Bullitt's boss in the police force is Captain Bennett (Simon Oakland). He is a church-going man and is shown below taking his family up the steps of Grace Cathedral, on the corner of Taylor and California, where he finds district attorney Chalmers waiting for him.
Then ... The landmark structure was built on the site of the railroad baron Charles Crocker's residential mansion which had been destroyed in the 1906 fire. Construction began in 1928 and when it was completed in 1964 it was the third largest Episcopal cathedral in the nation.
... and Now, the George Gibbs Memorial Hall which stood in front of the cathedral (just visible at the right edge of the movie capture) has been removed, making way for a grander expanse of steps up to the cathedral.
Then ... On the balcony, an angry Chalmers tries but fails to get Bennett to reveal where Bullitt has hidden the witness. The view behind them is of Huntington Park, formerly the site of the Collis Huntington mansion, looking towards the Pacific Union Club, formerly the James Flood mansion. Both mansions befell the same fate as Charles Crocker's in 1906.
... and Now, the park and club look the same today.
Then ... Chalmers storms off in a huff (below). The cathedral is to his right and we see the view west down California Street that includes a gas station on the corner of Jones.
... and Now, the Phillips 76 gas station was replaced in 1972 by the incongruously located Gramercy Towers condominiums that dwarfed its Nob Hill neighbors.
In a flashback we see Victoria (below left) and ailing fellow inmate Karin Dernakova (Natasha Lytess, who incidentally was the acting coach of Marilyn Monroe in the early 1950s) during their confinement in the infamous Belsen concentration camp. Karin spoke of a rich relative in America - "Aunt Sophie has a big house on the hill" - and pines for her infant son who has been sent to the aunt for safety. When Karin dies shortly before liberation the envious Victoria grabs the opportunity and surreptitiously switches identities with her.
Then ... Victoria eventually manages to emigrate to America. The director portrays her arrival in New York with this view looking north from downtown Manhattan. The tower in the foreground is the Singer Building and the one behind it is the Woolworth Building.
... and Now, the Singer Building was razed in 1967 to make way for the U.S Steel Building, now known as One Liberty Plaza (in the recent photo below it's the sleek dark building in the center). The original Woolworth Building is still there, just visible on the left.
Victoria has learned that Karin's aunt Sophie in San Francisco has died and left her estate to Karin's son Chris, under the care of guardian Alan Spender (Richard Basehart). She visits the office, below, of the attorney representing the estate and demands to be reunited with 'her' son. Both lawyer and Alan Spender are at first skeptical of her claim to be Karin but she does a convincing job of persuading them.
Alan Spender, now reassured that Victoria is Chris's mother, buys her a fine wardrobe and wines and dines her. It's clear he's attracted to her, a situation she privately admits she is prepared to take advantage of.
Then ... On a Manhattan patio Alan proposes to Victoria who is only too willing to accept, assuring stability and security in her life. Citysleuth thinks this scene was filmed on a studio soundstage using a background photo of a bridge to imply the location ...
... in 1935 ... Below is a vintage photo taken from Sutton Place near E 57th Street at the East River and has the same view. This is the Queensboro (aka 59th St) Bridge, which places the virtual location of the patio as Midtown Manhattan overlooking the Sutton Place neighborhood.
... and Now, here's the Queensboro Bridge today.
"This is San Francisco, as it looks from Telegraph Hill". These are the opening words of the movie spoken in voiceover by the main character, Victoria Kovelska (Valentina Cortese).
Then ... The panorama, of San Francisco's waterfront, the Bay Bridge and the Financial District, is indeed the view from Telegraph Hill, filmed from the top of Coit Tower. The iconic Ferry Building clock tower can be seen almost lined up with one of the bridge towers (click image to enlarge).
... and Now, the recent view, below, reveals drastic changes in the Financial District which now includes the Transamerica pyramid at far right. Several foreground buildings are unchanged, as is the white Appraiser's Building over to the right of center.
... and Now - an aerial view, this view of the Financial District in the distance shows Coit Tower atop telegraph Hill in the foreground, the vantage point for the images above.
Nick accepts Rica's offer to let him use her room so he can catch up on some much-needed sleep. Below, she takes him to her hotel, the Colchester - a real hotel of that name on the edge of the Produce District at 259 Embarcadero that is no longer there. See the hotel on this Produce District map.
Then ... They pass the 263 Club at 263 Embarcadero and arrive at the hotel.
... in the 1920's ... Though dating to the 1920's this vintage photo shows the area as it still looked in 1949 when the movie was filmed. It shows where the hotel was, between Jackson and Oregon on the Embarcadero. Note the billboard on its roof, advertising rooms. Note too the underpass under construction on the Embarcadero in front of Merchant Street - it opened in 1925 and ran under the Ferry Building Plaza. The large white building between Washington and Merchant was the Ferry Post Office.
Then ... Another view, below, of the front of the hotel illuminated for the movie in the best noir tradition.
... and Now, the hotel site today viewed from the same spot is part of the Golden Gateway Tennis and Swim Club. The small building behind the hedge is the tennis clubhouse - it sits approximately where the hotel used to be.
Then ... This view from one of the hotel windows looks out past the neon sign across the Embarcadero to Pier 5. A diesel engine of the State Belt Railroad is parked in front of the Wellman Peck building across Jackson Street.
... a vintage photo ... a very early undated photo shows the hotel, in the lower left corner with its rooftop 'ROOMS' billboard, with railcars in front of the Wellman Peck building.
... and Now, the same view today from the tennis clubhouse towards Pier 5.
The Colchester Hotel was condemned by the city in 1954 and subsequently demolished because of structural cracks in its exterior brick walls (see the press newscopy below and a 1954 photo clearly showing cracks alongside the upper windows).