Year: 2017

The High Line from “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”

I absolutely love the great outdoors. In fact, alongside Starbucks and stalking, there’s pretty much nothing I enjoy more than being outside. So when I read about a former-elevated-train-track-turned-urban-park in NYC prior to my trip to the Big Apple last April, I knew it was a spot I had to check out. At the time, I did not realize the place was a filming location, but since returning home, I’ve seen it pop up in several productions, including fave show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. So I figured it was definitely worthy of a blog post.

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The High Line saw its beginnings in 1929 when the city of New York decided to build an elevated railway via its West Side Improvement Project. Completed in 1934, the High Line viaduct, as it came to be known, was part of New York Central Railroad’s West Side Line and was mainly used to transport food products from factories to warehouses.

Thanks to the rise of the trucking industry, the High Line saw a vast decline in use beginning in the 1950s and was shut down altogether in 1980. Portions of the elevated track had been torn down in the interim and while many New Yorkers lobbied for the rest of railway to be razed, as well, others fought the demolition. As the debate over what to do with it lagged on, the site was left to deteriorate, sitting abandoned, overgrown, and weed-strewn for decades.

In 1999, neighborhood denizens Joshua David and Robert Hammond joined forces with other preservationists to establish Friends of the High Line in the hopes of turning the former railway into a public park. The group’s plans were eventually approved and in 2006 work on the project began. The High Line was completed in three stages, opening sections in 2009, 2011, and 2014. Today, the 1.45-mile span, which stands 30 feet above ground, is a bustling oasis, visited by more than 5 million people each year.

The picturesque site boasts more than 600 varieties of plants;

countless benches and chaises for lounging;

a walking path;

and views of both the Hudson River . . .

. . . and the streets of Chelsea.

Considering its beauty, it is not surprising that the High Line has been featured in countless productions since its revitalization – so many productions, in fact, that it would be impossible for me to chronicle them all here. But I have compiled a list of a few of the highlights. As I mentioned above, the park popped up in an episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. In Season 7’s “Going Commando,” Kyle Richards and her daughter Sophia Umansky took a walk there during a visit to New York.

In 2008, before the site’s transformation was complete, it was featured in the Season 5 premiere of CSI: NY titled “Veritas” as the spot where Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise) and Stella Bonasera (Melina Kanakaredes) searched for a mimosa pudica plant. The episode provided a great visual of how different the High Line looked prior to its reimagining.

Louie (Louis C.K.) goes on a rather depressing “non-date” at the High Line with Janice (Kelly McCrann) in the Season 2 episode of Louie titled “Bummer/Blueberries,” which aired in 2011.

In the Season 4 episode of Glee titled “Makeover,” which aired in 2012, Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) and Brody Weston (Dean Geyer) dance and frolic on the High Line during a musical montage set to Sheryl Crow’s “A Change Would Do You Good.”

John Reese (Jim Caviezel) takes Sofia Campos (Paloma Guzman) to the High Line in the Season 2 episode of Person of Interest titled “Masquerade,” which also aired in 2012.

The park pops up briefly in the 2013 thriller Side Effects.

Abbi Abrams (Abbi Jacobson) and Illana Wexler (Illana Glazer) visit the High Line to discuss a plan of attack after losing Kelly Ripa’s jacket in the Season 2 episode of Broad City titled “Coat Check,” which aired in 2015.

Harper (Zoey Deutch) and Charlie (Glen Powell) confer about “Parent Trapping” their bosses while walking on the High Line in the 2018 Netflix romcom Set It Up.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The High Line, from the “Going Commando” episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, runs from Gansevoort Street to West 34th Street, between 10th and 12th Avenues, in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. You can visit the park’s official website here.

March 1, 2017
Baltimore’s Washington Monument from “Sleepless in Seattle”

Most people know about the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., but what few realize is that there is another memorial honoring America’s first president located nearby and that it actually predates the District one. It is a filming location, to boot – from Sleepless in Seattle, one of my favorite movies, no less! So I just had to do some stalking of it while I was back east last September.

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The original Washington Monument, which was constructed from 1815 to 1829 and was the first public memorial to pay homage to George Washington, stands about forty miles outside of the nation’s capital in Baltimore, Maryland’s Mount Vernon neighborhood. The structure was designed by architect Robert Mills, who also designed its D.C. counterpart, though that one did not begin to take shape until 1848 and was not completed for another 37 years after that.

Manufactured out of marble from three local quarries, the monument stands at 178 feet, 8 inches tall.

The focal point of the memorial is a towering Doric column positioned at the center of a rectangular base. Inside of the base is an exhibit about the monument and its surrounding neighborhood. Unfortunately, I had a bit of a stalking fail with this particular location because until I started doing researching for this post, I was unaware that visitors could not only venture inside the structure, but to the very top of it! The tower’s apex apparently provides some fabulous views of the city, so I am really disappointed the Grim Cheaper and I did not head inside.

Affixed to the exterior of the monument’s base are eight bronze captions denoting important events in Washington’s life.

And holding court at the top is a sculpture designed by Italian artist Enrico Causici that represents the moment when Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army on December 23rd, 1783. Why did Causici choose to immortalize that particular occasion? As History.com explains, “Washington’s willingness to return to civilian life was an essential element in the transformation of the War for Independence into a true revolution. During the war, Congress had granted Washington powers equivalent to those of a dictator and he could have easily taken solitary control of the new nation. Indeed, some political factions wanted Washington to become the new nation’s king. His modesty in declining the offer and resigning his military post at the end of the war fortified the republican foundations of the new nation.”

The detailing of the statue cannot be seen from ground level, which is quite possibly a good thing. The Baltimore Business Journal’s Kevin Litten got a close-up view of the piece in 2014, while the monument was undergoing a $5.5-million, 19-month restoration, and as he humorously reported, Causici’s rendering of the nation’s first president depicts him with “a wide, googly-eyed stare” that “looks a lot more like the late actor Jack Elam than the father of our country.” Who is Jack Elam, you ask? Litten explains, “Elam was known both for his frequent depiction of evil characters in western films, and for having what the New York Times called a ‘leer, bulging eye’ that ‘conveyed villainy as surely as [Jimmy] Durante’s nose suggested humor.’” I mean, try to look at this photo and not laugh. I’m literally in hysterics as I write this.

In 1917, it was decided that a statue of Marquis de Lafayette, the French aristocrat who fought alongside Washington during the Revolutionary War, would be added to the site. Sculptor Andrew O’Connor was commissioned to create the instillation and architect Thomas Hastings was enlisted to re-design the area surrounding the Washington Monument to better suit the new piece. The statue was eventually dedicated in 1924.

Surrounding the monument are four gorgeously manicured park-like squares.

Lined with trees, the squares feature fountains, shaded paths, and benches and chairs where visitors can enjoy quiet respite from the bustle of Baltimore.

It truly is a gorgeous site and fitting homage to the father of this great nation.

Towards the beginning of Sleepless in Seattle, Annie Reed (Meg Ryan) and her BFF Becky (Rosie O’Donnell) pass by the Washington Monument on their way to have lunch at the Women’s Exchange, which I blogged about last week.

In the scene, the two ladies are shown walking from the east side of the monument to the south side, past the Marquis de Lafayette statue.

Baltimore’s Washington Monument has popped up in a few other productions over the years.

In the 1979 thriller . . . And Justice for All, Arthur Kirkland (Al Pacino) takes a spontaneous jog around the monument and Marquis de Lafayette statue.

Robert Clayton Dean (Will Smith) and Rachel F. Banks (Lisa Bonet) have a clandestine meet-up at the Washington Monument in 1998’s Enemy of the State.

That same year, the memorial was featured briefly in the opening scene of the John Waters comedy Pecker as the spot where Pecker (Edward Furlong) caught a bus.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Washington Monument, from Sleepless in Seattle, is located at 699 Washington Place in Baltimore. Several other filming locations can be found in the same vicinity, including the Women’s Exchange, also from Sleepless in Seattle, at 333 North Charles Street; the George Peabody Library, again from Sleepless, at 17 East Mount Vernon Place; Terry Lambert’s (Steve Guttenberg) apartment from The Bedroom Window at 12 East Mount Vernon Place; and The Helmund from He’s Just Not That Into You at 806 North Charles Street.

February 27, 2017
My Day on the Set of “The Goldbergs”

I debated titling this post “How The Goldbergs altered my Thanksgiving.” The Grim Cheaper and I were introduced to the ABC series, which is like an ‘80s-set The Wonder Years, last fall and quickly became hooked. We plowed through all of the episodes in just a few weeks and found each to be poignant, nostalgic and moving. One in particular affected us more than others, though. While watching Season 2’s “A Goldberg Thanksgiving,” in which matriarch Beverly (Wendi McLendon-Covey) attempts to impart her holiday meal traditions onto teen daughter Erica (Hayley Orrantia), the GC turned to me and said, “OH MY GOD! Your mother never did that with you, did she? That’s why I am responsible for Thanksgiving dinner every year!” He was right. For whatever reason (most likely because we often traveled during my childhood Thanksgivings), my mother never taught me how to cook a turkey with all of the fixings. The GC’s mom did, though. Much like Beverly, she woke the GC and his brother up early each Thanksgiving morning and had them help with the preparations, teaching them her family traditions in the process. Well, that was it for the GC – he drew a line in the sand and announced that he was abstaining from cooking 2016’s meal, leaving the job to me and my mom. The two of us obliged, very successfully blanching, braising and broiling away (that’s the beginnings of my mom’s homemade cranberry sauce above), and later replicated the feast with me in the driver’s seat on Christmas. So that is how The Goldbergs altered my Thanksgiving. Needless to say, it is a special memory for me. So when I happened to stumble upon the show being filmed at Westside Pavilion two weeks later, it was all I could do not to faint from excitement.

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As I mentioned in this post, the GC and I headed into L.A. to do some Christmas shopping/Christmas stalking at Westside Pavilion after I discovered that Christmas with the Kranks had been lensed on the premises. When we pulled into the parking garage, I spotted one of those yellow signs I love so much, with the word “Gold” written across it. In what can only be described as a blonde moment, I wondered aloud what could be filming. I just about fell over a few minutes later as I stepped off the escalators onto the mall’s second floor and spotted Hayley Orrantia herself sitting in a chair while on a break from shooting none other than The Goldbergs! I was not sure how friendly she and the rest of the cast and crew would be, but nothing was going to stop me from asking for a pic. As it turns out, she and everyone else involved in the production could not have been nicer. Hayley immediately stood up and introduced herself when I approached. She seemed genuinely thrilled we were fans and was so friendly and chatty that I even got to tell her my Thanksgiving story. And the day just got better from there. I wanted to wait until after the episode aired to blog about the experience, though. Thankfully, it finally did last week.

In the episode, titled “The Spencer’s Gift,” Erica and her brother Barry (Troy Gentile) get jobs at a Spencer Gifts store at the supposed Willow Grove Park Mall in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, where the series is set. One of Westside Pavilion’s vacant storefronts masked as Spencer’s in the shoot.

Both the interior and exterior of the space were heavily dressed for the show. Because Hayley was shooting a scene inside of the faux Spencer’s while we were there, I was a bit nervous about snapping any pictures of it. Looking back, I really wish I had, though, because as the GC and I soon came to find out, the crew could not have been cooler about set photos. Ah, well. Live and learn, right?

After watching a bit of the filming, the GC and I ventured to other parts of the Pavilion to begin our Christmas shopping. As we were walking around, we happened to pass by an arcade and I turned to him, shocked, and said, “Wow! I can’t remember the last time I saw an arcade in a mall! Not since, like, the ‘80s!” Yeah, I know. Facepalm!

It took us at least a few minutes to realize that the arcade was actually a storefront dressed for The Goldbergs shoot! D’oh!

As you can see, though, it looked pretty darn realistic.

In “The Spencer’s Gift,” Erica and Barry’s younger brother, Adam F. Goldberg (Sean Giambrone), learns from their example and also gets a job, at the mall’s Challenges Arcade.

Both the interior and exterior of the arcade space were utilized in the episode.

As the GC and I made our way through Westside Pavilion, we began discovering more and more storefronts dressed as fake shops.

We had literally wandered right into an ‘80s-inspired set – and the experience was magical!

The faux stores were so realistic that half the time we were unsure which were real and which were fake. Trying to differentiate the actual shops from the set shops became a game for the two of us and it could not have been more fun!

At one point we ran into a friendly crew member who clued us in as to which stores were authentic, which were real but dressed for the shoot, and which were altogether fictional. The shop below, for example, which we were convinced was an imposter, was actually real.

Though it was given some tubular set dressing for the filming.

The crew member also told us to feel free to take photos of the fake stores and even started pointing out the prop mall signage and faux directories posted around the center.

The entire experience was like heaven for me – hands-down my favorite shopping venture of all time – and very reminiscent of the fabulous day my dad and I spent on the set of CSI: Miami back in 2009.

The cherry on top of our day was when we ran into Troy Gentile as we were leaving the mall. Troy is easily one of the nicest celebrities I have ever met and wound up chatting with us for so long that a crew member had to finally come retrieve him as they were waiting on him to film a scene. (Be sure to zoom in on Troy’s nametag in the photo below. I completely missed it in person, but as my friend Michael pointed out, it reads “B. Tasty.” Love it!)

Westside Pavilion’s food court and actual Hot Dog on a Stick stand also appeared in “The Spencer’s Gift,” though we did not witness the scene that was shot there being filmed.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Westside Pavilion, from “The Spencer’s Gift” episode of The Goldbergs, is located at 10800 West Pico Boulevard in Rancho Park. Filming took place in the third level food court and on the second level in various vacant storefronts. Spencer’s was set up in an empty unit located in between Lady Foot Locker and Fanzz. Tans Forever from Christmas with the Kranks was set up nearby in the space that now houses Kid’s Club.

February 24, 2017
Market from “Mother”

I absolutely love surprises! So I was thrilled to receive an email a couple of days ago from my friend Michael with the news that he had written yet another guest post! For those who don’t read IAMNOTASTALKER regularly, Michael is a frequent contributor. His body of work is now so large, in fact, that I have added a category titled “Michael’s Guest Posts” that can be found on the right side of my site, as well as a “Michael’s Guest Posts” tag in each column in order to easier find his articles. His latest locale is a rather poignant one. So without further ado . . .

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The sad circumstances of late found me reminiscing about one of my favorite Debbie Reynolds movies, Mother. Although it was released in 1996, I end up laughing at it just as heartily now as I did twenty years ago. For those of you who haven’t seen it, Debbie Reynolds stars as the film’s titular character, sharing top billing with Albert Brooks who plays her son, John. After his second divorce, John moves back home in an effort to try and dissect his relationship with his mother—an experiment he hopes will help him get to the root of his chronic misfortune with women.

Although most of the movie takes place in the Bay Area, the majority of it was filmed in Los Angeles. Nevertheless, the cast and crew did travel to Sausalito to obtain some establishing shots of the town, along with footage of Reynolds and Brooks driving.

One of my favorite scenes in the movie has Beatrice and John critiquing each other’s selections at the grocery store before (literally) bumping into a neighbor. The sequence begins the in the store’s parking lot where, to John’s frustration, Beatrice is inadvertently blind to the only available spot.

As the camera pulls out, the store’s name is revealed: Mollie Stone’s Market. The grocery chain, founded in 1986, has a scattering of Bay-Area locations, and as the film would have you believe, the actors were indeed parking outside the Sausalito store.

This summer when I took the ferry over from San Francisco to check out the Too Close for Comfort house, I thought it’d be the perfect opportunity to finally have a look at Mollie Stone’s. As I walked up, I was excited to see that the exterior of the store and parking lot, while updated, were still recognizable from the film.

But, when I ventured into the store, I was surprised to find out that the interior scenes had been filmed elsewhere. I hadn’t done my usual amount of due diligence and had just assumed that they’d filmed the interior when in town for the parking lot scene. Had I originally looked just a little closer, I would have noticed that the roof, windows, and doors differed between the interior and exterior scenes.

Pretty certain that the Sausalito Mollie Stone’s wasn’t used for the interior, I started to focus my search on Los Angeles-area stores, where the remainder of the movie had been filmed. I re-watched the scene frame-by-frame hoping for some hidden detail that would betray its location, but there wasn’t much to go on. Battling with a hotel’s questionable Wi-Fi, Lindsay came to my digital rescue and helped scour the clip for clues to the store’s real location.

Lindsay noticed what looked like palm trees outside the doors, which could suggest a Southern California locale. And that the green Mollie Stone’s carts used by the principal actors didn’t match the rest of the store’s blue carts, helping confirm that they hadn’t filmed in a real Mollie Stone’s location.

I, in turn, was able to make out what looked to be a Googie-style sign across the street, which I thought might be a Norms Restaurant, since they have similarly designed signs.

The other thing that jumped out at me was a coin-operated toy machine —with a hen that spins around and clucks before “laying” a prize-filled egg. Admittedly not a clue, it was a welcome bit of nostalgia that I haven’t seen since I was little.

Thinking the store looked a little dated to have been one of the major chains, I tried researching as many independent markets as I could find, but unfortunately hit a dead end.

Stymied but not defeated, I decided to “cheat” and get in touch with someone involved in the production of the movie. Fortunately, he was kind enough to respond and remembered exactly where the store was located.

The Mar Vista Market, appropriately located in Mar Vista, a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, on Venice Boulevard at Grand View, was used to film the interior scene.

Sadly, the market was demolished in 2000, and in 2004 a post office was built on its footprint.

According to “Distant Vistas,” a wonderful history of Mar Vista written by S. Ravi Tam and posted on the Mar Vista Historical Society’s site, the market, originally owned by Nate and Allen Arnold, opened in 1939 as Arnold’s Super Ranch Market, and by 1947 it had changed owners and names to the Mar Vista Food Center, before finally remodeling and reopening as the Mar Vista Market in 1949.

A 1984 piece in the Los Angeles Times further explains that Dave Simmons originally bought the store’s produce department in 1945, and by the 1950s had taken ownership for remainder of the entire 23,000-square-foot market.

Remarkably, the building across the street from the market, whose distinct sign I had noticed through my fuzzy Wi-Fi connection, is still there. The sign, originally created for the Mar Vista Bowl, has been removed, but remains immortalized in a mural painted on the exterior of the building, which still houses a bowling alley.

Apparently, I wasn’t too far off in thinking it might have been a Norms Restaurant. Mar Vista Bowl was designed by Armet and Davis, who also designed a spate of Googie buildings, including Norms on La Cienega Boulevard.

Now with the name and address of the market, Google linked me to a MacGyver filming location page that noted a scene from the episode “Split Decision” was filmed in the market’s parking lot.

As expected, the door and window placement match what’s seen in Mother. And, you can even make out part of the enter/exit signs above the doors in the film.

Another touchpoint revealed in the MacGyver footage is a group of utility poles near the door which can be seen through the window in Mother, and one of which is still standing today.

And there you have it, the market from Mother, only 400 miles from the parking lot to the fancy jam aisle.

Big THANK YOU to Michael for yet another fabulous – and timely – post. Don’t forget, you can check out the rest of Michael’s articles here.

Stalk It: Mollie Stone’s Exterior from Mother is located at 100 Harbor Drive in Sausalito. USPS, aka Mar Vista Market (razed), aka “Mollie Stone’s Market” Interior from Mother is located at 3826 Grand View Boulevard in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles.

February 22, 2017
Happy President’s Day

I am taking today off in honor of President’s Day. I hope all of my fellow stalkers are enjoying the holiday and three-day weekend. I’ll see you back here on Wednesday!

February 20, 2017
The Women’s Exchange from “Sleepless in Seattle”

Last year, I had incredible luck getting access to filming locations typically closed to the public. While visiting New York in April, I was granted tours of three non-accessible places that I literally would have given my eye teeth to see. Thankfully, none of my friendly tour guides collected on that offer. (And yes, I will be blogging about those sites soon.) One spot I was not as fortunate with was the tea room at the Women’s Exchange in Baltimore, which was featured briefly in Sleepless in Seattle. I was thrilled to come across information about the place while researching Charm City filming locales prior to my September trip back east, and was even more thrilled to discover that the space, though closed, was still in existence and used as a special events venue. While I contacted the Women’s Exchange a few months prior to my visit to see if a tour might be arranged, unfortunately the staff was not able to make that happen. But I still ventured over to stalk the outside of it while in town.

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The Women’s Exchange was established in 1880 as a place where Civil War widows and impoverished females could make money outside of the workplace by selling handmade goods. The non-profit organization, initially called the Women’s Industrial Exchange, was founded by G. Harmon Brown and originally operated out of her private residence. The program quickly proved successful, was incorporated in 1882, and moved to its current home, a five-story former boarding house on Charles Street that was constructed in 1815, five years later.

The organization purchased the picturesque property, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, in 1889.

In 1900, a consignment boutique was opened on the premises and the building’s stately dining hall was transformed into a tea room.

The eatery, which featured white and black checkered flooring, a tall fireplace, and red leather booths, became a popular spot for society women, as well as D.C. politicians, to “lunch.” Amazingly, it remained in operation until 2002 (more than a century!), at which point it was shuttered due to a decline in patronage.

Various restaurants were opened in the tea room space by outside companies in the ensuing years, but, sadly, none took.

Woman’s Industrial Kitchen, which debuted in 2011, was the last eatery to operate in the historic venue, but it was shuttered in 2014 and the site has remained closed, outside of hosting special events, ever since.

Closure of the Women’s Exchange consignment and gift store occurred shortly thereafter and, although a pop-up shop was opened on the premises during the holiday season in 2015, for the most part the locale has remained dark and its future currently appears uncertain. You can see some photographs of the tea room over the years here and here.

In Sleepless in Seattle, Annie Reed (Meg Ryan) and Becky (Rosie O’Donnell) grab lunch at the Women’s Exchange tea room. While there, Becky calls Annie out on her crush on the “Sleepless in Seattle” radio caller.

According to a 2012 The Baltimore Sun article, Sleepless director Nora Ephron became a huge fan of the Exchange after visiting it while scouting locations for the movie, so much so that she wound up eating lunch on the premises daily during the shoot. Ephron had a particular affinity for the tea room’s orange cupcakes and had them delivered by the dozen to the set on a regular basis for the cast and crew to enjoy. She was most taken by the place’s historic aesthetic, though, telling a reporter in 1992 that “It was out of time,” which fit perfectly with her vision of creating an enduring love story. She explained, “We had to do a movie about love that was also about movies about love that I want people to watch for 20 years. I don’t want them to say, ‘Oh, that was made in ’93.’” In my opinion, she succeeded. Sleepless in Seattle is just as touching and poignant today as it was when it first premiered 24 years ago. (Fun fact – Ephron cast longtime Exchange waitress Marguerite Schertle as Annie and Becky’s server in Sleepless. When the director asked her to say a few lines and to “pat” Annie and Becky in the scene, Schertle refused, saying, “Look, just let me do it my way.” She’d been an employee of the tea room for 45 years by that time, after all, and knew how to play the part. That’s her below in the blue uniform, which was her actual work attire.)

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Women’s Exchange, from Sleepless in Seattle, is located at 333 North Charles Street in Baltimore. You can visit the exchange’s official website here. The property, including the tea room and the store, is currently closed to the public.

February 17, 2017
The George Peabody Library from “Sleepless in Seattle”

The Grim Cheaper has never been much interested in filming locations, as I’ve mentioned many times before. He does love stalking them with me, though, as doing so usually involves seeing historic and unique spots. One site that absolutely bowled him over during our trip back east last September was the George Peabody Library in Baltimore. The locale first came on my radar way back in 1993 thanks to its appearance in fave movie Sleepless in Seattle. Once I started researching and viewing photographs of it online prior to our trip, I became a wee bit obsessed with its staggering beauty and knew I wasn’t leaving Charm City without stopping by.

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In February 1857, philanthropist George Peabody announced his plans to create a cultural center for the citizens of Baltimore consisting of an art gallery, a music school, and a library – but not just any library. As George conceived it, the place was to be an “extensive library, to be well furnished in every department of knowledge and of the most approved literature, which is to be maintained for the free use of all persons who may desire to consult it.”

HIs vision became a reality in 1878 when the Library of the Peabody Institute of the City of Baltimore opened to the public. Designed by local architect Edmund George Lind, the Renaissance Revival-style structure, while pretty, is rather non-descript on the outside.

It is the interior that had my tongue wagging.

Dr. Nathaniel H. Morison, the first provost of the Peabody Institute, wasn’t speaking in hyperbole when he described the library as a “cathedral of books.”

The building’s atrium-like interior is a dazzling array of cast iron balconies;

towering stacks featuring more than 300,000 volumes of books;

gold leaf columns that stretch six stories;

black and white marble flooring;

and a paned skylight that looms 61 feet above the ground, casting the space in gorgeous natural light.

As I walked through the library’s entrance doors, my jaw dropped to the floor.

I truly felt like Belle in Beauty and the Beast.

The George Peabody Library is easily one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited in my life.

In 1967, the City of Baltimore acquired the property and it became part of the Enoch Pratt Free Library.

Johns Hopkins University took over the space in 1982 and continues to own it today.

Open to students and visitors alike, the library is also used as a special events venue.

Not surprisingly, the George Peabody Library has become one of Baltimore’s most popular wedding locations.

Also not surprisingly, it has popped up numerous times onscreen.

In Sleepless in Seattle, Annie Reed (Meg Ryan) heads to the Peabody Library to visit her brother, Dennis (David Hyde Pierce), who works on the premises. While there, the two discuss Annie’s recent obsession with a widower she heard on the radio who lives in Emerald City. Dennis’ advice on the matter? “It rains nine months of the year in Seattle!” According to a 1992 The Baltimore Sun article, Sleepless director Nora Ephron was so enamored of the grand library that she changed Dennis’ profession in the script from a psychiatrist to a musicologist so that scenes could be shot there.

The library’s exterior was used in the movie, as well. In the scene, Annie drives west on East Mount Vernon Place and parks in front of the building. In reality, that move wouldn’t be allowed. Mount Vernon Place is a one-way street on which cars are only permitted to drive east.

In the 1990 drama Men Don’t Leave, Beth Macauley (Jessica Lange) rather loudly delivers a catered lunch from the bakery where she works to a music rehearsal taking place at the Peabody.

The Peabody Library very briefly appears as a Parisian music store where Catherine Sloper (Jennifer Jason Leigh) shops in the 1997 drama Washington Square.

The building pops up twice as the University of Baltimore’s library in 1999’s Liberty Heights.

The rear side of the Peabody, which can be found on Centre Street, masks as Hotel Cotesworth, where Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) hosts a large charity gala – and outsmarts some protestors, as well as a hotel union – in the Season 1 episode of House of Cards titled “Chapter 5.”

The Peabody’s lobby area also appeared in the episode.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The George Peabody Library, from Sleepless in Seattle, is located at 17 East Mount Vernon Place in Baltimore. The site is open Tuesday through Friday and admission is free. You can visit the library’s official website here. Terry Lambert’s (Steve Guttenberg) apartment from The Bedroom Window is located right across the street at 12 East Mount Vernon Place.

February 15, 2017
Library Bar from “Parenthood”

In his bestselling book Outliers: The Story of Success, author Malcolm Gladwell asserts that a person needs 10,000 hours of practice at something in order to become an expert. I’ve been writing my blog for about nine years now, working on it at least eight hours a day, five days a week, which translates to roughly 19,000 stalking hours under my belt. That number is probably a vast understatement, but I think we can all agree that I am an expert on filming locations. Even experts make mistakes, though. Last week, while watching the most recent episode of fave show Vanderpump Rules (Season 5’s “Into the Closet”), a “Coming Up” teaser was shown prior to a commercial break in which Tom Schwartz and Katie Maloney argued (shocker, I know!) at a dimly-lit restaurant lined with books. I excitedly turned to the Grim Cheaper and said, “That’s Library Bar!” – a dimly-lit, book-lined downtown L.A. haunt that we visited a few years back. When the segment aired a few minutes later, though, I saw I was mistaken as the camera panned to a sign reading “The Wellesbourne” at the top of the scene. Whoops! After, of course, adding The Wellesbourne to my To-Stalk List (the place seriously looks so cool!), I decided to do a post on Library Bar ASAP.

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The GC and I stumbled upon Library Bar by chance one evening in 2011 while on our way to stalk/eat dinner at Takami Sushi & Elevate Lounge (which, ironically, later appeared in a Season 1 episode of Vanderpump Rules). Because I am obsessed with books, the name of the place intrigued me and, as we walked by, I told the GC that I wanted to grab a post-meal cocktail there.

What we wandered into later that night felt like the cozy book-lined living room of a friend. For me, it was love at first sight.

The intimate lounge is dotted with cushy couches, a fireplace filled with candles, and lots and lots of books. And yes, the tomes are all real. Patrons are permitted to peruse them while sipping libations. How incredibly cool is that? Bartender Brianna Rettig told the Los Angeles Times in 2007 that one customer even asked her out on a date by putting a note in a romance novel and later telling her to find the book and turn to page 40.

Library Bar was established in 2006 by Will Shamlian and Michael Leko, restaurateurs who originally met while working at Mezzaluna, the Brentwood eatery where Nicole Brown Simpson ate her last meal. The successful duo also gave us Spring St. Bar, 4100 Bar, and Sixth Street Tavern, among others.

Library Bar, which you can check out some more photos of here, has popped up a couple of times onscreen, though not as often as I would expect considering its unique aesthetic. In the Season 5 episode of Parenthood titled “Fraud Alert,” Julia Braverman-Graham (Erika Christensen) asks Ed Brooks (David Denman) to meet up with her at Library Bar, after learning that her husband, Joel Graham (Sam Jaeger), does not want to work on their marriage. Only the exterior of the lounge was shown in the episode.

In the Season 8 episode of 24 titled “Day 8: 9 a.m – 10 a.m.,” Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) gets into a taxi outside of Library Bar while talking on his cell with Chloe O’Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub). Because the scene involved a telephone call, it was shown in a split-screen format, which explains the odd screen capture below .

Charlie (James Wolk) attempts to win his ex-girlfriend Lauren Powell (Lauren Miller) back while at Library Bar in the 2012 comedy For a Good Time, Call . . . , though not much of the lounge can be seen in the scene. (Special thanks to Instagram user Cherryeco5 for letting me know about this one!)

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Library Bar, from the “Fraud Alert” episode of Parenthood, is located at 630 West 6th Street, Suite 116-A, in downtown Los Angeles. You can visit the lounge’s official website here.

February 13, 2017
The Administration Building, Treasure Island from “The Parent Trap”

The stalking itinerary for my October 2016 trip to Northern California was extremely Scream-centric. So much so that I did not really do any research on area locales from other productions. But life threw a pleasant surprise my way shortly after I arrived in the City by the Bay. Upon landing at SFO, my mom and I headed to Treasure Island to pick up my uncle who was spending the weekend with us. As we passed through the island’s main entrance, I happened to look to my right and noticed a striking curved structure that I immediately recognized as the exterior of The Stafford Hotel from the 1998 re-make of The Parent Trap. I had long known of the building’s use in the movie and even mentioned it in this 2012 post about The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey (which also masked at The Stafford in the film), but had completely overlooked it while planning my NorCal getaway and didn’t really put two and two together until I actually drove right by the place. So I, of course, had to jump out and snap some pics.

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Prior to my October trip, I had never actually visited Treasure Island, despite growing up in San Francisco – and despite the fact that my parents held their wedding reception there! (Fun fact – their reception took place at Casa de la Vista, the same spot where Patty Hearst’s wedding reception was held a few years later.) The 403-acre man-made island was created by the US Army Corps of Engineers from 1937 to 1939 on what was then the Yerba Buena Shoals. Named after the popular Robert Lewis Stephenson book, the 1-mile by 2/3-mile land mass was constructed for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exhibition, a World’s Fair that celebrated the completion of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge. It was originally intended that when the event ended, Treasure Island would be utilized as an airport. In 1938, engineer William Peyton Day and architect George William Kelham were commissioned to construct an Administration Building for the Exhibition that would later serve as the airport’s main terminal.

Utilizing Art Deco and Streamline design elements, the duo created a dramatic 148,000-square-foot, U-shaped, Art Moderne-style structure out of reinforced concrete.

Researching the history of locations is easily my favorite part of writing my blog. Sometimes though, just reading words in a book or online makes a place’s past intangible and flat. Such was the case with the Golden Gate International Exhibition. I perused articles about the fair’s exhibits and artwork, but didn’t really grasp its grandeur. Then while talking to my grandma on the phone a couple of days ago, she happened to ask what I was working on for my next post. I told her that I was writing about Treasure Island and she exclaimed, “I was there on opening day!” Yes, on February 18th, 1939, my grandma attended the inaugural day of the Golden Gate International Exhibition with her parents and sister! The fair remained in operation through October 29th, 1939 and then reopened again from May 25th to September 29th the following year. Throughout that time, my grandma visited on several occasions, with her family and also on a school trip. It was amazing to hear her stories and first-hand accounts of an event and place that I had been researching all day. She really brought the exhibition to life for me. Listening to her tales, I could practically see her walking among the towering exhibits, sampling the food, and staring in wonder at the various exotic civilizations represented in the performances and shows. The fair truly was like Disneyland! My grandma was especially fascinated by Billy Rose’s Aquacade, in which synchronized swimmers, including a young and unknown Esther Williams and Tarzan star Johnny Weissmuller, performed dazzling in-water routines. You can check out some photographs that really show the magic of the Golden Gate International Exhibition here, here, here, here, and here (in the last one, you can even see the side of the Administration Building on the extreme left).

When the Golden Gate International Exhibition closed for good in 1940, the plans to make Treasure Island an airport were put on hold due to the onslaught of World War II and the site instead became a naval base. It continued to operate as such until being decommissioned in 1997. Though the city immediately set about redeveloping Treasure Island at that time, it was not until last year (yep, last year!) that construction on the massive project actually began. Though it may take an additional 15 years to complete, more than 8.000 homes, several hotels, parkland, 240,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, a large marina, and a ferry terminal are all set to be built on the island. The Administration Building will be left intact (thankfully it’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places) and will likely be turned into a museum.

The Administration Building, Treasure Island pops up as The Stafford Hotel in a few scenes in The Parent Trap. It is there that Hallie Parker and Annie James (both played spectacularly by Lindsay Lohan) scheme to rekindle the spark between their parents, Nick Parker (Dennis Quaid) and Elizabeth James (Natasha Richardson).

Only the exterior of the building was used in the shoot. Interior Stafford Hotel scenes were filmed at the Langham Huntington, Pasadena, while the pool segments were shot at The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey.

The Administration Building, Treasure Island was also featured briefly in 1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as the Berlin airport where Indy (Harrison Ford) and his father, Professor Henry Jones (Sean Connery), caught an airship flight. As was the case with The Parent Trap, only the exterior of the property appeared in the film. Interior airport scenes were shot at Lawrence Hall in London.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Administration Building, Treasure Island, aka the exterior of The Stafford Hotel from The Parent Trap, is located at 1 Avenue of the Palms in San Francisco.

February 10, 2017
Avalon Hotel Palm Springs from “The Hills”

Sometimes I stalk places unknowingly. Such was the case with Avalon Hotel Palm Springs, which I visited back in June 2013 when it was known as Viceroy. I was quite taken with the property’s yellow-hued Old Hollywood Regency-style theme and took a myriad of photographs while there, though I did not plan on blogging about the site because I did not realize it was a filming location. As it turns out, it is – from one of my favorite shows, no less! Last week, my good friend Steffi, who lives in Switzerland, randomly messaged me to ask if I had ever stalked Avalon. She thought I might be interested in doing so being that it was at the hotel that Justin Bobby famously gave his on-again/off-again girlfriend Audrina Patridge a diamond ring in the Season 4 episode of The Hills titled, “I Heidi Take Thee Spencer . . . “ I just about fell out of my chair upon learning the news. I mean, how did I miss that one? I immediately headed over to Hulu to re-watch the episode and, sure enough, there was Avalon! So I decided it was high time I blog about the place.

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Avalon Hotel Palm Springs was originally built as the Estrella Inn in 1933. Initially consisting of 13 standalone Spanish-style bungalows, several two-story Mid-Century-esque buildings were added to the property in the 1950s. Though rather non-descript from the outside . . .

. . . one step through the hotel’s main entrance and you are transported back in time to the days when Garbo, Gable and Gardner ruled Tinseltown.

Avalon’s expansive grounds are characterized by red-roofed bungalows, sprawling lawns, and towering palms.

And, as I mentioned earlier, a lot of yellow.

The site’s distinctive Old Hollywood motif came courtesy of interior designer Kelly Wearstler, who purchased the Estrella in 2001 along with her husband, Brad Korzen, CEO/founder of Viceroy Hotel Group and The Kor Group. (Kor also owns Avalon Hotel Beverly Hills.) The couple re-branded and re-styled the inn, opening it as Viceroy Palm Springs in 2003.

Korzen left Viceroy Hotel Group in 2012, but continued to own Viceroy Palm Springs and three years later re-named the property Avalon Hotel Palm Springs. Despite the name change, Kelly’s unique décor was largely left intact.

Today, the 3.5-acre site boasts 3 pools, meeting and event space, the award-winning Estrella spa (the name is a nod to the hotel’s history), and on-site restaurant Chi Chi.

The thirteen one- and two-bedroom bungalows feature fireplaces, full kitchens, private patios, and, my personal favorite, a “bungalow manager,” to take care of guests’ every need. Sign me up!

The hotel’s expansive gardens feature fruit trees, aloe and agave plants, and palms, which join the rose bushes and bougainvillea vines to create a green and pink oasis.

The property has long been popular with the Hollywood set. Back in the Estrella days, luminaries such as Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Joan Crawford, Ann Miller, Bing Crosby, Tyrone Power, William Powell, Desi Arnaz, Lucille Ball, Orson Welles, Lupe Vélez, Elvis Presley, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Errol Flynn were all known to check in.

In more recent years, such stars as Katharine McPhee, Becca Tilley, John Mayer, B.J. Novak, Whitney Port, Lea Michele, Hannah Simone, Stassi Schroeder, Ashley Benson, Troian Bellisario, Jesse Metcalfe, Katy Perry, and my man Matt Lanter have all been spotted on the premises (though many were there attending Coachella parties, not necessarily staying at the hotel).

In “I Heidi Take Thee Spencer . . . ,” which was The Hills’ Season 4 finale, Justin and Audrina headed to Viceroy for a “drama-free” vacay away from their friends.

Though the scenes taking place at the hotel were short, as well as few and far between, quite a lot of the property was shown in the episode, including the front entrance, one of the bungalows, the courtyard, and the gardens.

It is while seated next to one of Viceroy’s pools that Justin, in a seeming act of commitment, gave Audrina a gorgeous pavé diamond ring. (The guy may be a total douche, but he sure has great taste in jewelry.) The commitment didn’t mean much, though, obviously, as the two were broken up by The Hills’ Season 5 premiere.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Avalon Hotel Palm Springs, aka the former Viceroy from the “I Heidi Take Thee Spencer . . . ” episode of The Hills, is located at 415 South Belardo Road in Palm Springs’ Tennis Club neighborhood.

February 8, 2017