Thorne Hall from “The Holiday”

If I had to pick a favorite movie character it would be Arthur Abbott (Eli Wallach) from The Holiday.  There’s nothing about him that I don’t adore – his kind heart, his wit, his charm, his championing of Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet).  And there’s no scene that makes me cry more than the one in which he is honored by the Writers Guild of America West at the end of the film.  When those theatre doors open and he sees that the auditorium is packed, the emotion is overwhelming!  And then, just when you think you’ve caught your breath, his theme music – composed by Miles Dumont (Jack Black) – comes tinkling through the speakers and the tears start all over again.  So I was ecstatic when, while on a tour of Occidental College with Mike, from MovieShotsLA, a couple of years back, our guide pointed to Thorne Hall on the north edge of campus and informed us that the iconic scene – which you can watch here – had been shot there!  Though we didn’t get to see the inside of the building that particular day, thanks to an incredibly nice contact I have at the school who interviewed me a few years ago, I was able to tour it last month, just in time for a holiday post!

Thorne Hall was the brainchild of Rev. Remsen D. Bird, who served as Occidental’s president from 1921 to 1946.  Upon taking office, Bird set out to expand and enhance the campus.  Top on his list of wants was a large auditorium capable of hosting the entire student body and staff.  The project was finally made possible thanks to financing provided by Charles Thorne, heir to the Montgomery Ward fortune, and groundbreaking took place on May 21st, 1937.

Myron Hunt & H.C. Chambers, the architecture team who also gave us Pasadena Central Library, were commissioned to design the Palladian-style beauty, which was named in honor of Charles’ late wife, Belle Wilber Thorne.  The venue opened to the public on July 13th, 1938 with a concert put on by Westminster Choir School.

Little of the landmark site has been altered in the ensuing decades, though it did undergo a $2.1-million renovation in 1989.  Spearheaded by architect/preservation specialist Brenda Levin, the project mildly revamped the auditorium’s interior by adding baffling over the stage to allow for better acoustics.  As she explained to the Los Angeles Times,  “Thorne Hall is one of Hunt'”‘”‘s purest Palladian buildings.  Its beautiful Beaux Arts colonnade closes the western end of the main campus axis, and gives it its great sense of calm.  I had to try and modernize the hall'”‘”‘s interior without cheapening its relationship to the dignity of its exterior.”  A woman after my own heart!

The grand 792-seat venue has hosted countless famous figures over the years including Martin Luther King Jr., Bob Hope, Linda Ronstadt, Harry Belafonte, Edward James Olmos, Richard Nixon, Jane Goodall, Earl Warren, Robert Frost, Amy Tan, Anne Lamott, Cesar Chavez, Desmond Tutu, and Oliver Stone, just to name a few.

According to a 2013 Occidental magazine article, in 1940 Howard Swan, then director of the space, stated “Belle Wilber Thorne Hall today is more than a structure of steel and concrete.  Thorne Hall is an institution, fostering activities that reach out and touch many interests and many persons.  The donor of the building wished it to receive extensive use; certainly none of us realized that we were so soon to witness the development of an institution of strength, tradition, and power.”  Charles Thorne’s hope for extensive use is still being realized today, with the venue serving as the site of such varied events as theatre productions, concerts, lectures, speeches, classes, and dance performances.

Oh, and filming.

It is at Thorne Hall that the Writers Guild of America West hosts “An Evening with Arthur Abbott,” in honor of the legendary octogenarian screenwriter, in The Holiday.

As Arthur walks into Thorne’s lobby with Iris, his worst fears are confirmed – it appears as if no one has shown up for the event.

But when the doors to the auditorium open . . .

. . . a resounding applause breaks out and Arthur is overwhelmed to see a packed house engaged in a massive standing ovation.  His life’s work, it turns out, has not gone unnoticed by his peers.

Iris and Arthur proceed down the aisle into Thorne’s auditorium . . .

. . . and Arthur ventures onto the stage where he gives a glorious speech about the showbusiness of yesteryear.  It is a heartwarming scene from beginning to end.

Sadly, the stairs he walked up (on his own!) were just set dressing brought in for the shoot.

Thorne Hall’s actual stairs are located on the extreme sides of the stage, as you can see below.

The Holiday is hardly the only production to feature Thorne Hall.  In fact, the site popped up in another favorite of mine!

In 1994, Thorne was used extensively as Evans Hall, the California University theatre where Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty) auditioned, rehearsed, and performed as Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in the Season 4 episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210 “Divas,” “Acting Out,” “Truth and Consequences,” and “Vital Signs.”  The exterior . . .

. . . the lobby . . .

. . . and the auditorium all appeared in the episodes.  (That’s a very young Ryan Hurst, aka Gerry Bertier from Remember the Titans, in the screen caps below.)

In what is actually a leftover establishing shot from 90210, Thorne Hall popped up briefly as “Evans Hall Library,” where Phoebe Halliwell (Alyssa Milano) investigates the death of her friend, Charlene Hughes (Rebecca Cross), in the Season 2 episode of Charmed titled “Ex Libris,” which aired in 2000.  All interiors were shot at DC Stages in downtown L.A., though.

Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) gives a speech on raptors and asks for funding to continue his research on the subject in Thorne Hall in 2001’s Jurassic Park III.

Thorne portrays the Georgetown University auditorium where Tabitha Fortis (Laura Dern) gives a lecture on poetry in the Season 3 episode of The West Wing titled “The U.S. Poet Laureate,” which aired in 2002.

A prop fountain was installed in front of the hall for the shoot to give the locale more of a D.C. feel.

Thorne Hall masks as the U.S. Embassy in Belgravia, where a Marine is killed during a terrorist attack, in the Season 8 episode of NCIS titled “Defiance,” which aired in 2011.

In 2014 and 2015, Thorne Hall was turned into “Nerdvana” for Seasons 2 and 3 of the reality competition series King of the Nerds.

The Grim Cheaper and I happened to be on campus during one of the Nerd shoots and got to see Thorne Hall dressed in all of its Nerdvana glory!

Most recently, the building popped up briefly in the background of the Season 1 episode of The Romanoffs titled “Bright and High Circle,” which aired this past November.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Thorne Hall, from The Holiday, can be found at Occidental College, which is located at 1600 Campus Road in Eagle Rock.  Please be advised that the theatre is closed to the public and is only accessible to those attending performances and shows on the premises.  You can find out about the venue’s upcoming events here.

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