Vertigo - Midge's Apartment
Then ... Scottie visits his old flame Midge (Barbara Bel Geddes). The vista from her apartment window looks west to Russian Hill from the top of Union Street on Telegraph Hill. The building on the skyline to the left of Midge's shoulder is the La Mirada apartment building at 1100 Union Street. This interior scene was filmed at Paramount Studios using a photographic background plate to virtually set the location. ( The same plate was used two years later in a scene from Portrait In Black).
... and Now , the same view today from near the same spot. The twin spires to the right of center are those of Sts. Peter and Paul church on Filbert Street at Washington Square.
Then ... Where was this building? Later in the movie we find out when Scottie drops Midge off in front of her apartment. He's driving up Union Street from Calhoun Terrace (a cul-de-sac!) - Yerba Buena Island and the Bay Bridge are in the distance across the bay (map).
... and Now, other than some building changes on either side of the road this view looks essentially the same.
Then ... He pulls up at the corner of Union and Montgomery. Back then this was 298 Union Street - it has since been replaced by another building.
... below, a circa 1970 photo of the same building, before it was pulled down, as it looked to Hitchcock and his crew. Note the same concrete wall, railing and steps. Midge's apartment would be upstairs facing west, on the building's left side in this photo, however the west view from there would be blocked by the building across Montgomery Street so Midge's view must have been photographed from this or a nearby rooftop. This house dated back to the late 1800's and barely escaped the devasting fires of the 1906 earthquake. Note too that the west-facing windows are different from the studio set's picture windows.
... and Now, in 1974 it was replaced by a 5 unit apartment building re-addressed as 296 Union Street. That third story window probably does have Midge's view.