Bullitt takes a cab to meet a police informant at Enrico's Restaurant, a fixture at 504 Broadway Street since 1959.
Then ... The cab drives north up Kearny and drops Bullitt off at Broadway. The domed flat-iron building on Columbus facing us at the end of this block is the 1907 Sentinel Building, aka the Columbus Tower.
... and Now, painted green today, the Columbus Tower was once owned by the Kingston Trio, who recorded there, and is currently owned by Francis Ford Coppola. His American Zoetrope Studios and Cafe Zoetrope occupy most of the building.
Then ... The cab drops him off in front of Swiss Louis, an even longer-lived Broadway restaurant, here from 1936 until moving in 1978 to its current Pier 39 location.
... and Now, this corner site is now home to the Fuse bar, below.
Then ... Bullitt crosses Broadway to Enrico's, so familiar to any San Franciscan.
... in 2004, a small remodel on the corner otherwise it's still very similar. Kearny Street's steepest block runs uphill on the right, so steep in fact that the sidewalk is a staircase - to see just how steep it is check out this location from 'Dark Passage', filmed facing down that same block.
... and Now, Sadly, the era of Enricos came to an end in November 2006. When CitySleuth passed by here recently the building still looked the same except for its new casual dining tenant, Naked Lunch .
Then ... Below, director Yates captures Enrico's convivial outdoor vibe in this shot aimed through the front patio. Swiss Louis is seen kitty corner across the street.
... and Now, adult videos and sex entertainment are still available down the block of Kearny across the street. Some things never change.
Then ... Bullitt and the informant, Eddie (Justin Tarr), cross the street to the Galaxie Club at 501 Broadway opposite Enrico's . Bullitt learns that Ross is being pursued by the mob for absconding with 2 million dollars. More recently this site has been home to The Black Cat, Jitney's Bar & Grill and currently the Impala Restaurant.
... and Now, the view behind them from 501 Broadway looks across Kearny and east down Broadway.
A flashback recounts how Petulia and husband David Danner (Richard Chamberlain) come across a young boy, Oliver, at a bullfight in Tijuana, Mexico.
Then ... The scene opens in front of the colorful entrance of El Toreo, a popular bullring dating from the 1930s.
... and Now, the bullring is no longer there, demolished after succumbing to the competition from the newer Plaza Monumental 'Bullring By The Sea'. The photo below shows the demolition in progress in 2007.
As they leave the bullring Oliver, a persistent street hawker, pesters them and follows them to their car.
He jumps into the back of their Silver Cloud Rolls-Royce just before they are waved across the border into the U.S. Note that free-standing 'Coffee Shop - Food To Go - Packed Free' sign just over the border ...
Then ... They stop at Oscar's drive-in to discuss what to do with Oliver. He wants to go to San Francisco and David, who has taken a liking to the lad (hmm), agrees. There's that same sign behind them, confirming that this location was the Oscar's branch at 721 E. San Ysidro Blvd in San Ysidro just 800 feet from the border crossing.
... and Now, the recent Google street view photo (saving CitySleuth a round-trip to San Ysidro) shows that a Jack-in-the-Box now occupies the Oscar's corner site. (The founder of Oscar's, Robert Oscar Peterson, went on to found the Jack-in-the-Box chain).
A significant plot change now occurs which moves the rest of the movie's action to Los Angeles. The stricken Bigelow learns that a Eugene Philips who had an Import-Export business in the Bradbury Building in Los Angeles had been urgently trying to contact him, but had suddenly died. Bigelow suspects a link to his condition and catches the next plane south.
Then ... Bigelow enters the building. Sure enough, this is the lobby of the historic Bradbury Building at 304 Broadway and 3rd Street in downtown Los Angeles.
... and Now, the same interior today, lit by natural light from an overhead skylight.
Another recent photo (below) shows the soaring lobby in more detail. The striking interior architecture has made this building a popular location choice over the years for many other movies (Blade Runner, Disclosure, Lethal Weapon 4), TV series (77 Sunset Strip, Mission Impossible) and music videos (Janet Jackson, Genesis), to name just a few.
... and Now, Here's the exterior of the Bradbury Building today, pretty much as it has looked since the day it was built in 1893.
In Phillips' office Bigelow meets the company controller Mr. Halliday (William Ching), and his secretary Miss Foster (Beverly Garland). They tell him Philips had committed suicide but they are less than helpful, evasive even, on why Philips had called him.
Nick insists on taking a reluctant Rica out for a drink at Shorty's Bar, seen below. CitySleuth searched 1949 City records but found no mention of a Shorty's so presumably it was a fictitious movie name. The shop front below is certainly real enough - the question is ... where was it?
Two views from the interior of the bar help provide the answer. The first shows an Embarcadero pier across the street, Pier 44. (It's possible the interiors were filmed in the studio with projected window views to set the location).
In the second view, seen through the entrance doorway to Shorty's, another pier, Pier 42, is seen across the Embarcadero looking in the opposite direction. So, Shorty's was on the Embarcadero opposite and between Piers 42 and 44. Both piers were terminals for American President Lines.
How does CitySleuth know these were Piers 42 and 44? They are not there any more, but compare the shots above with the vintage photo below of these two piers (which incidentally shows the Bay Bridge under construction in 1935). They match.
Then ... In this movie pan below, the view looks south down the Embarcadero as Nick and Rica cross the rail tracks heading for Shorty's. (This panorama links with the one at the top of this post). Pier 44 is on the left and the Embarcadero continues past Berry Street before ending at Pier 46.
... and Now, Pier 42, 44 and 46 are no longer there; they were replaced by the South Beach Marina. Instead of continuing straight on past King and Berry Streets as it used to, the Embarcadero now swings to the right into King Street alongside the San Francisco Giants ballpark. The marina is on the left, as is South Beach Park which replaced the block where Shorty's Bar used to be, between King and Berry Streets.
If all of this is confusing, the photo and map below may help ...
Then ... this 1955 aerial photo shows piers 42 and 44 before they were removed. Shorty's bar location was in the block opposite those two piers, between King Street and Berry Street. Note also that back then Berry Sreet connected to the Embarcadero.
... and Now, The same view today courtesy of Google maps showing that the Embarcadero now swings into King Street. A section of Berry Street has been swallowed up by South Beach Park and the ballpark redevelopment project, completed in 2000. The locations where Piers 42 and 44 used to be are shown in orange and the approximate location for Shorty's bar is indicated by the asterisk, within South Beach Park.
