Monday, April 5, 2010

Many of San Fransicso's Landmarks Still Standing

Scenes from the San Fran of Hitchcock's Vertigo compared to the present day

Judy approaching her apartment in the Empire Hotel

Film buffs can be obsessive. Here is someone who compiled all the prominent landmarks - mostly buildings - that occur in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, and found that many of them still exist today. Some are even better looking than their originals. This is truly heart-warming since so many buildings have been demolished over the years, especially in the late 1960s and early 70s.

Even if you haven't watched the film, it is a pleasure to see these 1958 photographs, some with street scenes with people and cars. I don't want to sound nostalgic, but there is something dignified about that epoch. The people, the cars, and even those buildings, which are almost exactly the same in the 21st century, had some kind of gravitas. It could be the warm tone of the photographs. But things did look more formal; most of the men wore hats, and the women were in heels and well-tailored clothes even when it looks like they were just out shopping.