Without the cable cars, great old pictures like this wouldn’t have been possible. Well, at least, I got one wave in my picture. (Thumbnail image)
Author: SF Film Locations
Hello friends! My name is Tim Welsh. I’m the owner and operator of Welsh Income Tax Service in Hayward, California. When I was fifteen, I fell in love with San Francisco. It wasn’t a first in the family; my mother at seventeen had traveled by train from North Dakota, where I was later born, to see the Treasure Island World’s Fair, and fell in love with “The City” long before I did. You can see pictures from her trip in the November 19th, 2014 ‘Summer of 1939’ postings. It’s been a love affair that’s never broken my heart. Here, with pictures from books, movies, the internet, and personal collections, I’ve had a chance to share my affection for San Francisco with comparison and location pictures that I’ve taken. I’ve had help from family and friends, and even my dog ‘Danny’ who sniffed out the trail of Buffalo Bill at Ocean Beach on a November 15, 2014 post. My blog is for non commercial and non profit purposes only, and it’s always a lot of fun to work on. Many of the pictures from November, 2014 to November 2015 are thumbnail images. Pictures from posts after that can be enlarged by viewing the image. I hope you enjoy the posts, and please feel free to follow my blog, or make suggestions, comments or corrections if you like.
Scenic San Francisco
Ah, a lovely setting from the 1960’s with the majestic Golden Gate Bridge, and the hills of Marin County in the background! Absolutely, beaut………. Wait a minute, it’s a fake! It’s an ad for a car! Hah! Knew it all the time! (Thumbnail image)
The Cable Cars (1)
If she gets off, it’ll tip over on him! (Thumbnail image)
The Cable Cars (2)
Beach Blanket Cable Car. Muni’s 50th Anniversary Celebration in 1962 in front of the St. Francis. (Thumbnail image)
The Cable Cars (3)
The old Sacramento line, long gone, passing the Brocklebank Apartments on Nob Hill. This was where Jimmy Stewart’s character was staying in Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Vertigo’. (Thumbnail image)
The Cable Cars (4)
A California Street cable car passes Huntington Park, and the exclusive Pacific-Union Club on Nob Hill in the late 1940’s or early 1950’s. Not much has changed here over the years except the cars! That’s the Fairmont Hotel on the right. Grace Cathedral, out of the picture, is on the corner on the left (Thumbnail image)
The Cable Cars (5)
A lonely looking cable car chugs up the Castro Street hill in the early 1940’s. This line had been isolated from the other cable car lines, and only ran from 18th to 26th when this picture was taken. Most of the beautiful old houses in this area from long ago are still there! (Thumbnail image)
The Cable Cars (6)
Mason and Washington during World War ll. The swabbie stands, and the Officer sits! “Swell, he gets to sit with the dames, while I stand up!” “What’s that sailor?” “Nothing, Sir.” That’s the cable car barn on the left. (Thumbnail image)
The Cable Cars (7)
California Street and Grant Avenue. Although, when the old picture was taken in the 1930’s, the cable cars on this line ran all the way to Presidio Avenue instead of stopping at Van Ness like today (Thumbnail image)
The Cable Cars (8)
Directly across the street from the previous picture with Old St. Mary’s Church in the background.(Thumbnail image)
San Francisco Film Locations Then & Now 