TBM Staff - Mumbai The Matrix Resurrections immediately transports viewers to San Francisco. Filmed near 1001 Vallejo Street, it depicts the city’s iconic skyline with the dazzling Bay Bridge in the background.
It’s just one of the scenes shot in the city for the new film—the fourth in The Matrix franchise. Movie fans can take a walk in Neo’s footsteps and into the rabbit hole with a new self-guided tour created by the San Francisco Travel Association (SF Travel) based on filming locations in the city.
When The Matrix debuted in 1999, it changed the science fiction genre and reimagined the Hollywood blockbuster with state-of-the-art visuals and philosophical storytelling. With The Matrix Resurrections produced, co-written, and directed by Lana Wachowski and actors Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss reprising their roles as Neo and Trinity, movie fans can expect not only a thrilling film but also some stunning views of the City by the Bay.
Portions of the fourth Matrix installment were filmed in early 2020 in San Francisco’s Financial District, Chinatown, North Beach, Russian Hill, and South of Market (SOMA) neighborhoods.
SF Travel’s The Matrix Resurrections film locations tour guides visitors through diverse and charming neighborhoods into downtown and ends on the waterfront. To access a digital map, visit https://bit.ly/MatrixSFTour.
San Francisco Locations Every Matrix Fan Needs to Explore
One should prepare for the tour by cueing up pioneering San Francisco band Jefferson Airplane’s acclaimed “Surrealistic Pillow” album. The psychedelic rock song “White Rabbit” is featured in the trailer. Jefferson Airplane began its career at the now-defunct San Francisco club, The Matrix, on Filmore Street.
The first stop on the tour is the opening scene of the trailer. Go to Vallejo Street at Jones Street. Take the stairs up and walk to a cul-de-sac, part of the National Register Russian Hill – Vallejo Street Crest Historic District. Enjoy the sweeping view captured in the film, with the Transamerica Pyramid, Salesforce Tower, and Bay Bridge starring in the cityscape.
This historic district escaped the great fire following the 1906 earthquake and is noted for its pioneering First Bay Area Tradition houses and Beaux-Arts street design and landscaping. You may even spot the famed wild parrots of Telegraph Hill perched in trees here. After taking in the view, head down the stairs towards Taylor Street. Of note is 1001 Vallejo, the house featured in season two of The OA TV series.
As one goes east on Vallejo down one of the city’s terraced staircases that winds through a small urban park. Walk four blocks and turn right onto Columbus Avenue. Stroll past San Francisco’s famed City Lights bookstore, a literary landmark founded in North Beach in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D. Martin. It became a legendary gathering spot for The Beat Generation.
Soon one will reach the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Kearny Street, the location of the Sentinel Building/Columbus Tower (916 Kearny Street). The 1907 flatiron building is clad in white tile and oxidized copper and straddles North Beach, Chinatown, and The Financial District. Gaze at the landmark building with the 48-story Transamerica Pyramid in the background just like Neo does in the movie. Enjoy a drink at Café Zoetrope, Francis Ford Coppola’s café, on the ground floor of the Sentinel.
Next, head down Kearny to the nearby House of Nanking (919 Kearny Street) and grab lunch where Neo and Trinity made a stop. Opened in 1988 by Peter and Lily Fang, the restaurant is famous for its Shanghainese cuisine and the chef ordering for guests.
Continue walking down Kearny; make a right onto Washington Street and then a left onto Grant Avenue, the commercial center of Chinatown. San Francisco’s Chinatown—the largest outside of Asia—is the site of several movie scenes, including ones shot on California at Grant and Pine at Grant. Chinatown is a bustling place to shop, eat, and learn about the history of Chinese immigration to California. You can even take a short side trip to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory (56 Ross Alley) for a tour. Upon reaching Chinatown’s Dragon Gate at the Grant and Bush intersection, turn left onto Bush Street.
