I feel like a native San Franciscan
There are very few movie palaces still in existence. Sure there are plenty of movie theatres and cinemaplexes that have 16 marginal films on the screen and the theatre has all of the charm of the trailer that housed my 9th grade English class. I'm talking about a movie palace, the type of place where women would get as dolled up as the actresses on the screen and going out and seeing a film was a social event.
There are a few of these old gems sprinkled around the country. Tampa has the Tampa Theatre, Atlanta has The Fox and San Francisco has The Castro. The Castro is a majestic building with eclectic architecture that is a mix of Spanish, Asian and Italian styles that reflect the cities diverse cultures. I can imagine Jean Harlow and Gary Cooper making a grand entrance into the gilded lobby. I'll wear a T-shirt and jeans to the megaplex, but I still dress up to go to The Castro.
On June 1st The Castro is playing Vertigo, a Hitchcock classic that takes place in San Francisco. It played here a few years ago and the day after I saw the film I challenged my boyfriend to go on a scavenger hunt to find all of the locations that were shown in the film. Here is a cheat sheet of places to find. Get dressed up, enjoy the show and have fun the next day!
1. Mission Dolores: (3321 Sixteenth Street) Madeleine visits Carlotta Valdes' grave here (also a studio prop). Founded in 1776, it was the third in a chain of 21 California missions and it served the area's original inhabitants, the Ohlone Indians.
2. Palace of the Legion of Honor: (Lincoln Park near 34th Avenue and Clement) Madeleine stares at the painting of Carlotta Valdes inside (the painting was a movie prop). Founded by Alma de Bretteville Spreckels and her husband, Adolph B. Spreckels the sugar magnate, had its genesis in the Panama Pacific International Exposition of 1915, but it was conceived from the outset as a museum of fine art. Mrs. Spreckels was the model for the statue in Union Square.
3. Fort Point: (below the south anchorage of the Golden Gate Bridge) Madeleine jumps into the water here. Don't go looking for the steps that Scotty carries her up, they were constructed for the movie. Fort Point was begun in the mid-1800s and was obsolete before it was completed. Joseph Strauss, father of the Golden Gate Bridge, insisted that the bridge's anchorage not disturb the historic fort.
4. Palace of Fine Arts: (3301 Lyon Street) Scotty and Madeleine stroll near the lonely remnant of the 1915 Pan-Pacific Exposition and still a popular place for lovers.
5. Scottie's Apartment: (900 Lombard Street at Jones) It's just down the hill from the famous "crookedest" street.
6. Ernie's: (847 Montgomery) This is where Scottie first meets Madeleine. For a time, it was the Essex Supper Club but it is now closed. It is located in the Jackson Square historic district. The buildings in this areas were the only commercial buildings to escape the fire in 1906. City Guides Gold Rush City tours acquaint you with the history of the area.
7. Apartments, at 1000 Mason across from the Fairmont Hotel and the The Empire Hotel where Judy lived Nob Hill: In this vicinity, you will find Madeleine's apartment building, The Brocklebank at 940 Sutter Street, near Hyde. Hitchcock told Truffaut that he had Judy live in the Hotel Empire because of its big, green neon sign. The name has changed, but the building is still there. A walk around this area will give most of us an idea of the lifestyle we'll never afford.
8. The Brocklebank: at 1000 Mason St.: 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.
9. Podesta Baldocchi: 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. The shop is now at 508 Fourth St. In-Wear Matinique, a Danish clothing company, is ensconced in the Grant Avenue location, but it looks nothing like it did in the movie. Long gone are the Italian marble artwork and tile floors (acquired from the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition) that made Hitchcock choose the shop in the first place.
10. McKittrick Hotel: The hotel that Madeleine checks into never existed; that scene was filmed at the historic 20-room Portman mansion at 1007 Gough St. Built in 1890, it was torn down in 1959. An apartment building sits on the site.
11. Empire Hotel: 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.
12. Ransohoffs: Scottie takes Judy shopping at this upscale women's specialty shop, which closed in 1976. Escada, a fancy Italian designer, is now in its 259 Post St. location. 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.
13. Mission San Juan Bautista: 91 miles south of San Francisco, off Highway 101: 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 that way.