The Federal from “Four Christmases”

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I tracked down today’s locale thanks to some very insider information.  Back on December 19th, 2012, I wrote about the San Francisco pad that portrayed Brad (Vince Vaughn) and Kate’s (Reese Witherspoon) residence in Four Christmases.  Just a few hours after hitting “publish,” I received an email from the production designer of the 2008 holiday romcom, Shepherd Frankel, who had this to say, “Wow – I loved reading your blog and seeing your detective work unfold.  Truly amazing.  So interesting to read for me and I actually designed the film!”  His kind words just about made me fall over with excitement!  Though I often contact crew members to inquire about locations, a production designer getting in touch with me was a first!  Once I regained my composure, I wrote him back and, of course, asked for some help in IDing a few additional locations from the film, namely the restaurant where Brad’s firm’s holiday party was held.  And Shepherd was happy to help!  Though he did not remember the name of the eatery, he informed me that it was a former-bank-turned-restaurant in Long Beach.  Using those search parameters, I quickly figured out that filming had taken place at The Madison at 102 Pine Avenue.  Sadly, I also quickly figured out that the gastropub had recently closed.  I added it to my To-Stalk List regardless, hoping it would reopen at some point, which, thankfully, it did as “The Federal” just months later, at which point I ran out to stalk it.  Though I’ve briefly covered the place a couple of times before – first in my post about sister restaurant The Federal Bar in North Hollywood, then in My Guide to L.A. – Bars, and finally in a Scene it Before column for Los Angeles magazine – I figured this holiday season was the perfect time for a full-blown write-up.

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The 13-story, 146,000-square-foot building that houses The Federal was initially built in 1925 as the Long Beach headquarters of the Security Trust and Savings Bank of Los Angeles.  The stately site was designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style by architects Aleck Curlett and Claud Beelman.  (The latter also gave us The Mayfair Hotel from The Office, The Standard, Downtown L.A. from Fracture, and the California Bank Building from Girls Just Want to Have Fun.)

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The towering structure, known today as the “Security Trust and Savings Bank Building” as well as “Security Pacific National Bank,” was originally comprised of offices on its upper levels and a grand 3-story, 8,925-square-foot bank space complete with a basement vault on its lower floors.

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When Security Trust and Savings, which had been renamed Security Pacific Bank, moved out in 1991, the bank space sat vacant for a time before catching the eye of Terry Antonelli and Enzo DeMuro, the famed restauranteurs who in 1990 founded Long Beach staple L’Opera in another former bank building located right across the street.  The duo decided to lease the site and worked their magic transforming it into upscale eatery The Madison, which opened its doors in May 1999.  During the conversion, the room’s gorgeous beamed ceilings, which had incredibly been covered over to make way for an air conditioning system at some point, were once again unveiled.

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Shortly after its debut, Los Angeles Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila wrote, “I’ve been to The Madison Restaurant & Bar, a posh new steakhouse, three times, and each time I’ve walked through the door, I’ve had to catch my breath because the size and grandeur of the rooms are overwhelming.  Built in the days before ATMs, when banks functioned as secular cathedrals and women donned hat and gloves to do their banking, the former Security Bank is one of Long Beach’s stateliest historic buildings.”  As you can see below, her words were not hyperbole.  The space is nothing if not breathtaking!

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The Madison enjoyed a nice long run, remaining in operation until September 2012, just a few months before I learned about it.

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Shortly after its closure, Morgan Margolis, the nightlife impresario behind The Federal Bar in North Hollywood (and son of Mark Margolis, aka Mr. Shickadance, the landlord from Ace Ventura: Pet Detective), toured the space and decided to open a sister Federal location on the premises.  The Federal Long Beach opened just a few months later.  Thankfully, not much of the interior was altered in the changeover.

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Still as grand as ever, the gorgeous eatery features 2 full bars, seating for 300 patrons, rich wood paneling, towering columns, an extensive menu of healthy and not-so-healthy comfort foods, and a speakeasy situated in the basement vault!  Quite the unique atmosphere to grab a bite!

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The Federal from Four Christmases (8 of 31)

My photos truly don’t do the space justice.  Unfortunately, the natural light beaming in through the windows wreaked havoc on most of the images I snapped while there, but at least they give you the gist of The Federal’s beauty.

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It is at The Madison that the Rohlich and Tweel LLC 8th annual Christmas party is held in Four Christmases, during which Brad and Kate explain to Brad’s co-workers how they get out of spending the holidays with their families each year.  (Their advice?  Just lie and tell everyone you’re doing charity work.  “You know, something like building houses in third world countries.  Teaching English as a second language in Puerto Rico.  Delousing orphans in Somalia.  Helping Chinese kids capture lobsters – boil them, gut them, clean the weird stuff out of the middle.  We find that the more details you give, kinda throws them off the scent.”  After all, “You really can’t spell families without ‘lies.’”)

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The Federal from Four Christmases (1 of 1)

Though Shepherd and his team decked the restaurant out in Yuletide finery for the shoot, not much of the place was shown onscreen.  But what was visible remains very recognizable.

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The Federal from Four Christmases (1 of 1)

We get a much better view of the restaurant via Dinner for Schmucks.  In the 2010 comedy (and I use that term loosely), Tim (Paul Rudd) meets with some clients at The Madison and chaos quickly ensues thanks to the misguided efforts of uninvited guest Barry (Steve Carell).  In looking at the screen capture as compared to my photograph below, you can see the changes made to the site before it re-opened as The Federal.  For some inexplicable reason, a beam running across the vast dining area was installed which really cuts off the room in my opinion.

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The Federal from Four Christmases (14 of 31)

The main bar (on the left-hand side below) was also partially closed off and the beige upholstered booths swapped out for black leather versions.  You can check out some more images of the interior of The Madison here.  Oh, how I wish I could have seen it before it closed!  Despite the unfortunate changes, The Federal is still a stunning place to grab a bite or cocktail when in Long Beach!

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The Federal from Four Christmases (15 of 31)

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: The Federal, aka the former The Madison from Four Christmases, is located at 102 Pine Avenue in Long Beach.  You can visit the eatery’s official website hereL’Opera Restaurant, from Charmed, can be found right across the street at 101 Pine Avenue.  You can visit that establishment’s website here.

The “Four Christmases” Dance Studio

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I can hardly believe it, but the Christmas season is upon us again!  It seems like just yesterday I was hanging out in a pool celebrating my 40th birthday in June!  I hate how fast time seems to pass, but I do love the holidays and am thrilled to finally be covering a Yuletide-themed locale.  Today’s post comes courtesy of my good friend Mike, from MovieShotsLA, who a few years back worked for a production company with offices all over the L.A. area, including the building at 1161 Vine Street in Hollywood.  One fateful day, Mike was tasked with setting up some new film and video equipment at the Vine Street space and happened to cue up Four Christmases on his laptop to play in the background while he toiled away (slightly random, being that this was in the summer!).  He just about fell over when the dance studio scene came on because, as he looked around the room, he realized he was sitting in the exact spot where the segment had been lensed!  Talk about synchronicity!  He promptly snapped a bunch of photographs of the place and recently sent them to me, thinking the site would make for a good holiday post.  Thank you, Mike!

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Situated on the corner of Lexington Avenue right in the heart of Hollywood, 1161 Vine boasts quite a Tinseltown pedigree, having served as the headquarters of not one, but two sound industry titans.  During the ‘40s, the handsome 1928 building acted as the main office of Altec Lansing, an audio electronics company best-known for developing horn-based loudspeaker systems for movie theatres, concert venues, and home entertainment centers.  You can see a photograph of what the property looked like during the Altec Lansing days here.  Amazingly, aside from the addition of quite a bit of foliage, not much of its exterior has changed since that time.  In 1951, Ryder Sound Services moved into the 5,758-square-foot site, utilizing it as a recording and post production studio.  The company, which pioneered magnetic audio recording for the motion picture industry, was founded by Loren L. Ryder, a 5-time-Academy-Award-winning sound engineer.

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At the time that Four Christmases was filmed in 2008, the modern office space, which boasts exposed brickwork, a 24-foot-high bow truss ceiling, concrete and wood floors, a fireplace, a full kitchen, and a large loft area, served as a photography studio.  Today it is home to digital media firm Beautycon.  I wonder if the people who work there have any idea of the place’s cinematic history.  I am guessing most don’t and can totally picture a not-in-the-know employee putting on the flick during the holiday season and, upon seeing the dance scene and realization dawning, screaming out, “Oh my God!  I work there!”  No?  That’s just me?  And Mike?   Winking smile

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The Four Christmases Dance Studio-8

You can check out some additional interior photographs of the property here.

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Toward the beginning of Four Christmases, Kate (Reese Witherspoon) and Brad (Vince Vaughn) attend a ballroom dance class at 1161 Vine.  While there, they get into a rather humorous exchange with two newly-engaged couples who are taking dance lessons for their upcoming weddings, about why they have no desire to get married or have kids.  After denouncing expressions like “tying the knot” and “ball and chain,” Brad tells the betrotheds, “I mean I’d rather be, like, stuck on an island with some weird millionaire hunting me trying to kill me and me trying to escape than to be involved in something with those kind of slogans, ‘cause that’s like a time bomb waiting to explode.”  Upon seeing their rather shell-shocked reactions to his diatribe, he closes off with, “But anyway, congratulations on getting married.  That sounds like a really cool thing.  And to each their own.  Merry Christmas.”  You can watch the hilarious scene here.

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The segment is one of my favorite bits of the whole movie, mainly because Kate and Brad dance to “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” a holiday song I adore.

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The Four Christmases Dance Studio-1

As you can see in the photos and screen captures above and below, 1161 Vine looks much the same in person as it does onscreen, minus the slew of festive Christmas decorations.

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The property’s loft area was utilized for another Four Christmases scene in which Kate and Brad are shown calling their respective parents to inform them that they won’t be making it home for the holiday.  Though the segment wound up on the cutting room floor, eagle-eyed viewers might remember a portion of it popping up in the movie’s trailer.  As I mentioned in this 2012 post, I originally thought the phone call bit was supposed to have occurred at Kate and Brad’s house, which confused me to no end as the space looks nothing like the residence that appeared in the other scenes set at the couple’s home.  But I was lucky enough to get in touch with production designer Shepherd Frankel who set me straight.  He explained that Kate and Brad were purportedly phoning their parents from a break area of the dance studio.  Why the two would be making such personal calls from a public place, I have no idea, but perhaps that is why the scene, which you can watch in its entirety here, was scrapped.

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While researching this post, I was absolutely bowled over to discover that 1161 Vine boasts another holiday movie connection!   According to the Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol blog, all of the dialogue for the 1962 film, which was the first ever animated Christmas special, was recorded at the building!  At the time, the property was home to Ryder Sound Services.

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

Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for not only stalking this location, but also providing all of the photos that appear in the post!  Smile

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Four Christmases dance studio is located at 1161 Vine Street in Hollywood.

Descanso Gardens

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This past weekend I dragged my fiance and my parents out to stalk Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge – another location that I discovered thanks to my new favorite stalking book.  The 160-acre botanical garden has been featured in countless movies and television shows over the years and is also a popular wedding venue.

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E. Manchester Boddy (pronounced “Boh-dee”) first purchased the property now known as Descanso Gardens in 1937 to build a home for his family.  Besides being the owner and publisher of the Los Angeles Illustrated Daily News, Boddy was also a horticulturalist and a commercial camellia grower and he needed a piece of property large enough to cultivate his prized flowers.  Rancho de Descanso, as it was then known, fit the bill perfectly.  In 1938, he commissioned a 12,000 square foot home to be built on the property.  The 22-room mansion, named the Boddy House, was designed in the Hollywood Regency style by “architect to the stars” James E. Dolena.  Boddy positioned the home in the very southeast corner of Descanso – which means “rest and repose” in Spanish – so that he and his family would be able to enjoy specatular views of the San Gabriel Mountains.  In 1953, Boddy sold the entire 160 acre property, including his custom built home, to the City of Los Angeles, who later opened it up to the public.  In 2007, the Boddy Home was featured as the Pasadena Showcase House of Design and was completely renovated and restored to its former glory.  The bottom floor of the home is open for all visitors of Descanso Gardens to tour.  The Boddy House can also be rented out for weddings and private events.

descanso-gardens-1241 Descanso Gardens encompasses a twenty-acre oak tree forest, a bird sanctuary, a five-acre rosarium featuring over three thousand roses, a Japanese tea garden, countless waterfalls and koi ponds, a lilac garden, and a California garden featuring Redwood trees, California poppies, and chaparral plants.   The site is stunning and extremely expansive, but also, sadly, very crowded, I believe due to its low admission price.

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The venue’s beauty has, of course, led to countless onscreen cameos.  Descanso was the location of Nikolas Natchios’ funeral in the 2003 movie Daredevil.

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Its greenhouse was used in a prominent scene in Minority Report.

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And Reese Witherspoon has filmed no less than three productions at the Gardens!   In Legally Blonde, Descanso was transformed into Golden Springs Spa where Reese and her partner Luke Wilson interviewed Raquel Welch.  The building located just to left of Descanso’s main entrance was used as the entrance to the spa.

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Both the interior and the exterior of the Boddy House were used as the home of John Voight, where Reese spends Christmas, in last year’s Four Christmases.  Because the movie has not yet been released on DVD, I was not able to make screen captures of it.  🙁    According to one of the Boddy House docents, though, the mansion was significantly dressed up for the filming of the movie and is not very recognizable.  Four Christmases  featured many areas of the Boddy House, including the front entrance, main foyer, library, and living room.  Reese also filmed her latest Avon commercial, which has yet to be released, at Descanso Gardens.

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An episode of Mad Mad  was also recently filmed on Descanso’s main lawn area (pictured above).  Descanso Gardens was also featured in Memoirs of a Geisha, America’s Sweethearts, Graduation Day, Tiny Dancer, Congo, Land of the Lost, the recently wrapped Untitled Duplass Brothers Project  starring Marisa Tomei, Jonah Hill, and John C. Reily, and Eddie Murphy’s new movie The Incredible Shrinking Man.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Descanso Gardens is located at 1418 Descanso Drive in La Canada Flintridge.  The Gardens are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  The entrance fee is $8 for adults and $3 for children aged 5 to 12.  Children under 5 are free.  You can visit the Descanso Gardens website here.