After Parry climbs down the 1201 Greenwich Street fire escape he hops onto a passing cable car.
Then ... There weren't many tourists back then as the cable car rumbles south on Hyde Street between Greenwich and Filbert (map).
... and Now, we could be in a time warp as another cable car passes by the same spot.
Then ... The cable car is next seen heading down Powell Street alongside Union Square. (A reader has pointed out that, unlike today, it would have required a change of cable cars to make this journey from Hyde Street prior to 1957). On the Post Street block seen across the square the Fitzhugh Building that housed the Robert S. Atkins department store is on the left and the Hotel Plaza is at far right.
... and Now, all but one of the Post Street buildings, the smallest, have since been replaced and the square has been redesigned but the bronze Victory statue still surveys the scene from atop the Dewey Monument at far right.
Then ... The cable car reaches its turntable terminus at the corner of Powell and Market (map) and Parry jumps off. The Owl Drug Co. store, one of 19 branches throughout the city at that time, occupies the prime corner site in the Flood Building. The stores were subsequently taken over by Rexall's.
... and Now, the cable car line still ends at the same place but bollards surround the turntable and The Gap has replaced The Owl.
A number of times during the movie we see diesel trains plying back and forth along the Embarcadero. They belonged to the State Belt Railroad system whose purpose was to provide a link between the piers and the four railroad companies serving the city, namely the Southern Pacific, the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe, the Western Pacific and the Northwestern Pacific. The railroad ran between King Street south of Market and the Presidio via a 1500 foot long tunnel under Fort Mason. It began in 1889 using steam locomotives and was finally shut down in 1993 after the loss of most of the port traffic to Oakland. More information can be found here.
Then ... Below is engine number 20, one of a total of six, filmed in front of Shorty's Bar with pier 46 and China Basin in the background.
... and Now, pier 46 has been replaced by a marina and the same viewpoint today looks across South Beach Park towards the AT&T ballpark at China Basin.
Then ... Here we see Nick and Rica walking towards the Colchester Hotel past engine number 23 alongside the Wellman Peck building at the east end of Jackson Street.
... and Now, the corner of the Embarcadero at Jackson has completely changed, as shown below. The Wellman Peck corner building site is now part of this parking lot.
... from 1946 ... Below is an archival photograph of engine number 24 passing below the Bay Bridge.
... and Now, from the same spot we see the train was passing Pier 28, still there today. The railroad tracks have been replaced by the muni tracks of the T Third and N Judah lines.
But wait - take a look at the Bay Bridge in the 1946 photo above. Is that a train passing by on the bridge? It sure is - in the bridge's early years there was an electric train service, part of the privately owned Key System, connecting Oakland and San Francisco. Its two tracks ran along the south side of the lower deck, shared with automobiles using the north side. See the closeup below taken the day the service began, September 23, 1938.
Archie takes his boys out for a day trip, starting with a ferry ride to Alcatraz.
Then ... They are at the ferry terminal at Pier 43 1/2 near Fisherman's Wharf where Archie's two sons pester him while he makes a quick call to Petulia.
... and Now, the ferry to Alcatraz still leaves from here. CitySleuth even arranged for what could be the same ferry boat to be there when he took this photo! (Just kidding, pure happenstance).
Then ... They approach Alcatraz Island, below. The bleakness of 'The Rock' as it was known gives visitors the shudders as they approach. It was a military prison site from 1861 when it housed Civil War prisoners, was extended in 1909 with the addition of the main cell block then operated as a federal penitentiary from 1934 to 1963. Notorious inmates during that period were Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly and Robert Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz.
... and Now, looking just the same today. Since 1963 it has been a museum and well worth visiting, as Archie did.
Then ... They return to shore and head over to Fort Point, a historic military fort which has stood prominently at the edge of the San Francisco Bay since 1861 (map). Inside the fort the Golden Gate Bridge looms over the fort's venerable lighthouse, in bad shape after being unused since the Golden Gate Bridge was built.
... and Now, the lighthouse tower is in better condition now after major refurbishments.
Then ... Archie and the boys run amok in the fort, having a great old time, allowing director Richard Lester to revisit his madcap moments seen earlier in the Beatles' Help!
... and Now, these visitors have no idea George C. Scott ran by them 45 years ago!
Then ... The kids rush through the officers' quarters on the 2nd tier.
... and Now, this location is a popular photo-snapping destination for today's visitors.
Then ... Dad looks like he's worn out.
... and Now, the fort offers a photo op everywhere you look.
Here's a panoramic perspective of the old fort today at the end of Marine Drive in the Presidio with the lighthouse visible above the roof line. The bridge's steel arch was a late addition to the design, added to allow the fort to avoid the wrecking ball, a commendable decision.
CitySleuth has added the last half of the exciting car chase in which the hapless felons are pursued across town by the police. Click here to follow the chase from start to finish.
