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San Francisco movie locations from classic films

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San Francisco movie locations from classic films

Filtering by Tag: San Francisco Bay

One On Top Of The Other - Aerial Tour

November 08, 2020  /  CitySleuth

Then … Director Lucio Fulci originally set his storyline in Louisiana but fortunately for us ended up filming it in San Francisco. It was his first film in the U.S. and he wore his tourist hat when it came to choosing locations. What more iconic if formulaic an intro than to rent a helicopter for the day, fly over the Golden Gate Bridge and tour the city as the opening credits roll?

… and Now, this recent wider panoramic view shows off the beauty of the city spread out before us. The large green expanse in both images is the Presidio, then a military base but since handed over to the city and now open to the public. A bridge feature seen below not there back in 1969 is the central divider which is seamlessly moved daily to add or subtract a lane as demanded by the commute traffic.

 

Then … Our tour of the city continues - this view across the western span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge shows Coit Tower atop Telegraph Hill in the background on the right and Russian Hill off to the left. The Financial District clusters behind the aging piers of the waterfront.

… by 2014 … this image shows the proliferation of the Financial District since the 1960s, spreading South Of Market, an inexorable process that continues to this day. The other big change is along the Embarcadero where many of the piers have been removed, opening up and transforming the waterfront. (Photo credit Q T Luong/ terragalleria.com).

 

Then … the aerial tour next swings by the domed City Hall at the Civic Center. The building in the foreground right of center is the War Memorial Opera House with its vertically extended roof above the stage.

… by 2008 … this view was taken 12 years ago but is close to how it looks today (2020). An added building is visible in the bottom right corner - the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, built next to the Opera house in 1980 on the parking lot site seen above. The long narrow pool that ran down the spine of the plaza (barely visible above) has been removed.

 

Then … Here, our tour guide is flying directly over Russian Hill looking east across the North Beach and Telegraph Hill neighborhoods. The view looks beyond Coit Tower towards Yerba Buena Island and the Bay Bridge. Note the ugly double-decker Embarcadero Freeway at far right, destined to be torn down after being damaged in the 1989 earthquake. In the foreground the twin-spired Saints Peter and Paul church faces Washington Square Park.

… and Now, here’s the same view today, taken from a Russian Hill rooftop. Its wider perspective shows in the left distance the Bay Bridge’s multi-billion dollar eastern span tower that replaced its predecessor, again because of damage from the 1989 earthquake - the western span suspension bridges however survived relatively unscathed. These neighborhoods are little changed since mostly being rebuilt after the 1906 fire.

 

Then … “Hey, this is San Francisco - let’s fly over Alcatraz!” The island has been a military prison dating back to 1861 but the infamous Federal Penitentiary that we see here - it opened in 1934 - was operational for only 29 years. Nevertheless, the sight of the dramatic skyline and the sounds of the city must have been cruelly painful for the prisoners to see and hear each day.

… and Now, today the former prison is one of San Francisco’s most popular tourist attractions; 1.4 million visitors are shuttled by ferry each year to and from the island. CitySleuth recommends the audio tour!

 

Then … We next head over to the far west of town to the Pacific Coast - beneath us is the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center at 42nd Avenue and Clement Street at the former Fort Miley Military Reservation, between Lincoln Park and Point Lobos (map).

… and Now, here’s a recent Google satellite view of the hospital showing significant expansion since then.

 

The tour ends with the helicopter pilot skimming the surf just off the south end of the Great Highway alongside the San Francisco Zoo (map). In the distance on the left a horizontal green sliver (Golden Gate Park) bisects the Sunset and Richmond districts and Lincoln Park and the Presidio outline the horizon.

 
Comment
tags / Presidio, San Francisco Bay, Civic Center, Telegraph Hill, Alcatraz, Lincoln Park, Great Highway

Fog Over Frisco - Find The Killer!

October 29, 2017  /  CitySleuth

    With Val missing, the search for Arlene's killer becomes even more urgent.  When a will from Arlene is found all are astonished to learn that she had all along been secretly married, to an Arthur Burchard.  Her father remembers the name and that he came from Los Angeles.  The manhunt turns to Burchard.

 

Then ...  Burchard it seemed owned a small yacht and the search now concentrates on scouring the waterways for it.  For these shots, locations in Los Angeles and in San Francisco were used.  This one shows a Douglas Dolphin flying boat leaving its embarkation dock within the Los Angeles Harbor's Slip No. 5.

... in 1938 ...  here's a vintage photo of that same flying boat at the dock; it was right next to the Wilmington Catalina Terminal (map).  Instead of taking a ferry boat from the terminal, the well-heeled could fly to Catalina Island for the $5 fare advertised below.  (That's a different building seen above across the slip).

... and Now,  the terminal building is gone and this corner of today's Slip No. 5 has become very industrialized.

 

Then ...  the flying boat continues searching off the coast.

... and Now,  the coastline is that of San Pedro with the Palos Verdes Hills in the background.  The fly-by above was probably filmed from the Los Angeles Harbor lighthouse perched at the end of a long breakwater (map); this recent photo of it shows the same coastline.

 

Then ...   Tony too joins the search for Burchard's boat in the Los Angeles Harbor.  The harbor's distinctive clock tower can be seen across the Turning Basin towards the right beyond the ship's smokestack. 

... c 1920 ...  this early photo captured the 1917 cruise terminal and clock tower in its glory days.  They were demolished in the late 1940s.

... and Now,  the cruise terminal and clock tower were rebuilt in expanded form in 1963; here it is today (map).

 

  This 1956 photo of the Los Angeles Harbor highlights the locations seen during the search for the killer.

 

Then ...   The search continues but this time stock footage was used of two ferryboats in San Francisco Bay - the first is close to the Ferry Building.

  ... and Now,  this is the Southern Pacific Railroads' ferryboat 'Berkeley' which operated between the Oakland Pier and the Ferry Building from 1898 to 1958.  After a spell as a tourist mall moored in Sausalito (where it was briefly seen in the 1972 movie 'Play It Again Sam'), it ended up in the San Diego Maritime Museum, still there between two other historic vessels.

 

Then ...   Another ferryboat is seen off Hyde Street Pier where Russian Hill in the background climbs halfway to the stars.

... in 1935  ...  one year before Fog Over Frisco was released this same ferryboat was photographed passing by the partially constructed Bay Bridge.  It's the Southern Pacific Golden Gate Ferries 'Lake Tahoe'.  Later the boat was moved to Puget Sound and renamed the 'Illahee' where it operated until retirement in 2007.  It is currently awaiting the scrap merchant.

 

    Tony succeeds in finding Burchard's boat and rescues Val.  What he learns blows the lid off the case.  It turns out that Burchard and Arlene's 'secret lover' Mayard are one and the same person; he it was who killed Arlene in an argument over letters she had written that implicated him in the stolen bond scheme.

   Tony returns and tips off the police ... they finally get their man.

 
2 Comments
tags / Wilmington, San Pedro, Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay

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