Your definitive source to filming locations and all things Hollywood!
My Los Angeles magazine postings are back! For the time being, until a new full-time editor is found to replace my former editor, I will only be contributing to LAmag.com once or twice a month, for The Culture Files section of the website. Check out my latest post about Robert Kardashian’s former home, which just made an appearance as itself in the new FX miniseries The People v. O.J. Simpson.
I am very excited to announce a new venture that I am absolutely over the moon about! I have partnered up with my dear friend Mikey, from the Mike the Fanboy website, and will be writing a monthly column for his blog. For my first post, I compiled a filming locations guide to Warner Bros. Ranch. You can check it out here! Enjoy!
Be sure to check out my latest post for Discover Los Angeles, The Ultimate Pretty Little Liars Guide to Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood Part One and Part Two. It is a continuation of my February 2015 article, which covered locales from the series’ first two seasons. I had so much fun putting this one together – and even had a very apropos “A” moment while doing so! I hope my fellow stalkers enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Don’t forget to read today’s Los Angeles magazine post – it’s about The Wonder Years neighborhood. My articles typically get published in the early afternoon hours.
I hope all of my fellow stalkers have a safe and happy New Year! Cheers to 2016!
I would like to wish all of my fellow stalkers a very Merry Christmas! I hope everyone is enjoying time with family and friends and experiencing the magic of the holiday. I will be off for the next couple of days, but will resume regular postings in 2016.
Be sure to check out my latest Los Angeles magazine post today – it’s about the Tournament House from Beverly Hills, 90210. My articles typically get published in the early afternoon hours.
I’ve been lamenting to the Grim Cheaper lately about Palm Springs’ lack of Christmas décor. Sure there are some lights displayed in various shopping centers and on downtown streetlights, but overall the desert just doesn’t have the feeling of the holidays – at least not when compared to Los Angeles. There is one Movie Colony-area home, though, that takes decorating to a whole new level. The residence is known as Robolights and, while it is actually adorned year-round, come December it is transformed into a very unusual winter wonderland.
[ad]
The Grim Cheaper and I stumbled upon Robolights during one of our very first trips to the desert a good ten or so years ago and we could hardly believe our eyes. The attraction – though it is a private residence, “attraction” seems a better word to describe the place – was the brainchild of a twelve-year-old boy named Kenny Irwin Jr., who began building a robot display using scrap materials in the yard of his family’s Palm Springs home in 1986.
As Kenny grew, so did his Robot-themed exhibit. His family’s 5-bedroom, 4-bath, 3,931-square-foot home sits on almost two acres of land and, today, almost every square inch of it is covered with the installation. Instead of being overwhelmed by the massive display that has taken over the property, Irwin’s family is understanding, even encouraging of his art. In a recent Los Angeles Times article about Robolights, Kenny’s father described the residence as Kenny’s “canvas” on which “he can create anything that he imagines.” Something tells me my parents would not be nearly as accepting if I became impassioned to build something similar at their home. 
Like Walt Disney said of Disneyland, Robolights will never be completed. Kenny works on the exhibit day in and day out, creating new sculptures and display elements out trash and discarded scrap materials. Currently, over 200 statues dot the property, some of them close to 50 feet tall! His neighbors seem to be as understanding of the project as his parents. According to the Times article, many of the objects used in his sculptures were donated by nearby residents.
Kenny describes Robolights as an “artistic wonderland” that “comprises close to a thousand tons worth of junk that I’ve transformed into art that would have otherwise ended up in landfills.” Indeed, the place is a brightly-colored dreamland of almost post-apocalyptic effigies, the likes of which I can pretty much guarantee you won’t find anywhere else.
Though not a filming location, the installation has brought Kenny some fame over the years. In 2010, Conan O’Brien pegged him to decorate the Conan set for the holidays. The result is pictured below. You can watch a video of its unveiling here. Kenny also designed a temporary 400-square-foot Christmas-and-robot-themed exhibit titled “Have Yourself a Happy Little Robotmas” for Baltimore’s American Visionary Art Museum in 2013.
Kenny’s main focus, though, is Robolights. The attraction can be viewed from the street year-round . . .
. . . but it really comes alive during the holidays.
Come Christmastime, Kenny decks the place out with close to 9 million twinkle lights and, for a suggested $5 donation, welcomes guests onto his property to get an up-close view of his version of a winter wonderland. Robolights has become a holiday staple for desert denizens, with more than 20,000 visitors walking through it each year.
Kenny describes the celebratory display as a “fusion of robotic, holiday and extraterrestrial themes giving visitors a holiday experience like no other.” Sadly, the GC and I have yet to visit Robolights during Christmastime, but are hoping to make it out there this year. You can see some photographs of it in all of its yuletide glory here and here. Even a non-holiday visit, though, allows for a completely unique and awe-inspiring experience.
For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 
Stalk It: Robolights is located at 1077 East Granvia Valmonte in Palm Springs. You can visit the property’s Facebook page here. The holiday display is currently running nightly from 4 to 9:30 p.m. through January 3rd. Though admission is free, a $5 donation is requested.
Today’s Christmas-themed post comes, once again, courtesy of Michael, the fellow stalker who gifted us with the fabulous write-up about The Golden Spoon café from The Brady Bunch back in November. While visiting L.A. last week, Michael tracked down and stalked another BB locale, this one with a holiday slant. After returning home to Minnesota, he asked if I would be interested in having him write a second guest post about said locale and I very enthusiastically replied yes! (I’d also be interested in a third, a fourth and a fifth guest post, if the mood ever strikes you, Michael! 
) So without further ado . . .
[ad]
Fully cognizant that this may now typecast me as the very Brady guest blogger, I’m back with another Brady Bunch location…a very merry Brady location. In the first season episode of The Brady Bunch, “The Voice of Christmas,” Cindy asks Santa Claus for a laryngitis-struck Carol to get her voice back in time to sing the solo at Christmas church services. Before the department store scenes with Santa (filmed on a soundstage at Paramount), brief establishing shots of an outdoor shopping area are shown.
After looking at the establishing shot more carefully, I noticed that the name on the building, although obscured, read “Radio Shack.” Even though the the shot was assumedly framed to emphasize the Christmas trees and Toyland sign in the windows, garland and bow on the lamp post, and children hauling a Christmas tree down the street, I knew Radio Shack was my best bet for tracking down the address.
Last week, while on vacation in Los Angeles, I stopped at the Central Library to search through their archived Western Los Angeles phone books from the 1970s. Letting my fingers do the walking, through the 1975 edition, I found less than 20 Radio Shack locations. Thinking that the establishing shot was of a pedestrian mall, the first listing that caught my eye was for the Golden Mall, in downtown Burbank. Perhaps Mike really was being accurate when he told Carol, “We’re going to go downtown and finish the shopping.”
I then started researching the Golden Mall, and came across a postcard that showed the same unique cane-shaped lampposts with glass globes as in the Brady Bunch clip. Fairly convinced I was on the right path, it was just a matter of finding out more about this shopping district. [Postcard scan courtesy of San Fernando Valley Blog]
In the 1960s and 70s, many downtown areas closed off vehicular traffic to their major shopping streets and created pedestrian malls in an effort to help compete with the growing popularity of suburban shopping centers. Burbank followed suit, and in 1967 closed off six blocks of San Fernando Road, from Magnolia Boulevard to San Jose Avenue. Then, removed of cars, the street was landscaped with grass, angular paths, modern playground equipment, benches, fountains, hexagonal planters, and public restrooms. [1973 photo courtesy of Burbankia]
By the 1980s, the mall was showing its age. There isn’t one definitive reason for the decline of the mall, but some oft-repeated theories involve business owners leery of updating the appearance of their stores only to have the city gobble up their properties as part of a City Centre Redevelopment Project, customers finding parking at the mall to be a chore, and the popularity of more modern nearby regional shopping centers siphoning shoppers away. [1985 photo courtesy of Burbankia]
In an effort to revitalize the shopping district, in October of 1989, the mall was reopened to traffic, and in 1991, Media City Center (now named Burbank Town Center) opened at Magnolia and San Fernando, abutting the former Golden Mall.
Since the Radio Shack address listed in the phone book—100 S Golden Mall—no longer exists, I tried searching for its present-day equivalent—100 S San Fernando Boulevard. Much to my surprise, I came up with a listing for Radio Shack at that address. A recent Google Street View showed a Bank of the West branch in that spot, but archived Street Views showed Radio Shack in its place as recently as 2011.
Worried that everything fell into place too easily, I contacted the good folks of the website, Burbankia. They quickly helped me confirm that the Radio Shack was indeed at that site from the 70s into recent years.
A May 1969 advertisement trumpets the grand opening of the Golden Mall Radio Shack. Seeing as this episode of The Brady Bunch aired in December of 1969, Radio Shack would have been in the midst of its first holiday season during the filming of the establishing shot. According to a recounting posted on Burbankia, this Radio Shack was located in the Gregg Building, which prior to the electronics retailer, housed a drug store.
Metal panels over the second story windows—a mid-century technique to modernize traditional brick buildings—have since been removed, ostensibly leaving the structure closer in appearance to when it was built in the early 1900s.
Although the facade has had some superficial changes over the years, I was happy to notice one similarity between my photos and the establishing shot—the placement of the bus bench along Olive Avenue.
After enjoying breakfast at nearby Frank’s, it was time to check out the former Radio Shack for myself. Although it was a Sunday morning, I’m happy to report that the restaurants lining the former Golden Mall were bustling, and Burbank Town Center was abuzz with families visiting Santa. One can only assume his wish-granting powers are as strong as in ’69.
Thanks again to Mike and Wes at Burbankia. If you’re interested in seeing more photos from the Golden Mall, or learning more about Burbank’s history, I highly recommend their website. Thanks also to the always informative San Fernando Valley Blog for sharing your photos of the mall. And, of course, a BIG thank you to Lindsay for giving me the opportunity to write another Brady-centric post. [Editor’s note – a BIG thank you to you, Michael, for the fabulous write-up! Here’s hoping for more in 2016!]
Stalk It: Bank of the West, aka the former Golden Mall Radio Shack, aka Downtown Christmas Shopping District from The Brady Bunch is located at 100 South San Fernando Boulevard in Burbank.
Don’t forget to read my latest Los Angeles magazine post today – about The Federal Bar Long Beach from Four Christmases. My articles typically get published in the early afternoon hours.