Bob Hope Patriotic Hall from “Flashdance”

Bob Hope Patriotic Hall (15 of 26)

Anyone who has ever driven on the I-10 Freeway east of downtown Los Angeles has most likely noticed the A-line, red-roofed building that towers over the skyline to the south.  That building is Bob Hope Patriotic Hall.  I have passed by it hundreds of times and have always wanted to venture inside.  A couple of weeks ago, while on our way back to the desert, the Grim Cheaper and I finally did.  Though the Bob Hope Patriotic Hall website says that the property is open to the public, that is actually no longer the case.  When the security guard manning the door saw my disappointment upon hearing this news, he took pity on us and allowed us to tour the lobby area.  I am so thankful that he did because the space is nothing short of spectacular.

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Construction on the 85,000-square-foot building, which was originally named “Patriotic Hall,” began in 1925 and was completed in 1926.  The ten-story Italian Renaissance/Romanesque-style site was designed by the Allied Architects Association and was the tallest building in Los Angeles at the time of its inception.

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In late 2004, the structure, which is comprised of offices, a gymnasium, locker rooms, dining rooms, meeting spaces, ballrooms and an auditorium, was renamed Bob Hope Patriotic Hall in honor of the legendary comedian.

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Bob Hope Patriotic Hall (16 of 26)

The property went through an extensive, $45-million, 7-year restoration process beginning in 2006 and the result is pretty darn amazing.  I couldn’t take my eyes off of the ornate plaster ceiling.

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Bob Hope Patriotic Hall Lobby

Sadly, we were not able to venture upstairs to the upper levels of the building, but you can check out photographs of some of those areas here.

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Bob Hope Patriotic Hall has been used in hundreds of productions over the years.  Most famously, it was in the building’s Nimitz Room that Alex Owens (Jennifer Beals) auditioned for the Pittsburgh Dance and Repertory Company in 1983’s Flashdance.

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That same room stood in for the Basil St. Mosley School of Dance in The Wedding Planner.

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In 1986’s Back to School, Thornton Melon (Rodney Dangerfield) took his oral exams in another of the Patriotic Hall’s ballrooms.

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The property’s lobby and a meeting room appeared in 1988’s Stand and Deliver, in the scene in which Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos) confronts the Educational Testing Service about his students’ AP Calculus test scores.

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Bob Hope Patriotic Hall’s tenth-floor gym appeared in Patches O’Houlihan’s (Hank Azaria) informational video about dodgeball in the 2004 comedy Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.

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And while many sources say that the iconic opening scene from Patton, in which General George S. Patton Jr. (George C. Scott) delivered his famous Speech to the Third Army, was shot in the hall’s auditorium, I do not believe that information to be correct.  Because only a large American flag and portions of a curtain were shown in the background of the scene, I was fairly certain upon watching that it was shot on a set.  Then while researching this post, I came across an article titled The Photography of PATTON by George J. Mitchel that states that the scene was lensed at Sevilla Studios in Spain.  Because there is so little to go on with this one, I cannot say for certain either way, but my best guess is that Mitchel is correct.

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We did get to tour the auditorium while visiting the Hall and, though my pictures don’t do it justice, the space is absolutely gorgeous.

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Bob Hope Patriotic Hall (11 of 26)

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Bob Hope Patriotic Hall, from Flashdance, is located at 1816 South Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles.  The building is currently only open to veterans.

Thornton’s Mansion from “Back to School”

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Even though I am a definite child of the ‘80s, for whatever reason I had never seen the 1986 Rodney Dangerfield classic Back to School until late last year.  I wound up loving the flick and immediately started researching its locations.  I covered a few of them in a September post for Los Angeles magazine, but one that I could just not seem to track down was the mansion belonging to “Tall and Fat” clothing store owner Thornton Melon (Dangerfield).   I finally enlisted fellow stalker Owen, from the When Write Is Wrong blog, to help in the quest and he ended up finding the pad rather quickly.  Thank you, Owen!

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While watching Back to School, I spotted an address number of 9933 on the front of Thornton’s mansion.  I was also fairly certain that the property was located in Beverly Hills or Bel Air, so I passed that information along to Owen.  Sure enough, when he sent me the address just a few hours later, it was right where I figured it would be – 9933 Shangri La Drive in Beverly Hills.  How I was unable to find the place on my own is beyond me!

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The same address placard that was visible in the movie is still there today!

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The mansion was only featured at the beginning of Back to School, in the scene in which Thornton and his second wife, Vanessa (Adrienne Barbeau), hosted a party for their 5th wedding anniversary, during which they decided to get a divorce.

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As you can see, the residence looks quite a bit different today than it did when the movie was filmed 29 years ago due to the massive amount of foliage that now surrounds it.

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I was thrilled to see that the house located down the street, which was visible in the background of the scene in which Thornton’s limo driver dropped him off before the party, still looks exactly the same as it did onscreen.

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The real life interior of the Shangri La mansion was also used in the party scene.

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As was the home’s real life backyard and pool.

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You can check out aerial images of the mansion’s backyard, which is pretty darn spectacular, below.  The property actually consists of two lots – the lot that the residence sits on and the landscaped lot directly to its south – and therefore has two addresses, 9915 and 9933 Shangri La Drive.

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In real life, the home, which was originally built in 1980, boasts 4 bedrooms, 4 baths and 6,929 square feet of living space.

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Back to School Mansion (7 of 12)

In 2013, the property served as the SVEDKA Summer House and such celebs as Julianne Hough, Derek Hough, Jessica Szohr, Adrienne Bailon and Evan Ross attended events there.

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Back to School Mansion (8 of 12)

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online.

Big THANK YOU to Owen, from the When Write Is Wrong blog, for finding this location!  Smile

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Thornton’s mansion from Back to School is located at 9915/9933 Shangri La Drive in Beverly Hills.