Granite banking halls run under office towers on a grid the cable cars still climb, capped by the Transamerica Pyramid at the north end.
What Financial District looks like
The streets run in a tight grid of low granite banking halls under towers that rise straight above them. The narrows to a single spike at the north end of Montgomery Street, visible for blocks down . Cable cars climb the two block rise on California Street, the tracks passing directly under the columns of the Merchants Exchange Building.
The 's Neo Gothic tower steps back in pale terra cotta tiers above Montgomery Street, one of several 1920s towers with granite bases and carved stone lintels. Around and along California Street, newer towers run forty storeys and higher in dark granite and glass, close enough together that the cable car wires cross directly beneath them.
Carved eagles and bronze lanterns still hang over some of the older entrances, and stone lettering from the 1920s survives above a few doorways. Ground floor storefronts are mostly bank branches and chain offices rather than shops, and the sidewalks empty out on weekends once the towers close.
Side streets narrow further east toward the Embarcadero, where the grid meets the waterfront. Pine Street and Sansome Street still carry a run of stone banking halls with their names cut directly into the stone.
Shot in Financial District
Dirty Harry puts its rooftop sniper on top of 555 California Street, and The Pursuit of Happyness gives the same tower to Chris Gardner's internship at Dean Witter Reynolds. Gardner's own turning point happens a few blocks east, outside the old Pacific Coast Stock Exchange on Pine Street.
Dirty Harry, 1971
555 California Street was the Bank of America World Headquarters when Dirty Harry sent its sniper to the roof. Scorpio fires down at swimmers around the pool below, then leaves a note demanding one hundred thousand dollars and threatening to kill someone every day it goes unpaid. Street View
The Pursuit of Happyness, 2006
The film gives Dean Witter Reynolds its real head office address at 555 California Street, where Chris Gardner trains as an unpaid stockbroker intern. He starts there straight after the Ferrari scene outside the old stock exchange a few blocks east on Pine Street.
The Pursuit of Happyness, 2006
Chris Gardner asks a stranger getting out of a red Ferrari what he does for a living and how he does it, in front of the old Pacific Coast Stock Exchange at 301 Pine Street. The exchange closed decades ago and the building now houses a private club and gym behind the same Doric columns.
What Financial District can double for
LaSalle Street in Chicago, Illinois
LaSalle Street is Chicago's own narrow canyon of stone bank and exchange buildings, laid out on the same kind of grid. Both streets run straight into a landmark tower at one end, a domed city hall there and the Transamerica Pyramid here. LaSalle is flat, so San Francisco's hills and cable car tracks would give the location away in any wide shot. Keep the frame low on the stonework instead. Try searching narrow bank street canyon now.
Spring Street in Los Angeles, California
Spring Street runs the same kind of granite and terra cotta bank buildings from the same two decades, six to twelve storeys over a tight grid. It was San Francisco's own rival as a banking street a century ago, and the buildings still stand that way today. Spring Street is flat and its sidewalks run wider, so a tight frame on the facades holds the match better than a full street shot. Try searching granite bank buildings now.
Bay Street in Toronto, Ontario
Bay Street lines up the same run of granite and glass towers from the postwar boom, set close enough together to hold a handheld frame either way. A dark modern tower beside an older stone bank front matches the block around 555 California Street here. Toronto's towers run taller and closer together on average, so save the tight canyon frames for Toronto and keep wider shots for San Francisco. Try searching granite and glass towers now.
