, all over town. Why do the City Elders allow this to happen? If for no other reason, visitors to our glorious city deserve to experience it in all its glory. Case in point, this tourist is fortunate to find a place where she can get a partial view, albeit not for long.
Then ... Here they are at Larkin and Fulton at the garden between the War Memorial Opera House on the right and the almost identical War Memorial Veteran's Building on the left. The two buildings form bookends framing City Hall in all its majesty across Van Ness Avenue.
... and Now, this photo could have been taken 60 years ago. Are those really the same pollarded trees bordering the garden? CitySleuth would guess yes.
Then ... Finally they try their luck at St. Mary's Square on California Street heading towards Chinatown's Sing Chong Building and the 1854 St. Mary's Catholic Church facing each other across Grant Street. But still no sign of the man on the run. The Sing Chong Building was one of the very first structures rebuilt after the 1906 earthquake by Chinese owners; they hired white architects but specified its oriental look. Its sister, the Sing Fat Building, is opposite it across California, just out of this view.
... and Now, A few years after the movie was filmed the square was converted into a covered garage with a new St. Mary's Square park above it. The view across California remains the same.
We next see an attractive woman, Rica (Valentina Cortese) , sauntering towards the Oregon Restaurant to the strains of a popular tune of the day - "I'll never be the same" - perhaps anticipating the turn for the better that her life will make in the movie.
Then ... Note the number 524 on the door.
... from the 1953 street directory ... this entry for Front Street confirms that there was indeed an Oregon Cafe at 524 Front Street on the corner of Oregon Street. A telephone entry listed the proprietors as Ed Vinci and Chuck Lucchesi, matching the names on the window. (See location 6 on this map).
Rica strikes up a conversation with Nick who is almost out on his feet as he downs coffee to stay awake while waiting for his trucker partner Ed to arrive with his truckload of apples.
Then ... Unbeknownst to Nick she has been hired by Mike Figlia and his cronies to distract him while they sell off his apples. It's not specifically mentioned but it's obvious she's a lady of the night. She offers Nick the use of her hotel room to get some sleep and he reluctantly accepts. Below, they are seen at the corner of Oregon and Front with the restaurant behind them.
... and Now, today the three block Oregon Street which ran from the Embarcadero to Front is gone. This section of Front Street between Jackson and Washington is now a small cul-de-sac straddled by residential units and the far left corner of it, viewed here from Jackson, is about where the restaurant used to be.
Bigelow joins some noisy revellers at the hotel and goes out on the town with them. They go to a waterfront dive, the Fisherman, a jam-packed club with a jumpin' jazz band.
Then ... The Ferry Building steers us to the club location - it was at 111 Embarcadero at the corner of Merchant Street between Clay and Washington (click image to enlarge). The Fisherman name was fictitious but a bar had occupied this spot for decades - it was called Jack's Waterfront Hangout at the time the movie was filmed.
... and Now, replicating the movie view, the building is gone - this section of Merchant Street and several blocks around it were removed in the 1960s to make way for the Golden Gateway redevelopment project.
... in 1925 ... here's a look at the bar a quarter century earlier, at bottom left across from the Ferry Station Post Office. Neither structure is there now. Washington Street intersects at far right.
There's a great scene inside the club (but filmed on a studio sound stage) with everybody movin' and groovin' as the band belts out a high energy number. The jazz musicians were: Jadie Carson (bandleader), Teddy Buckner (tpt), James Van Streeter (tenor sax), Ray Laurie (piano), Shifty Henry (bass) and Al 'Cake' Wichard (drums). But they were miming to the soundtrack which had been recorded by a different band.
Bigelow is quite the ladies man and tries to pick up Jeanie, an attractive woman at the bar (Virginia Lee). He should have been more vigilant though because a mystery man uses the opportunity to switch his drink (below right).
Dorothy Bradshaw and daughter Cindy visit the Steinhart Aquarium after arriving at the Mark Hopkins Hotel. The aquarium has been a visitors' favorite since 1923.
Then ... The aquarium faced onto the central courtyard of the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. The Academy also included a natural History Museum and a Planetarium.
... in 1968 ... Below is an aerial photo from 1968 with an arrow marking the aquarium, part of the Academy building. That's the DeYoung Museum facing the Academy across the concourse and the Bandstand at the edge of the concourse on the left.
... and Now, The aquarium and indeed the entire Academy was razed in 2003 to make way for this $500 million replacement, below, opened in 2008 (map). This photo was taken from the De Young Museum.
Then ... Dancer and Julian catch up with Dorothy and Cindy in the aquarium.
... and Now, the aquarium in the new Academy, below, is an ambitiously dramatic replacement. (By the way, Orson Welles preceded Don Siegel by a decade with the use of a scene at the Steinhart Aquarium, in The Lady From Shanghai. See it here).
Dancer flirts with Dorothy and offers to give her a ride back to her hotel. She makes the big mistake of accepting. As they leave the park, passing in front of the de Young museum, a policeman recognizes their car and calls in their description from a nearby telephone box (map). We get a really interesting panorama down Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive - interesting because the 'Then' and 'Now' contrasts the old with the new museum.
Then ... Director Siegel's panning camera gives us a great view of the old de Young museum on the right and the bandstand, built in 1900, on the left.
... and Now, the new de Young, dubbed 'The Rusty Aircraft Carrier' by some wags, was opened in 2005. The two sphinxes flanking the path to the museum (click image to enlarge) are still there, as is the bandstand, obscured by that palm tree.
Back at the Mark Hopkins hotel Dancer frenziedly rips Cindy's doll apart after she tells him she found white powder inside the doll and used it to powder its face! Uh oh, there's none left.