The movie has many scenes filmed both inside and outside the San Francisco Chronicle Building.
Then … For the exterior shots the movie crew filmed outside the Chronicle headquarters at 690 Market on the corner of Kearny (map). Built in 1889, the building is shown here viewed from the Call Building opposite. The Chronicle moved in 1924 to a new location at Fifth and Mission Streets across from the old U.S. Mint, so this building must have been vacant when the movie was filmed here the following year.
… and Now, 690 Market is still there; it became a for-lease office building after it was vacated in 1924, known as either the Old Chronicle Building or the de Young Building. In 2004 a developer secured a permit to double its height in return for seismic-strengthening and restoration of the original building. By 2007 the odd-looking 24-story hybrid structure opened as the Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences, offering condominium apartments in the $1 million to $4+ million range.
Then … Tom MacDonald (Ralph Lewis) has been the Chronicle’s assistant Chief of Printing for over 20 years. Here he is operating one of the newspaper’s printing presses. But this and all of the other Chronicle interior scenes were filmed in the new building just 3 long blocks away.
… in 1924 … here’s the new Chronicle Building at 901 Mission Street (map) the year it opened. Architecturally styled as Gothic Revival, it included an apartment below the clock for proprietor and publisher M. H. de Young who alternated between weekdays here and weekends at his Hillsborough residence. The building extended along Mission to the right and along 5th Street to the left as far as Minna Street. (Photo by Moulin Studios).
… and Now, the Chronicle is still housed here, but no longer occupying all of the building as some parts have been leased out during periods of downsizing. In 1968 the exterior was ‘modernized’ with stucco and some of its ornamentation was removed; it’s now arguably inferior compared to its prior grandeur. Note at far left there’s an added extension across Minna Street. Note too that one of the original arched entrance doors on Mission (behind the bus shelter, below) is no longer there.
Here’s Chronicle owner M. H. de Young relaxing in his palatial apartment in the new Chronicle Building in 1924. His permission would have been required for the moviemakers to film there a year later. (Photo by Moulin Studios).
Then … This shot of Tom in the Press Room shows the massive printing presses behind him. They were in a double-height space that extended vertically from basement level. On the left beneath the wall lamp are two man-lifts that transported employees down to and up from the sub-basement where the paper reels were stored. (there is a moment later in the movie when you see them being used).
… in 1924 … this vintage photo shows those same presses, 14 in a row, viewed from the other direction, with what appears to be man-lifts on the right. (Photo by Moulin Studios).
… in 1924 … photographer Gabriel Moulin took this photo of another pair of man-lifts elsewhere in the building. The one with the pole whisked the man down; the other, up. No way would OSHA allow their use nowadays. (Photo by Moulin Studios).
Then … Next, a brief shot shows newspapers sliding down a chute. The man on the right leans down from the back of a Chronicle delivery truck, scooping up the bundles.
This grainy 1920s photo shows the truck or one just like it backed up to the chute outside the building. The chute connected to a mailroom upstairs.
… in 1924 … this is the mailroom where the papers were bundled up prior to sending them down to the delivery trucks. The employees are all obediently posing for photographer Gabriel Moulin. (Photo by Moulin Studios).
Then … We see a vendor selling the papers on the corner of 5th Street, opposite the Chronicle building. The fenced garden fronts the U.S. Mint just off the frame on the left and on the right is the 5th Street Stage Terminal at the corner of Jessie, owned by the Pickwick Stage Lines. Market Street crosses in the distance.
… and Now, the 5-globe streetlight and an updated fire hydrant can still be seen at this corner today. The Pickwick Hotel across 5th on the right, built in 1928, incorporated the stage terminal which later became a Greyhound terminal (featured in the 1947 movie Dark Passage). It has long since closed down.
Then … The insurance investigator handling the death of Susan Dumurrier is ready to report back to his superiors. Here he looks up at his office building.
… and Now, he’s on Sansome Street with Pine Street crossing behind him. Today’s matching view 52 years later is the same.
Then … As he walks in, the camera pans up to the building’s name - the Royal Insurance Building at 201 Sansome Street in the Financial District (map).
… and Now, the matching view is unchanged in appearance but the sidewalk clock is gone.
… and Now, the 11 story 1907 landmark office building was converted into 46 luxury condominium units in 2006, renamed The Royal.
The investigator presents photos of Susan and Monica and reports that George has become, shall we say, involved with Monica. Suspecting that they are one and the same woman and that Susan is still alive, they decide to turn the case over to the police.
Then … Monica is picked up for questioning; the patrol car is seen here pulling up to a nearby police station.
… and Now, but this isn’t San Francisco - it’s South San Francisco, a separate city just, well, south of San Francisco. This view looks south along Maple Avenue; the building on the left with the sign is the Caledonian Club of San Francisco at 312 Maple - it’s still there today, with a modified sign.
Then … The detective pushes Monica up the steps to the station. Note the insignia on the side of the police car - SSF Police. This is what led CitySleuth to search in South San Francisco.
… and Now, the building is still there, at 315 Maple Avenue, but is now used by the city as a departmental annex. It was the city’s only police station when the movie was filmed until the PD moved to another building, 33 Arroyo Drive, in 1981. An even newer station at 900 Antoinette Lane is scheduled to be ready by the end of this year.
Then … Looking across the street from the steps there’s another view of the Caledonian Club on the east side of the 300 block of Maple Ave.
… and Now, the railings on the steps have been upgraded and that’s about it.
Inside the station the police investigator assigned to the case, Inspector Wald (Canadian actor John Ireland, on the left), tries to figure out Monica’s role in the mystery.
A search of her apartment uncovers a hieroglyphic-like ink blotter. A hand-writing specialist (director Lucio Fulci in a cameo role) discerns clear evidence of her having practiced writing Susan Dumurrier’s signature.
To help sort out the confusion over the Monica/Susan identities the police decide to exhume the body of Susan Dumurrier. Director Fulci would, with subsequent movies, go on to make a major contribution to the horror movie genre but his only nod in that direction in this movie was this brief shot of the corpse. When Susan’s sister Martha identifies it as Susan and an autopsy determines she died by poisoning the police have George and Monica squarely in their sights in what is now a case of murder.
Then … The action returns to San Francisco where from an elevated vantage point we see Lotta’s drinking fountain, an iconic monument at the busy junction of Market Street, Geary and Kearny (map). Streetcars pass by in each direction along Market.
… and Now, here’s Lotta’s fountain today, viewed from street level - the blank sign at the far left corner is where the Willett Chiropractor sign (above) was, at 690 Market Street. Modern streetcars pass by on Market now but wait a minute, check out the fountain - its column is way shorter than it was.
… another view … Here’s a fascinating contemporaneous 1930s vintage photo looking down Geary Street from Market. A man hunches over the fountain, mid-drink; a lively bustling scene is captured, of bars and hotels, of restaurants, of professional offices, tailors, dentists and doctors (why, you could even get your piles cured here). Vibrant, unlike today’s stagnant version. CitySleuth has indicated the four story corner building at 2 Geary Street from whose roof the Then movie clip at the top of this post was filmed.
… and Now, the 2 Geary Street building was built in 1908 and is still there, as are many of the buildings stretching down the block. The St. Francis Hotel at Union Square three blocks down Geary, above, is mostly hidden from here by trees but its added tower block is clearly visible rising above them.
… the original fountain … The fountain was gifted to the city of San Francisco by vaudeville actress Lotta Crabtree in 1875. Here it is, c. 1880, again looking down Geary, so today’s fountain matches the original. In 1917 its column was extended to increase its height to match newly installed street lamps; this was the version filmed in the movie. Then in a 1998 restoration it was changed back to its original height after the ageing column was damaged in a windstorm.
But what most endeared the fountain to the City was its association with the 1906 earthquake and fire; for months afterwards it served as a reunion spot for separated friends and family members. Every year since then a memorial gathering has been held here at 5:12 am on April 18, the time the terrible temblor struck. Another memorable gathering, reportedly 250,000 strong (below), witnessed famed opera soprano Luisa Tettrazzini decked out in an ostrich boa and a large hat perform at a free concert on Christmas Eve 1910 next to the fountain, ending with a rousing ‘Auld Lang Syne’. Close your eyes and imagine for a moment how it must have sounded; for the huge throng joining in, still scarred by the recent earthquake, old acquaintances would indeed never be forgotten.
Now in jail, prime suspect Rhoda is visited by Perry Mason. Always the epicurean, the attorney even brings along a tasty meal. She recounts how she went to see her ex the night he died, but he started slapping her around. The lights went out, she felt the presence of someone else and during the whole incident heard the doorbell ringing. She ran off and returned home. The plot thickens … a slew of other suspects has emerged.
Then … The Ferry Building is in the distance as the chase continues down Market Street. The cops are right behind Mason’s stylish convertible coupe as he makes a right into Fremont Street.
… and Now, the same junction today (map).
… in 1948 … thirteen years after the movie’s release San Francisco rolled out a new fleet of buses with a parade down Market Street seen here in this photo taken from the same block - Fremont Street is at far right.
Then … Another random jump across town sees them driving west along Washington Street between Gough and Octavia at a time when it was served by a cable car line (map). Lafayette Park is on the right.
… and Now, here’s that same block today. At far left at 2080 Washington is the old Spreckels mansion, now hiding behind an enormous privacy hedge. The cable car line was discontinued in September 1956.
Then … They turn right from Washington down Octavia probably oblivious of the unobstructed view across the north bay to Alcatraz and Angel Island.
… and Now, the matching view is a good example of many of San Francisco’s great views that are now obscured by trees grown wild. The Spreckels mansion, on the right, would be prominently seen fifteen years later in the 1950 movie The Man Who Cheated Himself.
Then … Next they are in the Civic Center passing the city’s main library on Larkin Street…
… and Now, which today houses the Asian Art Museum (map).
Then … Now they are traversing the streetcar turnaround area in front of the Ferry Building (map). Note the pedestrian overpass crossing over to the Ferry Building, more clearly seen behind the opening credits of the movie.
… and Now, this is taken from close to the same spot, reflecting the extensive changes seen in this space but sparing us the ugly Embarcadero Freeway whose brief tenure existed during the decades between the Now and Then images above.
… in 1954 … here’s a later look at the turnaround that, in addition to later-generation streetcars and autos, shows the same buildings and billboards seen in the Then image above. The large billboard has moved from the rooftop to the side of its building but continues pushing alcohol, moving on from gin (Gilmore) to beer (Burgermeister). By then the pedestrian overpass had been sacrificed, becoming much-needed scrap iron for the war effort in the 1940s.
Then … Back to the Main Library on Larkin, this time turning west into Mcallister.
… and Now, as mentioned earlier, the Asian Art Museum is now in the Library building. Two blocks down McAllister is the stately 1920s 100 McAllister high-rise that was used earlier in the movie for a panoramic city view.
Then … Next, a step back down Larkin Street, Mason’s car again approaching the Main Library. There’s a clear view across the unbuilt block to, on the far (eastern) side of Market Street, the Hotel Whitcomb which is still there today.
… and Now, but trees and newer buildings hide the hotel from here. One of them, on the right, is the city’s current main library.
Mason urges Spudsy on; it’s imperative they get to the airport in time… “If she gets off on a plane it means she’s running away. And that’ll hang her!”
