There’s a Facebook page devoted to San Francisco nostalgia succinctly titled ‘San Francisco Remembered’. It posts vintage pictures of San Francisco that are contributed to the page by members who have joined the group. For nostalgic San Francisco photos on Facebook, San Francisco Remembered is at the top of the list. A number of the pictures contributed are from public sources, many of which I’ve covered on my site, but a number of them appear to be from personal collections and may not have been seen anywhere before. These are a few of the pictures from the group that I did a then and now on. I’ll list the contributors of the pictures as the source.
A picture taken during World War Two looking down Mason Street from California Street next to the Mark Hopkins Hotel: That looks like a World War Two spy from and old movie on the far right if I ever saw one. (Phil Davies)
Looking north on the Golden Gate Bridge in the 1950s: I took my picture a couple of years ago on a drive to Muir Woods and I thought it makes a decent match up to the old photo, although I’m not in the same lane. (Carl Yorke)
That’s the old east entrance to the Union Square Garage on Stockton Street during the early 1940s, now long gone. Most of the street is fenced today now due to construction of the underground Muni Metro Railway extension to Chinatown. Someday, I’d like to redo this one. (Randall De Rijk)
The crosswalk at Powell and Market Streets looking toward the old Emporium Department in 1974: It looks like a rainy and miserable day in the vintage picture, which, surprisingly, it wasn’t when I took my photo last Sunday. (Lily Costello)
Turk, Mason, and Market Streets: Based on the movie showing at the Esquire Theater, it was taken in 1940. Comrade X is a silly and delightful look at Russia from the United States viewpoint of the country at the time, and one of my favorite Clark Gable films. I actually enjoy it more than some of his better made movies like ‘San Francisco’ or ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’. Also, Hedy Lamarr is absolutely ravishing in this movie! The columns of the old Bank of America Building where the Fun Center was are gone now. (Gianni Corso)
That silver Toyota behind the tree is parked just about where Steve McQueen’s famous green Mustang in ‘Bullitt’ was parked. The store on the left at the southeast corner of Taylor and Clay Streets where McQueen buys an armful of TV Dinners at the beginning of the film is still open. (Pete Georgas)
San Francisco Film Locations Then & Now 
That is really weird about the Bank of American Building.
In an old aerial ‘photograph’ of San Jose, which is actually a collage of photographs taken from a blimp that flew over in a grid pattern in 1939, I can plainly see the shadow of a tall building across First Street from the Bank of America Building. I never heard of a big building being demolished there, but the building that is there now is from the 1960s. Only recently, I learned that it is the same old building, but that it got renovated in the late 1960s. It is rather sad that such a grand old building was ruined like that.
That looks like good detective work on your part, Tony! I have family in San Jose and I go there often, but I don’t know enough yet about the history of the city to do a lot of exploring there.
San Jose lacks the abundance of history of San Francisco and Oakland because it was still a small town until only half a century ago. Most of what is here now was developed in the 1950s, and as you are likely aware, San Jose does not have so much going for it anyway. Our culture is innately bland. There are more than a million people here now, but most identify with someplace else. Not many put much back into San Jose. It is unfortunate, but does not compromise how I feel about it.