Jo has had his money returned but is still curious as to the whereabouts of Chan. He decides to ask his friend Mr. Fong (Leong Pui Chee). For this scene director Wang chose to have them speak in Chinese so that his American audience could experience the lilt and cadence of the Cantonese accent.
Then … They meet at Brenham Place bordering the west side of Portsmouth Square between Clay and Washington.
… and Now, in 1985 Brenham Place was renamed Walter U Lum Place in recognition of the Chinese American civil rights advocate born in San Francisco in 1882. The plaza was redesigned in the 1990s but the view from here retains a similar look today.
Then … Mr. Fong doesn’t know where Chan is. He tells Jo he has just given a talk at the Chinese Cultural Center on, appropriately, Chinese culture. He explains there’s more to it than eating. There’s north versus south, there’s ancient versus modern. He gives examples in poetry and in opera, breaking out into stanza and song to illustrate the differences. The building behind him is the Chinese Congregational Church at 21 Brenham Place.
… and Now, the church is still there, captured in this recent photo that also captured a rare sight for Chinatown - a destitute street person.
Mr. Fong also shares a Chinese lantern riddle which Jo recounts afterwards to Steve while they are parked at the edge of the bay. They have a good laugh at its sexual connotation. Lantern riddles date back 1200 years to the Song Dynasty; they were written on the sides of lanterns at Chinese Lantern Festivals where participants were rewarded for correctly solving them.
Then … They are parked at Fort Point in the Presidio below the Golden Gate bridge (map).
… and Now, the only change today is a more mundane, but safer replacement in 2023 of the chain barrier alongside the water’s edge causing some consternation amongst regular visitors, CitySleuth amongst them, who preferred the prior maritime look.
… in 1958 … but there was an even more mundane barrier there when Scottie followed Madeleine to Fort Point 66 years ago in the movie Vertigo.
Rippling waves in the bay mirror Jo’s thoughts; the mystery is appropriately Chinese - what’s not there seems to have just as much meaning as what is there. Nothing is what it seems to be. He questions his Chinese-ness; he can’t accept a mystery without a solution.
Then … Back once again at Chester’s Cafe at 1269 Mason (described earlier) Jo nurses a beer, lost in thought. Across the street on the left is the Junior Co Bakery at 1250 Mason.
… and Now, the most recent tenant in the 1250 Mason space was an art gallery, Orangeland .
At a local police station the Chronicle’s courthouse reporter slips a cigar to the desk sergeant then seeks the quid pro quo: “Do you have anything for me today?”
Then … In a later scene we are shown where this took place - Police Station 6 (although the interior scene may have been filmed in a studio).
… a vintage photo … John Bengston’s excellent website silentlocations.com revealed the location of this police station - read his detailed post about it here. It was set in San Francisco but was filmed at 1629 N. Cahuenga Blvd in Hollywood (map). The station - it shared a building with the Fire Department’s Engine 27 - was there from 1913 to 1930 during which time it appeared in many silent movies including comedies by Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.
On a trivia note this fun photo taken in 1928 in front of Station 6 provided ample evidence that a cop’s day is not all work and no play.
… and Now, the music publishing company Real Songs, readdressed as # 1635, now sits squarely on the old fire/police station site. But the 2-story hotel on the left has survived (it’s partially visible in the vintage photo of the station, above).
The reporter is in luck; he calls the Chronicle’s city editor with a scoop: the police have set their sights on Sam Blotz, a suspected bootlegger.
Then … At far right the city editor asks a young staffer to bring him everything they have on Blotz.
… and Now, this was filmed on the 3rd floor of the San Francisco Chronicle’s 901 Mission Street building where reporters continue to work 100 years later in the same, albeit modernized, space.
Then … The newspaper’s librarians dig out information on Blotz.
… a vintage photo … here’s that same library in 1924 at the San Francisco Chronicle’s 901 Mission Street building. The wall-mounted files seen above are arrayed along the side wall. Note in both images the radiator alongside the column.
The editor shows the files and photographs to Clarence Walker (Polly McDonald’s suitor), assigning him the task of writing an exposé of Sam Blotz.
Jo and Steve head over to a bar in Japantown where Chan’s daughter Jenny works. They want to find out if she has any news to share about her father’s whereabouts. This scene was filmed inside the Kyomasa Cocktail Lounge at 1705 Buchanan Street.
… a vintage photo … Citysleuth found two contemporary photos of its location which he composited into the one below. The center portion is from a 1980s photo, the sides from a 1970s photo; together they show how it looked when Chan was filmed. Marked by the arrow, the Kyomasa Lounge was on the second level, next to the better-known Kokusai Theatre.
… and Now, the theatre (referenced earlier in the movie) closed in 1987 and the space where the Kyomasa Lounge used to be was up for lease when CitySleuth recently stopped by. But the Soko Hardware store at far right is still there. Both Then and Now the Japanese-styled tower displays the sign Nihon Machi - “Japan Town”.
Then … The lounge entrance is at the top of the stairs behind the tower, above. Below, they enter from the left and climb a set of 5 steps up to the lounge.
… and Now, the most recent tenant here was the Korean karaoke bar and restaurant ‘Playground’. But the space is now under construction in preparation for a future tenant. Citysleuth noticed there’s now only 3 steps leading up, not 5. Why? … read on…
Then … They ask for Jenny. The two extra steps led to an elevated floor level that created a sunken bar effect. The lounge entrance is on the left.
… and Now, the bar is in the same spot but at a regular height because the elevated floor is gone.
Then … Jenny appears; she suggests they take a seat at a nearby table..
… in 2017 … this is the same view in Playground before it closed. The drop ceiling, above, has been removed, below.
… and Now, here it is today.
Then … Jenny doesn’t know where her father is but said he apologizes for not being able to complete the cab deal. She then gives them an envelope containing the $4,000 they had given him … “It’s all there”. Steve’s reaction? … “Goddam!”. The shoji screens covering the windows are the same ones seen from the outside in the vintage photo at the top of this post.
… and Now, these windows look down on the Japantown block of Buchanan Street named Osaka Way.
George Hamilton, the proprietor of the Chronicle (Louis Payne) decides to write a series of inspirational editorials to counter declining circulation numbers. But with pen in hand and paper in front of him inspiration is hard to find.
Then … Hands clasped behind his back, he starts pacing through the Chronicle building, seen here in the editorial room.
… and Now, 100 years later this is the same room, on the 3rd floor at 901 Mission Street, still being used by the newspaper’s reporting staff.
The editorial room was captured in this 1924 photograph. The pneumatic message delivery tubes near the partition right of center and the desk in the right foreground are the same as in the Then image above. (Photo by Gabriel Moulin).
Then … The workers at the makeup tables who set the editorial stories in text form using individual metal letters try their best to look busy when they see him pass by.
This was filmed in the Chronicle’s composing room, captured here in 1924, most likely on the 2nd floor of 901 Mission Street. CitySleuth was unable to access this space for a matching photo; it was being remodeled when he visited. (Photo by Gabriel Moulin).
Then … Next he marches through the linotype room…
… here’s that same room in 1924. (Photo by Gabriel Moulin). By converting individual letters to complete lines of text using molten alloys, mostly lead, the linotype machines increased printing efficiency significantly. In hindsight one can only shudder at the health hazards to those operators from the molten lead fumes.
Then … And here he’s in the press room passing an array of printing presses…
… the giant presses were in the basement of the Chronicle building. This is the same aisle in 1924 viewed from the opposite direction. (Photo by Gabriel Moulin).
When he overhears Tom on the other side of the press sharing inspirational advice about truth, love and duty with his young assistant, the proprietor eagerly takes it all in.
Tom is invited up to the proprietor’s office. They make strange bedfellows but when prompted to share his philosophy of life Tom is more than happy to oblige.
Later at home, Tom reads the editorial in the paper and is shocked to see his creed, based on Truth, Love and Duty, right there in print with no credit as to the source.
