Cold Case – IAMNOTASTALKER

October 1, 2018October 16, 2019

Pasadena Central Library from “Foul Play”

It’s my favorite day of the year! No, it’s not Halloween already – it’s October 1st, which marks the start of my annual Haunted Hollywood postings and the beginning of the Halloween season (well, it marks the latter for most people, anyway – I started decorating for the holiday weeks ago!). To kick things off, I thought I’d write about Pasadena Central Library. I stalked the gorgeous book repository last month in preparation for my October blogs, figuring the place would be the perfect segue into the season thanks to its appearance in several scary productions, most notably the 1990 “thrill-omedy” Arachnophobia. But as I only just learned thanks to a few knowledgeable chat room commenters, while the library was briefly featured in the film’s original theatrical run, apparently the footage shot there was not included in later releases – not in any versions available on DVD nor via streaming. Because the site has numerous other connections to the chiller genre, though – namely a cameo in the 1978 mystery Foul Play – I decided to forge ahead with the post.

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The Pasadena Public Library was originally established as the Pasadena Library and Village Improvement Society in 1882, four years before the city itself was incorporated. Its initial headquarters, built in 1884, was situated on Colorado Boulevard near Raymond Avenue (though it was known as “Raymond Street” at the time) on what was then the Central School campus. Two years after it was constructed, the entire building was moved a few blocks south to 42 West Dayton Street. When the need to expand arose in 1890, the library then set up shop in a dramatic turreted property on the corner of Raymond Avenue and Walnut Street. A model of that site, made from stone taken from the actual building and currently on display in the Central Library’s Main Hall, is pictured below. (Sadly, that structure was razed at some point after the current library was erected. Oh, how I wish it had been left intact! I mean, it couldn’t look more like a real life haunted house if it tried! Can you imagine the Halloween fun that could be had there if it was still standing?)

In 1922, the Bennett, Parsons and Frost architecture firm was commissioned to oversee the development of a civic center for Pasadena set to include a city hall, a civic auditorium, and a new library.

The firm held a design contest for the three structures in which ten architecture companies competed. Myron Hunt (who also gave us Thornton Gardens, Occidental College, Wattles Mansion, the Langham Huntington Hotel, the Huntington Library, Art Collection, and Botanical Gardens and the Pasadena Elks Lodge) and H.C. Chambers’ proposal was chosen for the new library and construction on their Spanish Colonial Revival-style masterpiece began on May 19th, 1925.

The structure was completed a little less than two years later and the building was dedicated on February 12th, 1927.

The exterior of the three-story, U-shaped property is comprised of a central courtyard with a fountain, cast concrete friezes, Corinthian cast stone columns, paned arched windows, and outdoor reading alcoves.

While undeniably impressive . . .

. . . the interior is the real sight to behold.

Boasting intricate woodwork, spectacular coffered ceilings, pendant lighting, Italian marble flooring, oak shelving, and ornately carved doorways and hallways, the inside of the building is nothing short of breathtaking.

The sweeping Main Hall is the library’s crown jewel. Measuring 33 by 203 feet, the room features 45-foot ceilings, oak wainscoting and bookshelves, cork flooring (to mask the sound of footsteps), and a set of handsome dark wood and wrought-iron tables that run the length of the space.

Each of the library’s many chambers can be reached via the Main Hall, including the Children’s Room . . .

. . . which was originally named the “Peter Pan Room” in honor of the Maud Daggett-sculpted fireplace that stands as the space’s focal point and depicts the story of the beloved children’s book;

the Reference Room;

the Centennial Room;

the Business Wing;

the Humanities Wing;

and the floors upon floors of book stacks.

The city embarked upon an extensive restoration and “historically sensitive” renovation of the building between 1984 and 1990. The result is nothing short of striking as the photos in this post attest to.

Pasadena Central Library, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, is elegant, opulent, and grand.

It is not at all hard to see how the site wound up onscreen copious times.

It is also not hard to see how it ended up in so many productions of the spooky nature. Though gorgeous, with its towering ceilings, dark woodwork, colossal size, and maze-like stacks, the space does lend itself quite easily to the macabre.

I certainly wouldn’t want to be there alone after dark – like Gloria Mundy (Goldie Hawn) found herself in Foul Play.

In the flick, the interior of the Pasadena Central Library appears a few times as the inside of the supposed San Francisco-area Sarah B. Cooper Public Library where Gloria works – and is attacked by Whitey Jackson (William Frankfather) while on the job late at night.

Pasadena Central Library also pops up in the 1988 horror comedy Dead Heat as the spot where Roger Mortis (Treat Williams), Doug Bigelow (Joe Piscopo), and Randi James (Lindsay Frost) search through obituaries.

The venue portrays the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. where Lloyd Bowman (Ken Leung) decodes a threatening cypher from Francis Dolarhyde (Ralph Fiennes) in the 2002 thriller Red Dragon.

In the Season 5 episode of Ghost Whisperer titled “See No Evil,” which aired in 2009, a young student named Steve (Jerry Shea) is haunted by a vengeful specter while studying at Pasadena Central Library late at night.

I happened to visit the library during the filming of the scene, which took place on July 17th, 2009, and am happy to report that the crew could not have been nicer. They even allowed me to snap some photos of the set while the cast was on a break.

I am unsure of why the “hot set” tape was placed around the areas used in the filming, but I am guessing it was because producers had the space set up exactly as they wanted for the scene and did not want any elements disturbed. There were also quite a few special effects involved in the segment, so if sections of the library were already rigged, that would explain the tape, as well.

For one effect, special lamp shades with X’s cut into them were utilized, as a crew member pointed out to me.

The library has cameoed in a plethora of non-scary productions, as well.

Grace McQueen (Jessica Tandy) hosts a story hour in the Children’s Room at the end of the 1991 made-for-television movie The Story Lady.

The site portrays the Harvard Law Library where Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) studies in the 2001 comedy Legally Blonde.

The locale masks as the Georgetown Law Library where Clifford Calley (Mark Feuerstein) secretly meets with Donna Moss (Janel Moloney) and begs her to set up a meeting with Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) in the Season 3 episode of The West Wing titled “H. Con-172,” which aired in 2002.

In the Season 3 episode of Cold Case titled “Beautiful Little Fool,” which aired in 2006, the property plays the Library of Philadelphia where Lilly Rush (Kathryn Morris) and Nick Vera (Jeremy Ratchford) research the Roaring Twenties while trying to solve a murder case.

Ray Drecker (Thomas Jane) meets with a new client at Pasadena Central Library in the Season 2 episode of Hung titled “Beaverland,” which aired in 2010.

Though countless websites claim that Matilda was shot on the premises, I have scanned through the movie numerous times and did not see it pop up anywhere. The library supposedly appears in the 2002 crime thriller The Salton Sea, as well, but I also scanned through that film and did not spot it.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Pasadena Central Library, from Foul Play, is located at 285 East Walnut Street in Pasadena. You can visit its official website here.

September 13, 2017September 12, 2017

Community Church at Holliston from “That Thing You Do!”

Many moons ago, around the time I first moved to Los Angeles in early 2000, the Pasadena Historical Society hosted a special exhibition about filming in the area. I, of course, attended and, along with learning that Dylan McKay’s (Luke Perry) house from Beverly Hills, 90210 was located just down the street from Casa Walsh, I also gleaned that fave movie That Thing You Do! had been lensed at two Crown City locales – the now largely defunct Ambassador College (at 131 South St. John Avenue) and the Holliston Avenue Methodist Church, now Community Church at Holliston (at 1305 East Colorado Boulevard). Though I visited both sites many times over the years, I have somehow never done a blog on either. So I figured it was time to change that. A write-up on Ambassador College will be coming soon, but today I thought I’d cover the Community Church.

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Community Church at Holliston has an interesting history – one that involves a move. Yes, the structure was actually moved from one location to another. But more on that in a bit.

The parish was originally built in 1887 at the southeast corner of East Colorado Boulevard and South Marengo Avenue (where the Pacific Southwest Trust & Savings Bank building stands today). The Gothic-style structure, then known as the First Methodist Episcopal Church, was razed after its tower and roof were blown off during a bad storm in 1891. A replacement church was subsequently constructed on the site in 1901.

The new church, Richardsonian Romanesque in style, was designed by architect John C. Austin, who was also responsible for giving us the Theodore Groene/Bahn Jewelry Store building in Ventura and the Griffith Observatory in Griffith Park. You can see photos of the church during its early days here, here, and here.

In 1923, it was decided that the congregation needed more land and a larger worship space, so the First Methodist Episcopal Church was taken apart – literally – and moved piece by piece to its current location at the corner of East Colorado Boulevard and South Holliston Avenue, where it was rebuilt with a few alterations. It re-opened to the public in December 1924.

The sanctuary boasts a façade consisting of Sespe-covered-bricks which, along with the gothic-style windows, apses, and crenelated roofline, gives the church a very castle-like appearance.

The large inner courtyard is especially reminiscent of a castle.

The parish has undergone several name changes over the years, becoming Holliston Avenue Methodist Church, then Holliston Church, and finally Community Church at Holliston, as it is known today.

In That Thing You Do!, the Community Church at Holliston was the spot where The Oneders recorded their first single, for their soon-to-be-hit song “That Thing You Do.”

The reason their inaugural record was laid down in a church? That’s all thanks to Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott). When the idea of recording an album first comes up, Guy informs the group that he has a relative in the record industry. Well, sort of. As Lenny Haise (Steve Zahn) explains, Guy’s uncle, Uncle Bob (Chris Isaak), “records church music, choirs, favorite sermons, stuff my mom listens to.” Uncle Bob does indeed help The Oneders, though, recording their first single in what is supposedly a locale Eerie, Pennsylvania church. In the scene, you can see the sanctuary’s E.M. Skinner pipe organ.

Sadly, when we showed up to stalk the church, mass had just ended and the interior was packed with people. Though we did get to see the inside, I did not snap any photographs of it due to the crowds. I was able to take pictures of the courtyard area, though, thankfully. You can check out some images of the Community Church at Holliston’s interior here.

I used to live not far from Community Church and happened upon the filming of a Cold Case episode on the premises one day. Or actually, episodes. The locale appeared in Season 6’s special two-parter, titled “The Long Blue Line” and “Into the Blue,” both of which aired in 2009. For the shoot, the church was transformed into the Pennsylvania Military Institute.

Though I couldn’t venture onto the property to watch the filming, I could see a few of the courtyard scenes being shot from the street, all of which involved military formations and marching. It could not have been more cool to witness!

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Community Church at Holliston, from that Thing Thing You Do!, is located at 1305 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena.

January 15, 2010January 18, 2010

George’s 50’s Diner from “A Cinderella Story”

Another location at the very top of my Long Beach “To Stalk” list was the restaurant where Hilary Duff worked in fave teeny-bopper movie A Cinderella Story. In real life, that restaurant is known as George’s 50’s Diner and it is one of the last remaining diners of its kind in all of California. George’s Diner, which was originally named Grissinger’s Drive-In, first opened up in 1952. It was designed by architect Wayne McAllister, who also designed the famous Sands Casino in Las Vegas. In 1963, the Grissingers sold the drive-in to new owners who expanded and remodeled the place and dubbed it Lyman’s Coffee Shop. Shortly thereafter it was purchased by a woman named Terry, who re-named it Terry’s Coffee Shop and in 1974 made the fortuitous decision to hire as a chef a young man named George Alvarez. George worked at the restaurant for over two decades and then in 1996, decided to buy the place for himself, upon which he restored it back to its original 1952 design. He named the place George’s 50’s Diner, in honor of both himself and the restaurant’s original opening date.

In A Cinderella Story, George’s 50’s Diner stood in for the restaurant first owned by Hilary Duff’s father and then later by her evil step-mother, who was played by Jennifer Coolidge. Both the interior and the exterior of the restaurant were used extensively in the filming.

As you can see in the above photograph and screen captures, though, the place looks very, very different in person than how it appeared onscreen in the movie. In fact, it almost doesn’t even look like the same place. According to George and Helen, the diner’s INCREDIBLY nice owners, the restaurant was COMPELTELY remodeled for the filming.

A few of the changes made for the filming include: the interior walls being removed to make the diner appear much larger than it actually was, the real life counter being replaced with a new, much higher counter, all of the booths being covered over in fake pink and black leather, a false ceiling being installed, the ceiling fans being removed and new light fixtures hung, fake doors being added in numerous places, the entire kitchen being re-painted in a fake stainless steel color, and linoleum being laid over the restaurant’s real life carpet.

According to George and Helen, the interior and the exterior of the diner were actually remodeled TWICE during the filming – first for the scenes in which the restaurant was owned by Hil D’s dad . . .

. . . and then again for the scenes in which it was later owned by her evil step-mother.

Producers also brought in the big pink “Fiona’s” sign that ends up falling on Carter’s dad’s Mercedes towards the end of the movie. Phew! Sure seems like a whole lot of remodeling work to do. You’d think it would have been much easier to built a diner set on a soundstage somewhere in Hollywood for the filming. Which, according to IMDB’s A Cinderella Story trivia page, is exactly what they did. That information, however, is not accurate. According to George and Helen, all of the interior filming of the diner scenes – which took just about two weeks to complete – did indeed take place on location at George’s Diner. I’ll never understand Hollywood, I swear. 😉 Helen even has a scrapbook full of photographs of the filming, but unfortunately she didn’t have it on hand the day I stalked the place. 🙁 Oh well, I guess that just means I’ll have to go back to re-stalk it sometime! 🙂

And a little Cinderella Story trivia for you – not only did the movie star Madeline Zima, who now has a recurring role on Californication . . .

. . . but it also starred Dan Byrd who is currently playing Courteney Cox’s son Travis on Cougartown.

A Cinderella Story is not the only production to have filmed at George’s, though. Back when the restaurant was known as Terry’s Coffee Shop, the 1994 movie Corrina, Corrina filmed on the premises. It is at the drive-in diner that Whoopi Goldberg gets Tina Majorino to communicate with her for the very first time.

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George’s also appeared briefly at the very beginning of the 2007 movie Zodiac, in the scene in which Mike Mageau and his girlfriend Darlene Ferrin drive by a diner, decide it is too crowded to stay, and leave, only to be attacked by the Zodiac killer minutes later.

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George’s 50’s Diner has also been featured in the movie The Real McCoy and in several episodes of the television series Cold Case. And I honestly can’t recommend stalking the place enough!!!! The food was A-MA-ZING – especially the French fries – the retro atmosphere was truly unique, and George and Helen honestly could NOT have been nicer. I absolutely LOVED the place and will DEFINITELY be back!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: George’s 50’s Diner is located at 4390 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach. You can visit their MySpace page here.