Time After Time - "Gimme A Big Mac ... And Tea"
Then … The next scene begins with a shot of a classic 1980s mansard-roofed McDonald’s with an Arco gas station next to it.
… and Now, This was filmed at the McDonald’s at 505 Serramonte Blvd in Daly City (thanks to ReelSF blog reader Al for recognizing it). The diner has since been moved back from the road and rebuilt in a modern style. The sign appears to be the original one and the gas station, on the corner of Gellert Blvd, is now a Speedway station.
… in 2019 … as recently as 6 years ago the original diner was still there, looking the same as in the Then image above except that the rooftop beams had been removed and a Mobil station was then on the corner of Gellert.
Then … Herbert of course has never seen a McDonald’s diner before; he listens carefully to the customer in front of him then repeats the same order for himself, adding “…and tea, to go, please”. Spoken like a true Brit. But these interior scenes were not filmed at the location above…
… in 1975 … instead, they were filmed in the McDonald’s located on the lobby level of San Francisco’s Two Embarcadero Center (thanks go to ReelSF blog reader Notcom for recognizing it). It had newly opened in 1975 when this photograph was taken; the counter filmed above is at the far end. (Note the circle-patterned floor tiles outside the entrance - a design feature throughout the public areas of the entire Embarcadero Center complex of buildings).
… and Now, McDonald’s closed down at this site in 2014 or 2015. Today a One Medical primary care clinic occupies and overlaps its former space. Below, the McDonald’s entrance used to be where the reception desk is, right of center at the rear of the One Medical lobby.
This floor plan detail of the Two Embarcadero lobby level shows today’s One Medical footprint. Click or tap the image to see exactly where McDonald’s used to be.
Then … Herbet is fascinated by the lacquered table top, telling the man next to him that he’s never seen wood like that before. Also in this scene there’s a mis-spoken moment where you can clearly see his lips mouth the (British) word ‘chips’ but you hear ‘fries’, substituted post-production. Note the corner planter behind them…
… that corner planter enables us to deduce which table was used for the scene above. In the 1975 photo (four images above), his table is behind the tall trash enclosure mid-aisle, partially visible above at the far right.