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San Francisco Chronicle (04/Jul/2008) - 'Vertigo's' San Francisco locations

(c) San Francisco Chronicle (04/Jul/2008)

'Vertigo's' San Francisco locations

"Vertigo" turns 50 this year but has hardly aged at all. Besides making what is generally acknowledged to be one of the 10 best movies ever, Alfred Hitchcock also captured San Francisco circa 1958. Some of the locations no longer exist, or are under new ownership, or are barely recognizable. Others resemble actual sites but were re-created down to the last detail in Hollywood.

Here's a guide to what's real, what's illusion and what's still standing. It's an updated version of a guide I did in 1996, when "Vertigo" was restored to its original splendor.

California Palace of the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park (entrance at 34th Avenue and Clement Street) (view location)

Kim Novak as Madeleine - a wealthy San Francisco socialite with an identity crisis - visits the art museum where a portrait of her great-grandmother, Carlotta Valdes, hangs in Gallery 6 alongside medieval tapestries and 17th century French and Italian paintings. In honor of the screening Thursday (see box), the gallery has been put back together pretty much the way it was when Madeleine visited. There will even be a copy of the fake portrait to stare at. Several sculptures are also back in the galleries Madeleine walks through to her destination.

Mission Dolores at 16th and Dolores Streets (view location)

Madeleine walks through the chapel of the mission into the cemetery to stare at Carlotta's grave. The mission - founded in 1776 and the oldest continuously occupied building in San Francisco - is still there, though the tombstone is gone. It remained in the cemetery for several years after the filming and was a highlight of the Gray Line tour. But with tourists passing by real tombstones to get to Carlotta's, the bishop decided it had to go.

The Brocklebank, 1000 Mason St. (view location)

To this day, people refer to this elegant L-shaped apartment building with its sweeping courtyard as the place where Novak lived in "Vertigo." When an attractive blonde in a fur coat gets into a limo in front of the building, it's easy to imagine that Novak still lives there.

900 block of Lombard Street (view location)

Jimmy Stewart plays Scottie, a detective who, while trying to help Madeleine at the urging of her husband, falls in love with her. Scottie's duplex is still there, although the door is no longer painted red. There's no point in disturbing the current residents by trying to peer in - the interiors were all shot in Hollywood.

Podesta Baldocchi (view location)

The well-known floral shop where Madeleine stops to buy a small nosegay of forget-me-nots has moved twice since it was filmed at its 224 Grant Ave. location. Now it is strictly phone and e-mail orders. The shop West Coast Leather, occupying the space at 508 Grant Ave., is going out of business. Peek in and you'll see parquet floors nothing like the tile floors (acquired from the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition) that made Hitchcock choose the Podesta Baldocchi in the first place. The Italian marble artwork also is long gone.

Ernie's Restaurant (view location)

The fancy eatery that Madeleine sweeps through closed in 1995, a victim of changing tastes. At Ernie's closing party, owner Victor Gotti recalled that Hitchcock gave him a speaking part in the movie. Gotti was supposed to greet Scottie when he came in with Madeleine. But when the two walked in, Gotti said, "Good evening, Mr. Stewart" instead. Actually, the movie wasn't filmed at Ernie's. Hitchcock reproduced the restaurant's exterior and upstairs room, borrowing its dishes, paintings and antiques.

Fort Point (under the southern approach to the Golden Gate Bridge, reached from the Presidio) (view location)

The Presidio is no longer a military base, but Fort Point, where Scottie rescues Madeleine from a suicide attempt, still stands. So does the Palace of Fine Arts (Marina Boulevard and Lyon Street), where Scottie strolls with Judy, a down-on-her-luck shopgirl who is a dead ringer for Madeleine and also is played by Kim Novak.

McKittrick Hotel (view location)

The hotel that Madeleine checks into never existed; that scene was filmed in the historic 20-room Portman Mansion at 1007 Gough St. Built in 1890, it was torn down in 1959. Today, an apartment building occupies the site.

Empire Hotel (view location)

The hotel at 940 Sutter St. where Judy resides is still there, though it is now called the Hotel York. The green neon sign outside her window is gone.

Ransohoffs

Scottie takes Judy shopping at this upscale women's specialty shop, which closed in 1976. Escada, a fancy Italian designer, took over the space at 259 Post St. for years. The shop space is empty now, the windows papered with "For Lease" signs. The exterior of Ransohoffs appears in the film, but the sales floor was re-created in the studio. Hitchcock requested Ransohoffs' distinctive red and gold boxes, which are shown strewn all over Judy's room at the Empire.

Mission San Juan Bautista, 91 miles south of San Francisco, off Highway 101 (view location)

The last dizzying scene of "Vertigo" is set at the mission, which is open to the public. But don't go there expecting to climb to the bell tower. It was built in the studio and optically superimposed on the actual mission. The church didn't have a bell tower when Hitchcock filmed there. He had seen an old photo of the building with a tower and thought it looked better than way.

Vertigo

8 p.m. Thursday. Part of Cinema Supper Club: From the Golden Gate to the Silver Screen, a series of films shot in or around San Francisco. Florence Gould Theater at the Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park at 34th Avenue and Clement Street. Events include 6:45 p.m. book signing by the authors of "Footsteps in the Fog: Alfred Hitchcock's San Francisco" and a related exhibition (open until 9 p.m.). Tickets are $20 ($10 for museum members). Dinner is optional. Dinner reservations are recommended (first seating at 6 p.m.) and must be made separately by calling (415) 750-7633. For tickets, go to www.legionofhonor.org or www.museumtix.com or call (866) 912-6326.

To see where "Vertigo" and other movies filmed in San Francisco were shot, go to www.sfgate.com

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