Then … Teddy arrives home in his Mitsubishi Tredia and is seen here about to climb the steps to his front door at 720 Steiner Street in the Alamo Square neighborhood of San Francisco.
… and Now, the house is one of the famous Painted Ladies, aka the Seven Sisters, facing Alamo Square Park. The house at far left is the original home of Matthew Kavanaugh, the builder of the iconic row - note that it’s styled differently from the other six. 720 Steiner is the only house in the row whose steps are on the right; perhaps Mr. Kavanaugh wanted to distance himself from his neighbor’s comings and goings?
… in 1978 … several movies over the years filmed scenes at one of these homes including Invasion of the Body Snatchers in 1978 whose leading lady Brooke Adams’ character also lived at 720 Steiner (see her below about to walk up the front steps and note that its basement hadn’t yet been converted into a garage). Director Phillip Kauffman’s better composition of his shot captured all 6 of the similarly styled Victorians.
Another name for the houses is Postcard Row because of their ubiquitous presence on postcards like this one.
Teddy’s daughter Missie, (Kyra Stempel) lets him in. In this shot of them in the lobby we see a vestibule between it and the front door…
… which tells us that the interiors were not filmed at 720 Steiner. In the photo below taken in the real 720 Steiner living room the front door can be seen on the left. No vestibule there, it’s a completely different spatial layout.
Chuckles from the movie audience are understandable when Teddy meet’s his daughter’s boyfriend, Shelley (Michael Zorek) who, as we will later see, has a thing going on with Teddy’s wife.
Clarence suspects that Sam Blotz and his crony Red Moran are responsible for the fire. He also remembers that he had overheard Blotz ask the operator to connect him to someone in City Hall. He lobbies the City’s Chief Of Police to allow Polly at the local telephone switchboard to report the address if that number is called again. The Chief (played in a cameo by the real San Francisco Chief Dan O’Brien) agrees to help.
Chief O’Brien served as the city’s Chief from 1920 - 1928. Because it was so uncharacteristic for him, the press at the time reported on his movie role.
Sure enough Blotz (top left) calls his crony, Assistant D.A. Gerald Fuller, at City Hall (top right) - he who had falsely accused Tom’s son - to crow about the Chronicle’s plight. But not before Polly at the switchboard (bottom left) had delayed connecting them while she looks up the originating caller’s address. She quickly notifies the Sergeant (bottom right) at the local police station.
The movie presentation alternates between shots of the car and the responding fire engines - as with the fire engine scenes posted earlier, Citysleuth has separated out the car scenes to present them sequentially...
Then … Clarence again hangs onto a car, this time with a police motorcycle escort, dashing across town to get Sam Blotz. Here we see them turning from Grove Street into Larkin Street.
… and Now, the background both Then and Now showcases San Francisco’s grand City Hall.
Then … Next they make a turn where behind them a store sign advertising E. J. Margett’s wholesale and retail rug store heralds this location.
… and Now, per the city street directory, Margett’s was at 989 Market in the corner building at 6th Street so this was filmed as they turned from Market into Golden Gate Avenue. Note the small retail building to the left that a century later is still there, still sandwiched between two larger buildings - Oxford Street menswear is its current tenant.
Then … And here they pass a cable car at the turntable at the south end of Powell Street at Market. Clinton’s Cafeteria is on the right at 18 Powell in the Flood Building.
… and Now, today’s Powell-Mason line terminates at the same spot alongside the Flood Building where the cable cars still depend on manpower to rotate them on the turntable. This block is now a car-free precinct, unusually free of tourists when CitySleuth stopped by on a beautiful winter’s day.
For the nostalgists out there, check out this photo taken in 1945 at the same spot; it was 20 years after The Last Edition was filmed but Clinton’s Cafeteria was still there.
Then … This next corner was seen in an earlier dash across town - the view looks west along Market Street as they turn into Golden Gate Avenue (it’s a reverse look at the same turn in the 2nd Then image in this post).
and Now, Twin Peaks in the distance is clearly visible below but hard to see in the poorer quality Then image above. The most recognizable extant building is 1020 Market at far right on the corner of Golden Gate Avenue.
Then … this is a continuation of the above Then clip as they enter Golden Gate Avenue. On the right is the Golden Gate Theatre; it had opened four years earlier in 1921.
and Now, the theatre continues to be an active performance space to this day. Note the traffic flow - it was two-way a century ago but now it’s one-way.
This 1930 photo shows the junction as it was when the above clip was filmed. That’s Market Street across the bottom with Golden Gate Avenue on the left and Taylor Street on the right. One of the city’s many Owl Drug stores is on the corner at far right.
Polly continues to cut off Blotz’s connection, apologizing profusely each time, holding him there as long as possible.
Then … When Joey hears his wife is moving out, Buddy drives him home. Here, his Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II is seen speeding north-ish on Main Street about to swerve in front of traffic into Howard Street (map). Crossing behind him is California State Route 480, aka the Embarcadero Freeway, on its way towards and past the Ferry Building. Further in the distance you can see the trusses of the elevated I-80 freeway on its way to the Bay Bridge.
… and Now, this area has seen lots of changes. Many glassed residential and office towers have been built here since then and the 480 freeway is gone, taken down after being damaged by the 1989 earthquake. But I-80 is still there in the background.
Then … they continue east-ish along Howard, passing the historic 1904 Folgers Coffee Company building at 101 Howard Street that survived both the 1906 and 1989 ‘quakes. Crossing ahead are the two decks of the Embarcadero Freeway.
… and Now, you can’t see it for the sidewalk trees in this matching shot but as mentioned, the Embarcadero Freeway is gone. There are newer buildings down the block but the Folgers building remains; in 2011 it became a downtown campus for USF (makes sense - a business school in the financial district).
Digressing for a moment, just how ugly was the Embarcadero Freeway? Look no further; this 1965 photo, looking down on the newly opened Washington and Clay Street ramps, shows how it not only blighted the waterfront but also totally isolated the Ferry Building. The plan was to extend it along the Embarcadero as a connector between the city’s two great bridges. But Mother Nature intervened, achieving what all of the protestors couldn’t - read all about it here.
OK, back to the movie. Joey surveys his empty home; he can’t believe she really has left; he takes out his ire on the kitchen cabinets.
Then … Later while walking down the upper section of the Filbert Steps on Telegraph Hill (map) Buddy thinks Joey needs cheering up so he suggests he do the ‘Blind Man’ prank for him. Teddy and Mikey groan - they’ve seen it before - but he insists.
… and Now, the steps are still there for those inclined to exercise (there are reportedly 445 steps in total from the flats at Sansome Street up to Coit tower) or for those who simply enjoy their secluded and peaceful surroundings.
Then … As they approach the last section of the upper steps leading down to Montgomery Street they laugh and joke about Mikey having it off with his boss’s wife. Infidelity is front and center in this movie.
… and Now, in the same view today note the wrought iron gate at number 300 - it’s the same one Then and Now! Montgomery Street is seen on the right.
Then … They cross the upper level of Montgomery Street and descend a set of steps to the street’s lower level where, on the right, the sgrafittoed Malloch House at 1360 Montgomery is a wonderful example of Art Deco Streamline Moderne styling popular in 1936 when it was built.
… and Now, from this vantage point there is still a fine view of the bay where the Bay Bridge reaches over to Yerba Buena Island but most of the house and its sgraffito engravings are hiding behind oversized trees.
The same staircase and building were seen in the 1947 movie Dark Passage as Lauren Bacall pulls up in front of 1360 Montgomery where her character had an apartment. The street’s two different levels are clearly shown; they merge together at Union Street at top right.
And in the 1968 movie Petulia Julie Christie blew into a sousaphone while sitting alongside the top of those same steps. The concrete newel post on the right is the same as the one seen two images above on the left.
Clarence and on-duty cops are at the police station when he hears the news of the Chronicle fire …
… they pile into a car, Clarence hanging on the side, to rush across town to Chron headquarters. (This doorway location is yet to be found - a Los Angeles precinct, a studio back lot, somewhere else?).
Then … They drive out of Golden Gate Avenue in downtown San Francisco, captured here turning east on Market Street. The projecting marquee of the Granada Theater at 1066 Market Street can be seen in the block behind them near the corner of Jones.
… and Now, the same block today. The Granada Theater is no longer there; after being renamed the Paramount in 1931 it was demolished in 1965.
Then … They are on Market again. This view was filmed looking east from 1st Street towards the Ferry Building in the background. Note at top center the ‘MOISE’ sign on the corner of Fremont Street…
… in 1930 … Here’s a photo taken a few years later from the same spot. A city directory entry revealed that the ‘MOISE’ sign belonged to the Moise-Klinkner store that sold a mix of rubber stamps, badges and signs.
… and Now, the traffic nightmare omnipresent on Market Street over the past century has recently been exorcised by the simple expedient of restricting access to commuter vehicles and taxis. Dead center in the distance the Ferry Building still stands like a sentinel on the Embarcadero, visible along most of the 3-mile length of arrow-straight Market Street.
Then … Now heading north they are on Stockton Street entering the south portal of the Stockton Tunnel near Union Square. Market Street crosses at the south end of Stockton.
… and Now, the first block on the left was rebuilt in 1960 as the Sutter-Stockton garage.
Here’s a reverse look at the south entrance of the tunnel in 1953 seven years before the current Sutter-Stockton garage was built.
… and just for fun check out this cool 1913 photo of the tunnel being excavated. It opened in 1914 after taking only 17 months to build. People worked hard in those days. The building at top right at 590 Bush Street is also visible in the image above.
Then … We then see them emerging from the tunnel’s north portal into Chinatown.
… and Now, the north portal today looks the same.
Clarence arrives outside the Chronicle press room to find an angry crowd surrounding Tom, wrongly accusing him of starting the fire. He is hauled off to jail where he briefly sees Ray before being dragged off to his own cell.
Meanwhile the fire rages on while a growing crowd of onlookers gather where Market Street and Geary come together. Customers of Bercovich Cigars on the ground floor at 700 Market Street could conveniently head up to dentist Chas. Strub on the 3rd floor to take care of the yellow stains. The stylishly-hatted lady in white on the 2nd floor windowsill has the best view of all.
Then … Across Market another crowd stands in front of the Monadnock Building at 685 Market adjacent to the Palace Hotel.
… and Now, The Beaux Arts building, built the year after the ‘06 earthquake, now features in its atrium lobby colorful murals depicting in Renaissance Baroque style many well-known San Francisco personalities including Mayor Adolph Sutro, fountain donor Lotta Crabtree and Supervisor Harvey Milk.
For history buffs here’s a 1910 postcard photo of the Monadnock showing the original iteration of Lotta’s Fountain in the foreground.
