Then … Teddy, conspicuously inconspicuous, heads to Guiglio’s for his dinner with Charlotte.
… and Now, supposedly in North Beach, this was actually filmed in the courtyard of the flamboyantly famous (some would say infamous) lawyer Melvin Belli’s offices at 722 Montgomery Street in San Francisco’s Jackson Square district (thanks to ReelSF reader Notcom for the I.D).
… A vintage photo … this contemporaneous photo shows the same awning as that seen in the Then image above. That’s the Transamerica pyramid soaring in the background (photo - Examiner/Bob McLeod).
… and Now, here’s 722 Montgomery today. The historic building, built in 1849, was bought by Belli in 1959; it functioned as his law offices for the next 30 years. The old brick structure was rendered uninhabitable by the 1989 earthquake and stood empty for 25 years before being strengthened and retrofitted into residential apartments and a retail store.
… A vintage photo … this was Teddy’s view of the courtyard when he walked in. The British-style telephone box, a prominent part of the Then image above, was a stunt prop installed by Belli (photo - Examiner/Bob McLeod). But there was no restaurant in the courtyard.
Then … Inside the restaurant he arrives just in time to take a call from Charlotte. Oh, no, she can’t make it! Her work has taken her to Los Angeles, but she invites him to fly down and join her overnight, an offer he can’t refuse.
… and Now, there was no Giuglio’s restaurant anywhere in North Beach - this was filmed elsewhere and Citysleuth has yet to find the location: it could have been in San Francisco or Los Angeles. Any blog reader who recognizes it is encouraged to leave a comment or notify citysleuth@reelsf.com.
Then … He rushes to a Western Union Telegraph office to send a telegram to himself supposedly from his office saying he has to attend a meeting in L.A. right away.
… and Now, he was in the Jackson Square district running east across Columbus towards the Western Union office at 560 Jackson Street, but the sign was a movie prop - the actual tenant at this address back then was the Robert Domergue Antiques Gallery. Note the unchanged doorknob, locks, doorbell and overhead light on the 560 Jackson door. Oh, and the matching lamppost.
Then … He must feel guilty because he decides to make Didi an impromptu meal before the telegram arrives. There’s a great view behind him as he drives to a store.
… and Now, it’s the view from the top of Telegraph Hill looking down then up Union Street towards the Russian Hill skyline. This part of town has looked just the same for many decades.
Barbara Bel Geddes’ character Midge in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 classic Vertigo lived in a Telegraph Hill apartment with a sweeping vista that included that view, left of center.
Then … his destination is Speedy’s at 301 Union on the corner of Montgomery.
… and Now, this beloved neighborhood store served the top-of-the-hill residents for 93 years before closing down in 2008 since which time it has seen a succession of short-lived tenants. Note the same yellow and black tiles both Then and Now.
Speedy’s has appeared in several movies over the decades including in the 1951 noir House On Telegraph Hill, below. Its official name was still New Union Grocery back then, but the locals still called it Speedy’s (easier to say than Spediacci’s, the name of the family who owned it).
Then … Teddy drives home, here crossing Montgomery Street. But locals viewing this will have a good laugh …
… and Now, because they know in the real world he’s heading into a cul-de-sac! In the distance the Bay Bridge crosses to Yerba Buena Island on its way to Oakland. (That cul-de-sac continuity goof also happened in Vertigo when Jimmy Stewart’s character Scottie Ferguson drove out of it on his way to Midge’s apartment).
Then … The time traveler is fascinated by the sight of boxes containing moving images at a store on a street corner. Note the windows wrapping around a structural column at left and on the right window pane there’s a reflection revealing a crosswalk behind Herbert showing a pedestrian next to a post on a short flared pedestal across the street.
Then … This view looking out from inside the store reveals there’s a similar post and pedestal on this side of the crosswalk; it has a parking meter next to it. The two posts and the parking meter helped confirm this location.
… and Now, ReelSF blog reader Al identified this location (see his comment below) as the Chinatown TV store at 653 Kearny on the corner of Clay Street. Since then it has been remodeled; the windows that caught Herbert’s attention above have since been made narrower to make room for an added Clay Street entrance but the structural column inside in the corner is still there. The store was a Subway sandwich shop from 2001 until 2019 and is currently a museum dedicated to the history and memory of the unheralded Chinese railway workers who helped build the U.S. Transcontinental Railroad.
… in 1964 … here’s a vintage photo of the Chinatown TV store. This view looks east along Clay Street across Kearny; it reveals that the Clay Street windows used to be as wide as the windows above them (which are unchanged today). The corner sign is the same one then as it is now, only the name has changed. (Nostalgic Turk Murphy jazz fans will appreciate the sight of Earthquake McGoon’s club at 630 Clay down the road on the far left).
For additional confirmation, here’s a 2015 Google Street View image looking in the opposite direction west along Clay Street when the store, left, was a Subway. It shows the two matching poles and pedestals on either side of the crosswalk that are seen in the movie images (only one is there now), plus the parking meter next to the pole by the store (it’s since been removed). Portsmouth Square is on the right.
Then … Herbert’s search for Stevenson takes him to several more banks beginning with Banco Di Roma.
… and Now, this is the California Street entrance of the Kohl Building at 400 Montgomery. Note Then and Now the matching ornamentation and flagpole wall cleat and halyard at the side of the entrance. There’s a different bank there now, a branch of Sterling Bank and Trust.
Then … Between bank visits he’s seen on the corner of Montgomery and Clay with the 1972 TransAmerica Pyramid headquarters behind him. Further back, left of center, is the original 1909 TransAmerica headquarters on the corner of Montgomery and Columbus.
… and Now, the same view today. The original TransAmerica building is barely visible from this viewpoint but it’s still there, now owned by the Church Of Scientology.
In this photo looking back along Columbus the old and the new TransAmerica headquarters buildings are nicely juxtaposed.
Then … More banks … next up is First Enterprise Bank at 260 Montgomery Street on the corner of Pine Street.
… in 1980 … A fire broke out in this building in July 1980, taking the life of a fire captain and injuring 13 others. Read here the harrowing accounts of firefighters who experienced the deadly collapse.
… and Now, a 15 story commercial building, addressed as 250 Montgomery, was built on this site in 1986.
Then … The Sumitomo Bank of California is next. (Note another Sumitomo branch across the street reflected in the window).
… and Now, this main office and agency were at 351 California Street per the 1978 city directory; the same directory listed a Sumitomo branch across the street at 320 California. The window below is the one seen in the movie - the street level space has been home to various retail businesses over the years and is currently being redone for the next tenant.
Then … And finally, the French Bank of California at 130 Montgomery Street. But no luck, Stevenson hadn’t stopped by any of them.
… and Now, here’s the same doorway today.
… and Now, it’s worth stepping back to admire 130 Montgomery Street. It’s a 1930 Art Deco gem, a delightful surprise sandwiched between two much taller office buildings.
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 current 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 (sometime after 2008) and at that time there was a Mobil gas station 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 finding 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.
Herbert needs cash; he goes to a bank to change his Victorian pounds into dollars. The foreign exchange manager (Bob Shaw) tells him they are only worth “… twenty five dollars and fifty cents”. But it’s a start - he can also sell some jewelry that he had brought with him.
Then … As Herbert stands up to leave (left of center) a camera shot from above reveals a dramatic high-ceilinged lobby with a central circular teller station. Fortunate, because this enabled ID’ing the location; R. Christian Anderson, moderator of the excellent Lost San Francisco blog, recognized it as California First Bank at 350 California Street (map). Sansome Street is seen through the window; it was 3-lane one way northbound back then (it’s two way now).
… and Now, the matching shot today shows significant changes. The centerpiece teller station is gone, now a seating area, and the open desk area alongside the Sansome Street wall has been converted to enclosed offices. There’s still a bank in the lobby though - US Bank.
… and Now, here’s an exterior view of 350 California, a brutalist structure built in 1976. The street-level windows along Sansome seen in the Then interior image above are now mostly covered with US Bank advertising posters.
Then … To check if Stevenson might also have exchanged money Herbert embarks on a tour of neighboring banks in the city’s Financial District, beginning with the Bank of Canton of California’s main branch at 555 Montgomery on the corner of Clay (map).
… and Now, here’s the same corner today, but … this is an entirely different building, built on the site in 1984-85 six years after the movie was filmed. A bank still occupies the first floor here - East West Bank.
Then … shortly afterwards we see Herbert exiting the bank. In the left glass pane there’s a reflection of the Renaissance-Revival Bank Of Italy building across the street at 550 Montgomery, further confirming the location.
Worthy of mention historically: back then the Bank of Canton of California had another branch at 743 Washington Street in Chinatown (it’s an East West Bank branch today, below left). It was housed in the historic Chinese Telephone Exchange building (seen, below right, in the 1947 movie The Lady From Shanghai when it was still operating as an exchange). When it opened in 1901, the operators had to know every Chinatown customer by name and address because it was considered rude to refer to a person by number. Each operator also had to speak the many dialects of Chinese spoken by the residents.
Then … Next up is the Bank Melli Iran. Once again a window reflection of the building opposite helps identify where this was.
… and Now, Bank Melli Iran’s San Francisco’s branch was on the first floor of the 43-story Wells Fargo skyscraper at 44 Montgomery Street. Built during 1964-67, it was briefly the city’s tallest building until the Bank of America building at 555 California Street surpassed it in 1969. Bank Melli Iran was most likely in the Montgomery/Sutter corner space occupied until recently by First Republic Bank (bottom left) (map). The reflection in the glass both Then and Now is the Hunter-Dulin building across the street. (Related trivia - in November 1979 following the Islamic Revolution the Jewish Defense League claimed credit for a bomb explosion outside the Bank Melli Iran office).
Then … A brief close-in camera pan reveals the next bank: Golden State Sanwa Bank. The city directory listed it at 300 Montgomery Street, a building occupying the whole block, but where exactly in that high-rise was it? This panorama yields significant clues ... note the metal plate on a column at far left and the reflection of the Russ Building at the corner of Montgomery and Pine.
… and Now, in this view 300 Montgomery’s main entrance is at far left but the bank’s entrance was in the corner at Pine in the space currently occupied by Walgreen’s (large arrow) (map). Look carefully and you’ll see damage marks on the column to the left of the entrance where the metal plate used to be (small arrow).
Then … Finally, a peek at a Bank of the Orient sign. The 1978 city directory listed its address as 233 Sansome Street (map).
… and Now, it’s still there!
