George Hamilton, the proprietor of the Chronicle (Louis Payne) decides to write a series of inspirational editorials to counter declining circulation numbers. But with pen in hand and paper in front of him inspiration is hard to find.
Then … Hands clasped behind his back, he starts pacing through the Chronicle building, seen here in the editorial room.
… and Now, 100 years later this is the same room, on the 3rd floor at 901 Mission Street, still being used by the newspaper’s reporting staff.
The editorial room was captured in this 1924 photograph. The pneumatic message delivery tubes near the partition right of center and the desk in the right foreground are the same as in the Then image above. (Photo by Gabriel Moulin).
Then … The workers at the makeup tables who set the editorial stories in text form using individual metal letters try their best to look busy when they see him pass by.
This was filmed in the Chronicle’s composing room, captured here in 1924, most likely on the 2nd floor of 901 Mission Street. CitySleuth was unable to access this space for a matching photo; it was being remodeled when he visited. (Photo by Gabriel Moulin).
Then … Next he marches through the linotype room…
… here’s that same room in 1924. (Photo by Gabriel Moulin). By converting individual letters to complete lines of text using molten alloys, mostly lead, the linotype machines increased printing efficiency significantly. In hindsight one can only shudder at the health hazards to those operators from the molten lead fumes.
Then … And here he’s in the press room passing an array of printing presses…
… the giant presses were in the basement of the Chronicle building. This is the same aisle in 1924 viewed from the opposite direction. (Photo by Gabriel Moulin).
When he overhears Tom on the other side of the press sharing inspirational advice about truth, love and duty with his young assistant, the proprietor eagerly takes it all in.
Tom is invited up to the proprietor’s office. They make strange bedfellows but when prompted to share his philosophy of life Tom is more than happy to oblige.
Later at home, Tom reads the editorial in the paper and is shocked to see his creed, based on Truth, Love and Duty, right there in print with no credit as to the source.
Then … Throughout the movie we see several shots of the exterior and interior of the city’s main police headquarters. Here Callahan and Gonzalez approach the main entrance, filmed in front of San Francisco’s Hall of Justice, South of Market at 850 Bryant Street (map).
… and Now, the spillover of the Financial District transforming SoMa has yet to reach this block.
Then … Later we see the front of the Hall of Justice; the door at far left is the main entrance. The Seal of the City and County of San Francisco is prominently displayed on the side of the building.
… and Now, the building looks essentially the same today. The seal is still there, hiding in the shade of the now-matured trees.
Then … Earlier in the movie Callahan descends into the building from the roof. This too was filmed at the Hall of Justice, on the rooftop’s helipad.
… and Now, an aerial view shows that the helipad is still there but it’s no longer in use.
Then … Images from two of the interior scenes are shown below. On the left is the office of Callahan’s boss in room 750 and on the right the D.A.’s office in room 710. But these were not filmed inside the Hall of Justice; instead, a brochure accompanying the Blu-Ray disc tells us that they were filmed on the 7th floor of the PG&E building…
… and Now, but the brochure doesn’t say which PG&E building it was - there were two of them when the movie was filmed. The recent photo on the left below shows the original 1925 building downtown at 245 Market Street. The photo on the right is taken around the corner on Beale Street; it shows the original building on the left and a new taller structure next to it at 77 Beale Street which opened in 1971, the year the movie was filmed. So… which one was it? Several online movie location sites claim it was the new building at 77 Beale, but CitySleuth disagrees…
Why? Because exterior windows visible in another office scene give us the clue. The design is a pair of side-by-side windows with a wider separation between each set, matching those on the Market Street and Beale Street sides of the original building, above. The new building’s windows are completely different. So CitySleuth nominates the 7th floor of the original 245 Market Street building (map) as the filming location of the interior scenes.
Then … The killer has threatened to kill one person a day until his ransom is paid. He had struck from a rooftop the first time so the police department posted armed lookouts on rooftops around the city and dispatched a helicopter to survey from above. The panorama below, filmed from a tall building in Russian Hill, looks to the north and spans the Golden Gate Bridge on the left to Alcatraz on the right.
… and Now, CitySleuth was able to access the same rooftop to be able to match the panorama as it looks today, … mostly identical but a breakwater has been added at Hyde Street Pier and Pier 45 at far right..
The camera’s vantage point was the roof of Bellaire Tower, pictured in a recent photo below. Built in 1930, the elegant pencil-thin condominium at 1101 Green Street (map) was designed by H.C. Baumann, a prolific San Francisco architect who designed over 400 apartment buildings and hotels.
The helicopter then flies past more police lookouts positioned atop Bellaire Tower. The building seen through the antenna at far right is The Summit at 999 Green Street, another swanky residential high-rise. Built in 1965, this Joseph Eichler project had a modern exterior design - lots of glass and balconies - but lacking the class of Bellaire Tower.
Then … The helicopter banks towards downtown in a shot that shows 999 Green more clearly on the left. The tall building at far right is the Bank Of America Center from whose roof the killer had first struck.
… and Now, downtown today is far more crowded. The TransAmerica pyramid clearly visible below was under construction at the time of the fly-by. When completed it was the tallest building in the city until being surpassed in 2018 by the bullet-shaped Salesforce Tower.
If for no other reason than it’s a lovely photo, check out this north-facing view of the Russian Hill high-rises showing The Summit in the center and Bellaire Tower on the left.
Then … The helicopter lands on a rooftop to check in with Harry Callahan. The nearby red sign reading ‘BM&T Paper’ belonged to the 870 Brannan Street headquarters of Blake Moffit & Towne Wholesale Paper Distributors - it provided the clue to this location: this is the helipad on the roof of the Hall Of Justice at 850 Bryant Street in the SoMa district.
The helicopter takes off and Callahan descends into the Police headquarters.
… and Now, here’s a recent aerial shot of The Hall Of Justice; the helipad is still there but no longer used after the SFPD Aero Squadron was disbanded in part because of fatal crashes. On the left Highway 80 runs past the curvilinear County Jail.
Then … The helicopter swings by a couple more lookouts - this one is on the roof of 1080 Chestnut in Russian Hill. Above it are the Municipal and Hyde Street Piers.
Then … And here’s another atop the Fontana East Condominiums at 1000 North Point, also in Russian Hill. That’s Aquatic Park on the left.
… and Now, this recent aerial view captures both of those buildings - the yellow arrow points to 1080 Chestnut and the white arrow to 1000 North Point. Fort Mason is in the upper left corner and Fisherman’s Wharf is over to the right.
Then ... Val, responding to Arlene's telegrammed cry for help, speeds south down 4th Street on her way to Butchertown Bridge. Behind her, facing us, is the Roos Bros. department store on Market Street (map).
... and Now, The store today houses the Union Square branch of Forever 21.
The Roos Bros. store opened October 31, 1908 to great fanfare, an important contribution to the city's downtown post-earthquake recovery. It's pictured here after a 1937 remodel; Stockton Street intersects at far left.
Then ... Now it's the turn of the police to join the chase - a police captain's car pulls out of Harbor Police Station from the left side and heads south on Drumm Street, about to pass the masonry arched Engine 12 firehouse at far right on the southwest corner of Drumm and Commercial Street.
... and Now, Three Embarcadero Center replaced this block of Commercial Street in the 1970s and a pedestrian bridge was added above Drumm. Ann Taylor and a Naturalizer Store currently overlap the location of the old firehouse site (map).
This 1953 photo of a 1929 hose tender taken outside the Engine 12 firehouse shows the masonry arches seen in the movie. The window visible through the open door looked out onto Commercial.
Then ... The police station, kitty-korner across Drumm from the firehouse, spits out a cadre of cops on bikes.
... a vintage photo ... a wider view of Harbor Police Station, on the northeast corner of Drumm and Commercial, is seen in this photo.
... and Now, the Embarcadero Four Center sits astride where this Commercial Street block used to be. For a look at the block before it was demolished go here.
Then ... Tony's cab isn't far behind Val as it heads across Market about to turn into 4th Street. Note the vertical sign at far left for the California Theatre, San Francisco's first real movie palace, which opened in 1917.
... and Now, the building on the right corner dates from 1908 and has survived but the theatre building across 4th at 799 Market was demolished in 1961, subsequently replaced by the retail/office building still there today.
.... here's a 1944 vintage photo that, 10 years later, reproduces the Then image above. By then the movie house had been renamed the State Theatre, continuing under this name until it closed down in 1961. Note Roos Bros. store opposite.
And for those theatre history buffs amongst us here's a c. 1917 photo taken shortly after the original California Theatre opened.
Then ... When the cops make a turn into a wide thoroughfare a barely legible United Cigars store sign on the corner at left provided the clue to this location.
... a vintage photo ... CitySleuth came across this 1921 photo taken from the same spot; it looks east along Mission Street past 4th (map). The United Cigars store was at 99 4th Street.
... and Now, the soul of SoMa is rapidly crumbling under the encroachment of impersonal modern buildings.
Here's a challenge, dear readers - the location of this next shot of Tony's cab has so far stumped CitySleuth. Does anybody out there recognize it? (The sloping hill at the end of the street may be the best clue)...
... a closer view of the hillside is seen as the cab nears the end of the road. Note the path or road winding up the lowest part of the hill. But where is this?
