The Federal from “Four Christmases”

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.)

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.

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.

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!

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

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.

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!

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.

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.’”)

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.

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.

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!