Then … The action returns to San Francisco where from an elevated vantage point we see Lotta’s drinking fountain, an iconic monument at the busy junction of Market Street, Geary and Kearny (map). Streetcars pass by in each direction along Market.
… and Now, here’s Lotta’s fountain today, viewed from street level - the blank sign at the far left corner is where the Willett Chiropractor sign (above) was, at 690 Market Street. Modern streetcars pass by on Market now but wait a minute, check out the fountain - its column is way shorter than it was.
… another view … Here’s a fascinating contemporaneous 1930s vintage photo looking down Geary Street from Market. A man hunches over the fountain, mid-drink; a lively bustling scene is captured, of bars and hotels, of restaurants, of professional offices, tailors, dentists and doctors (why, you could even get your piles cured here). Vibrant, unlike today’s stagnant version. CitySleuth has indicated the four story corner building at 2 Geary Street from whose roof the Then movie clip at the top of this post was filmed.
… and Now, the 2 Geary Street building was built in 1908 and is still there, as are many of the buildings stretching down the block. The St. Francis Hotel at Union Square three blocks down Geary, above, is mostly hidden from here by trees but its added tower block is clearly visible rising above them.
… the original fountain … The fountain was gifted to the city of San Francisco by vaudeville actress Lotta Crabtree in 1875. Here it is, c. 1880, again looking down Geary, so today’s fountain matches the original. In 1917 its column was extended to increase its height to match newly installed street lamps; this was the version filmed in the movie. Then in a 1998 restoration it was changed back to its original height after the ageing column was damaged in a windstorm.
But what most endeared the fountain to the City was its association with the 1906 earthquake and fire; for months afterwards it served as a reunion spot for separated friends and family members. Every year since then a memorial gathering has been held here at 5:12 am on April 18, the time the terrible temblor struck. Another memorable gathering, reportedly 250,000 strong (below), witnessed famed opera soprano Luisa Tettrazzini decked out in an ostrich boa and a large hat perform at a free concert on Christmas Eve 1910 next to the fountain, ending with a rousing ‘Auld Lang Syne’. Close your eyes and imagine for a moment how it must have sounded; for the huge throng joining in, still scarred by the recent earthquake, old acquaintances would indeed never be forgotten.
Now in jail, prime suspect Rhoda is visited by Perry Mason. Always the epicurean, the attorney even brings along a tasty meal. She recounts how she went to see her ex the night he died, but he started slapping her around. The lights went out, she felt the presence of someone else and during the whole incident heard the doorbell ringing. She ran off and returned home. The plot thickens … a slew of other suspects has emerged.
Then … George decides he has to find out more about doppelgänger Monica West. Knowing only that she’s a high-class hooker he calls her from a phone booth at Hyde and Beach (map) to make an ‘appointment’. Behind him across the street was the 1907 Haslett Warehouse which together with the adjacent Cannery building once comprised the world's largest fruit cannery. Cannery operations ceased in 1939 but the building continued on as a warehouse.
… and Now, In 2002 the warehouse survived a fire that destroyed the interior while it was being converted to a hotel, the Argonaut. Undaunted, the hotel opened in 2003 and is still in business there today. The phone booths (there were two) are no longer there.
Then … He walks to his Corvette parked at the Hyde Street cable car terminus. The view looks across Aquatic Park Cove towards the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin County hills.
… and Now, The city’s cable car system underwent a $60M safety rebuild from 1982 - 1984 including a re-positioning of the Hyde Street terminus turntable and its approach tracks. In today’s matching view the bridge is obscured but Sausalito’s hillside houses are still visible on the right as also seen above.
As he turns into Hyde he passes the telephone booths from where he had made the phone call. That’s the Hyde Street pier entrance straight ahead on Jefferson Street at the bottom of Hyde.
Then … As the Corvette crosses Beach Street the insurance agent tailing George leaps into his 1969 Ford Galaxie 500 parked on the corner. Leslie Salt Company’s San Francisco headquarters at 505 Beach Street is seen down the block.
… and Now, Here’s today’s view; Leslie Salt Co. is no longer in business.
On a trivia note, Leslie harvested its salt from evaporative salt ponds located around the south bay shoreline, storing it as massive salt mountains near the Redwood City Marina, pictured here in 1977. Leslie was bought by the Cargill Company in 1978; they ceased production here in 2006 after which the mountain was sold by degrees until it was gone for good.
Then … the agent follows George up Hyde Street giving us a glimpse of the tourist favorite Buena Vista Cafe at 2765 Hyde.
… and Now, The cafe/bar is still there and as popular as ever. It dates back to 1916 when it was a saloon but it was only after 1952 when the owner had a light-bulb moment that his establishment became a cash cow.
… that’s when he formulated and introduced the “perfect Irish Coffee”, a mellifluous blend of sugar, coffee, Irish whiskey and cream (added in that order). Millions of grateful palates have over the years marveled at how its primeval warmth counters the city’s chill with each salubrious sip.
Then … While cruising through Potrero Hill Callahan and Gonzalez receive a call to respond to a report of a body found nearby. Check out the dramatic skyline where the tallest of those downtown high-rises is the Bank of America building.
… and Now, they were cresting the steep block of Mississippi at 19th Street (map). The view today is even more dramatic now that downtown expansion has overflowed into South of Market where the tallest bragging rights now belong to Salesforce Tower.
Then … they continue on up Mississippi towards 20th Street. The monster Potrero Hill gas storage tank, visible for miles around, looms right ahead.
… and Now, the tank is not there anymore. Not all, but many, of the homes on the right side of the block have been remodeled over the decades.
Then … They arrive to find a young black boy shot dead on a large open lot. Apparently Scorpio has struck again, exactly as threatened.
… and Now, the lot bordered Texas Street near Sierra Street (map). In 2006 the 67 unit Sierra Heights condominium complex at 640 - 690 Texas was built on that lot.
Then … Callahan turns towards the boy’s sobbing mother. Across the street behind her are the premises of Wm. McIntosh & Son at 635 Texas. The two large gas holders in the distance were at the Potrero Point Power Plant prior to being removed years later.
… and Now, the office building is still there - note the matching doors and windows - but no longer McIntosh’s; it is now dwarfed by an adjacent building on the corner of Sierra Street.
Then … A police officer on a nearby rooftop reports that he found a shell of the same caliber used by Scorpio’s rifle. Beyond the hill we see that omnipresent Potrero Hill tank again; at that time it was the world’s largest natural gas holder. The buildings arrayed along the top of the slope are part of a housing project built in 1941 - Potrero Terrace, a large complex of over 600 apartments that are still there today.
… and Now, Citysleuth was able to get this matching shot of those same buildings by climbing a staircase between the Sierra Heights condos and a newer condo complex, The Landing, whose 7 stories rise to the elevation of Potrero Terrace. Omnipresent no more, the storage tank was removed years ago.
Here’s a great 1950 image of the storage tank towering over three neighboring houses; all three (right to left at 1002, 1016 and 1018 Pennsylvania Avenue) have survived to this day. How could their residents sleep at night knowing they were cheek-by-jowl with a 300 ft tall tank containing 17 million cubic feet of natural gas?
… and Now, advances in high-pressure gas line technology made the need for neighborhood gas storage redundant, enabling removal of the tank in 1988. The three surviving houses, now hiding behind trees, share the block with newer structures. At far right on the site of the former tank is the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank.
Here’s another image of the tank, c. 1980, next to 1002 Pennsylvania Avenue (photo by Jo Babcock); the modest home dates from 1900. Sold in 1986 for $75,000 when the tank was still there, it’s currently valued by Zillow at $1.3 Million. The Potrero Terraces housing project can be seen on the hilltop beyond.
This Google Satellite View aerial shows all of the locations referenced in this post.
Then … Passengers, Rhoda Montaine amongst them, begin boarding an airplane at San Francisco Municipal Airport. (But don’t be fooled by the sign - this was filmed elsewhere).
… a vintage photo … CitySleuth came across this photo of an American Airlines Douglas DC-3 taken c. 1940 at Grand Central Air Terminal in Glendale, California. The mountain ranges at far right are identical to that seen in the movie image above, revealing where the movie’s airport scenes were filmed.
Grand Central Air Terminal (pictured below in 1932 just 3 years after its opening) was located at 1310 Air Way in Glendale (map). It was Southern California's first commercial airport and one of its two busiest (the other being Union Air Terminal - now known as Hollywood Burbank).
… and Now, the airport had been operational for only 30 years when it closed in 1959 but the passenger building is still there today. It was in a dilapidated state when it was bought to be part of a planned new campus project by the Walt Disney Corporation; by 2016 they had restored its mission revival exterior and art deco interior to its former grandeur. Here’s a recent photo of the passenger arrivals side of the building on Air Way. Compare it to the 1932 image above
To appreciate the fine restoration by Disney, this was how the building looked in 2011. Front and back, the grand glass-paned arches and doors and windows had been covered over and the interiors were a mess.
Inside the two-story passenger waiting room Mason grabs Rhoda and asks her to duck down low in a phone booth to keep her hidden from the cops who had followed him. She proclaims her innocence to him as he calls the San Francisco Enquirer, offering them Rhoda’s story; he is betting on their front page giving her a better shake than the prosecutor. The arches in the background were the two arches on the left in the Now image, two above.
Then … The reporters enter through the main entrance from Air Way (these were the two center arches in the Now image, three above). Note the neon sign and the San Francisco Enquirer name on the side of their car - the moviemakers went to some lengths to fool the audience. The picket fence beyond the parked cars is seen in the aerial view four images above; it separated the terminal from the railroad tracks.
Then … Upon their arrival Spudsy started a diversionary fracas to further distract the two cops. He succeeds in delaying them - the reporters get their story before she is arrested.
… and Now, the passenger waiting room is now used by the Disney company as a multi-purpose event space; an elevated walkway connects offices at each end of the building at the level of the top of the arches. Both of the Then image locations above are seen in this view - The neon sign was on the arch at far left and the art deco balcony behind Spudsy is in the left corner on the far wall.
More trivia about Grand Central Air Terminal… It saw many celebrities over the years; here’s aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart there in 1931 alongside an autogyro, an interesting hybrid airplane/helicopter. Behind her is the south, runway, side of the passenger building. Charles Lindbergh piloted the nation's first regularly scheduled coast to coast flight from here. What’s more, many Hollywood movies were filmed here starring the likes of Shirley Temple, James Cagney, Joan Fontaine, Dick Powell and Ronald Reagan.
… and Now, Disney’s wonderful restoration is also on display on the south side of the building (the airplane taxiway used to be here). It looks like a great place to work for the fortunate few.
