Thieves' Highway - Produce Market
After a long overnight drive a very tired Nick arrives at San Francisco's Produce Market. Centered at the junction of Washington and Davis, the market was located within the compact area bounded on the north by Jackson Street, on the south by Clay , on the west by Battery and on the east by the Embarcadero. Originally part of the Barbary Coast, it used to be a raucus mix of prostitution, bars, dance halls and thievery until it was cleaned up in 1911. By the early 1920s it had morphed into the Produce Market. In 1963 the market was moved to Islais Creek to make way for the vast Golden Gateway Redevelopment Project which modernized and transformed the whole area into an extension of the Financial District.
Here's a map of the Produce Market as it was in 1949 when the movie was filmed. Locations of real businesses seen in the movie are listed.
1 - Half Moon Fruit & Produce Co. (Mike Figlia's) 2 - John DeMartini Co.
3 - Levy & Zentner Co. 4 - John DeMartini Co.
5 - Scatena Galli Fruit Co. 6 - Oregon Restaurant
7 - Colchester Hotel 8 - Wellman Peck & Co.
... from 1931 ... And here's an aerial view of the market marked with arrows pointing to locations used in the movie. Although taken in 1931 it shows the market area as it still looked in 1949 when the movie was filmed.
... and Now, this recent photo shows the highly successful urban transformation of the area since the mid 1960s. The four Embarcadero Center office buildings are lined up along Clay Street and that's the Hyatt Regency Hotel opposite the Ferry Building with its rooftop Regency Club Lounge, formerly the Equinox revolving restaurant but now a stationary lounge-with-a-view for well-heeled hotel guests.