Pasadena Central Library from “Foul Play”
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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.
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?)
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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.
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Until next time, Happy Stalking!
Stalk It: Pasadena Central Library, from Foul Play, is located at 285 East Walnut Street in Pasadena. You can visit its official website here.
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