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Màs Malo from “Scandal”

Los Angeles is often ridiculed for having no history – or no appreciation of its history. Demolition of the Ambassador Hotel aside, I don’t find that to be true. There is history – well-preserved history – around pretty much ever corner. You just have to know where to look. Case in point – Màs Malo, a downtown L.A. Cal-Mex eatery that is situated inside of a gorgeous former 1920s jewelry emporium. The site first hit my radar while I was researching DTLA watering holes for my Double Shot: Two Downtown Bar Crawls article for the June 2016 issue of Los Angeles magazine. As I mentioned in the piece, Màs Malo’s second-floor lounge was featured in a Season 5 episode of Parks and Recreation. I became completely enamored of the gorgeous space after perusing photos of it online and added it to my To-Stalk List, but somehow never made it out there. Then when I spotted the restaurant pop up on a recent episode of Scandal, I decided I had to head over there stat and finally did, Grim Cheaper in tow, two weeks ago.

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The 1922 building that Màs Malo calls home was initially constructed as the headquarters and flagship store of Brock & Company Jewelers, one of the city’s most prominent jewelry shops at the time. Originally founded in the 1880s by George A. Brock, Brock & Co. was often referred to as the “Tiffany of the West.”

The Spanish Colonial Revival-style property, which boasts Churrigueresque elements, was designed by William James Dodd and William Richards of the Dodd & Richards architecture firm.

The structure’s highly ornate exterior was assembled out of terra cotta.

Though the building’s façade is undeniably beautiful and definitely picture-worthy, it is the interior that had me so intrigued.

The ground floor of the property, which served as the watch and jewelry showroom during Brock & Co.’s tenure, boasts a stunningly intricate and sweeping vaulted ceiling.

The ornamental carvings are nothing short of breathtaking. In fact, pictures don’t do them justice – they are even more spectacular in person.

Brock & Co. was eventually taken over by George’s son, George C. Brock, who had no children. With no one to leave the company to upon retiring in 1964, he sold it to real estate developer Ben Weingart, who continued to operate the site as a jewelry store for a few years before eventually shuttering it. In 1975, the grand space was leased to the Clinton family, owners of the popular Clifton’s Cafeteria chain.

The Clintons modified the former jewelry store in order to transform it into another Clifton’s outpost, this one named Clifton’s Silver Spoon Cafeteria, which operated from 1975 to 1997. Thankfully, the modifications were minor and the building’s baroque ceiling was left intact, as were the handmade Mahogany display cases that lined the interior. You can see some images of the building during the Clifton Silver Spoon days here, here, and here.

After Clifton’s was shuttered, the Brock & Co. building, which is a Los Angeles Cultural-Historic Monument, remained vacant for close to a decade. In 2007, 213 Nightlife Group founder Cedd Moses set his sights on the property’s second floor, which the jewelry company had utilized as a silver, china and crystal department. He revamped the space into Seven Grand, a dimly-lit, wood-paneled whiskey bar festooned with mounted buck heads. Moses even made use of Brock & Co.’s original display cases to store the watering hole’s extensive liquor collection. Seven Grand became an immediate hit and though the bar is also a popular filming location (it has popped up on The Office, Lie to Me, Body of Proof, and Modern Family, just to name a few), I have yet to stalk it. But don’t worry, it’s on my list.

In 2010, Brock & Co.’s lower level was leased by Mitchell Frank and Jeff Ellermeyer. Along with interior designer Tracy Beckmann and restoration expert Amy Higgins, the two renovated and reimagined the former jewelry showroom, transforming it into Màs Malo, a sister restaurant to their Silver Lake eatery, Malo. The site opened to the public in January 2011. You can check out some fabulous photographs of Amy’s restoration work on the ceiling here.

Màs Malo is hands down one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited. Even if the food was bad, I’d recommend the place for the ambiance alone. Thankfully, that’s not the case, though.

As the GC and I came to find out, the fare at Màs Malo is out of this world! I opted for the Ground Beef & Pickle Tacos, which were recommended by the bartender. Pickles on a taco? I was skeptical, too. The entrée was actually created by chef Robert Luna’s mother. As he explained to The Huffington Post, “I was twelve years old and my mom was prepping for hamburgers when she realized she had no bread. She took a tortilla and turned it into a hard taco with the beef and the pickles. Since then I haven’t wanted hamburgers any other way.” Countless Angelinos agree. The dish quickly became a signature item. While the pickles add a unique and altogether pleasant touch, for me, the taco’s real pièce de résistance is the tortilla shell, which is the perfect blend of crispy and chewy.

Considering its gorgeous aesthetic, it is no surprise that the Brock & Co. space has been featured in several productions.

In the Season 6 episode of Scandal titled “Hardball,” Màs Malo masked as the supposed Washington, D.C. bar where Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) took FBI Director Angela Webster (Saycon Sengbloh) for drinks to distract her so that Huck (Guillermo Diaz) could search her car. The scene was shot in the restaurant’s mezzanine area.

Shortly after Clifton’s Silver Spoon Cafeteria closed, the then vacant space appeared in the 1999 film Fight Club as the spot where The Narrator (Edward Norton) ate for free while warning Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter) that she needed to leave the city. As you can see, the site looked quite a bit different at the time due to a huge wooden partition that was set up around the ground floor.

In the Season 5 episode of Parks and Recreation titled “Animal Control,” which aired in 2013, Màs Malo’s mezzanine masked as the Pawnee Smokehouse, where Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) gave a Sweetums charity pitch to perfume mogul Dennis Feinstein (Jason Mantzoukas).

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Màs Malo, from the “Hardball” episode of Scandal, is located at 515 West 7th Street in downtown Los Angeles. You can visit the eatery’s official website here.

March 10, 2017
Strand Book Store from “Sex and the City”

I have made no secret of my love for bookstores on this blog, especially in recent weeks (as evidenced here and here). I literally cannot get enough of them! So when I spotted a book boutique pop up in the Season 2 episode of Sex and the City titled “The Freak Show,” which I was re-watching shortly before my trip to New York last April, I knew I had to track it down and stalk it. Come to find out, the place is one of NYC’s most famous and historic book sellers!

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Thankfully, the locale was not very hard to identify. While scrutinizing “The Freak Show,” I spotted a red oval-shaped logo situated next to Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) with the word “Strand” centered in it and recognition immediately clicked. I had come across mentions of Strand Book Store, or “the Strand” as it is more commonly known, countless times over the years while researching interesting spots to check out in the Big Apple. Touted as one of NYC’s oldest and largest book shops, the place intrigued me and its name stayed lodged in my brain, but somehow I never made it a point to see it in person during any of my trips back east. So I decided to remedy that and put the site at the very top of April’s New York To-Stalk List.

Originally established in 1927, Strand Book Store was the brainchild of 25-year-old bibliophile Benjamin Brass. The shop was initially located on Fourth Avenue’s Book Row, a six-block area in Greenwich Village comprised of no less than 48 book sellers. Brass dubbed his emporium, which back then sold only used tomes, in honor of the famed Strand street in London where countless notable writers, including Charles Dickens, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Virginia Woolf, have lived over the years.

In 1956, Benjamin’s son, Fred, took over management of the Strand and moved it to its current home on the corner of Broadway and East 12th Street the following year. Though Book Row and the 47 other boutiques once located there are no longer in existence, the Strand managed to not only survive throughout the years, but thrive.

Fred eventually purchased the building housing the store and expanded his retail space. Today, the Strand encompasses three and a half levels comprised of more than 2.5 million new and used titles – or as the Strand’s tag line states, “18 miles of books.” The boutique, which is now co-run by Fred and his daughter Nancy and tended to by 240 employees, also stocks gifts, cards, and various other sundries.

Unfortunately, the employee that I spoke with told me no photos were allowed inside the store, so I was only able to snap pics of the exterior.

In “The Freak Show” episode of Sex and the City, which aired in 1999, Carrie dates a succession of men who all turn out to have freakish habits. The segment shot at the Strand involved a broker named Max (Thomas Pescod) who, as Carrie learns, has a penchant for pilfering books. The brief scene took place outside of the store among the bargain dollar carts stationed on Broadway.

Sex and the City is hardly the only production that has been lensed at the Strand. In the 1993 drama Six Degrees of Separation, Ouisa (Stockard Channing) visits the bookstore with some friends to look for a copy of Sidney Poitier’s biography in order to see if her houseguest, Paul (Will Smith), is lying about being his son.

It is at the Strand that Julie Powell (Amy Adams) laments the unfavorable New York magazine article written about her to her friend Sarah (Mary Lynn Rajskub) in the 2010 biopic Julie & Julia.

Tyler Hawkins (Robert Pattinson) works at Strand Book Store in the 2010 drama Remember Me.

While the exterior of the Strand was featured briefly in the 2014 comedy They Came Together . . .

. . . interior filming took place at Community Bookstore, located at 143 Seventh Avenue in Brooklyn.

In the Season 1 episode of Master of None titled “Finale,” which aired in 2015, Dev (Aziz Ansari) contemplates his life choices while reading The Bell Jar at the Strand.

That same year, Bryan Robbins (Josh Helman) popped into Strand Book Store while looking for his sister, Claire (Sarah Hay), in the Season 1 episode of Flesh and Bone titled “Reconnaissance.”

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Strand Book Store, from “The Freak Show” episode of Sex and the City, is located at 828 Broadway in New York’s Greenwich Village. You can visit the shop’s official website here.

March 8, 2017
Joseph’s Café – Where Britney Spears Met Kevin Federline

Circa 2000, I thought Britney Spears was everything! Obviously, I don’t anymore (a person can only go into a gas station restroom barefoot so many times before I start to think they’re someone I shouldn’t be emulating), but ever since watching the Lifetime biopic Britney Ever After two weeks ago, I’ve had the pop star on my brain. I blogged about an infamous location from her past on Friday –no, not one of the aforementioned gas station bathrooms, but former West Hollywood nightclub The Lounge, where she and ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake had their notorious dance-off in 2002. Today, I thought I’d post about another infamous site from her past that I first stalked back in October 2012 via the Dearly Departed Tour, which I embarked upon with my friends Kim and Lavonna. The tour was fabulous. Not only is it one of the few in Hollywood that is actually accurate with its locales, but it even introduced me to a couple of places I hadn’t been aware of, including Joseph’s Café, the spot where Miss Spears met second husband Kevin Federline in 2004.

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Joseph’s Café was originally established by Leo Abrahamian and his wife, Ovsanna, on the corner of Ivar Avenue and Yucca Street in Hollywood in 1977. While the Greek eatery has since been expanded and remodeled, it is, amazingly, still standing in the same exact spot today.

In 2000, Leo and Ovsanna’s sons, Joseph and Robert, decided to give the restaurant a massive overhaul. Along with a much needed facelift, the two also added nightly music, turning the place into a club during after-dinner hours. Joseph’s became a draw for Tinseltown’s elite almost immediately and such notables as Janet Jackson, Cameron Diaz, Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg, Nick Lachey, Vanessa Minnillo, Wilmer Valderama, Adam Brody, Kim Kardashian, Lance Bass, Cris Judd, Drew Lachey, and Vince Vaughn were all spotted hanging out there. The site was such a hotspot, in fact, that Citysearch deemed it the Number One Celebrity Club in Los Angeles in 2005.

Spears partied there so frequently that in a 2003 write-up on popular Hollywood clubs, Variety magazine reported that on Monday nights, Joseph’s was “the most likely place to spot Britney and pals pop-locking on the dance floor.” Justin Timberlake was a fan, too. In fact, the two had a reconciliation of sorts there after the American Music Awards in January 2003. The meet-up, which included kissing and hand-holding, sparked rumors that the couple might be rekindling their flame, though it doesn’t sound as if it was truly all that romantic being that Britney reportedly threw up in the middle of it.

Thankfully, no throwing up took place on the fateful night in April 2004 that Britney met Kevin. While sitting in her favorite booth at Joseph’s, she spied then backup dancer Federline and was immediately smitten. I’ll let Spears tell the touching tale in her own words via a People magazine interview from later that year – “I always sit at the same table. On the far right. In the corner. Where I can see everything. And I saw him. He was just standing there. I was like, ‘Hi, just come with me.’” Though Kevin was engaged at the time to actress Shar Jackson, who was six months pregnant with their second child, it did not stop him from pursuing a relationship with Spears and the two were engaged less than three months later.

I would be remiss if I did not point out that, as KFed clarified in People, Britney and Kevin actually first met in 2000 during Spears’ (You Drive Me) Crazy Tour. Britney was headlining and Kevin was backup dancing for her opening act, LFO. There was no love connection at the time, though. I’ll let the two break it down for you. Britney: “We saw each other in passing but never really talked. He thought I was cute.” Kevin: “Yeah, I did think you were cute. But it just wasn’t the right time. I think everything happens at the right time. That’s why we met at Joseph’s.” You can check out the couple’s entire interview here. Be forewarned – it’s cringe-worthy. While reading it, Principal’s (James Downey) memorable speech from Billy Madison came to mind. For those who have not seen the 1995 comedy, after Billy (Adam Sandler) compares the Industrial Revolution to the children’s book The Puppy Who Lost His Way during an oral exam, Principal says, “Mr. Madison, what you just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it.” Yep, pretty much sums up Spears and Federline’s ramblings on their relationship.

Though there are reports circulating online that Joseph’s is currently closed, when I re-stalked the place last week, it appeared to be hopping.

I was thrilled to discover while researching this post that Joseph’s is also a filming location. It was featured briefly in the 1997 movie Flipping as the spot where Tommy ‘Fat Man’ Barnett (Nick Dimitri) was killed. The club looked quite a bit different at the time, though.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Joseph’s Café, where Britney Spears met Kevin Federline, is located at 1775 Ivar Avenue in Hollywood. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

March 6, 2017
The Lounge – The Site of Britney and Justin’s Dance-Off

If you are anything at all like me, you eagerly tuned in to watch Lifetime’s Britney Spears biopic Britney Ever After the evening of February 18th. If not, you seriously missed out. It was amazing – in the way that only bad Lifetime movies can be amazing. The two-hour made-for-television flick chronicled a decade of the pop star’s life in the spotlight, from her rise to fame with the release of 1998’s . . . Baby One More Time, through her many turbulent years, ending with her 2008 comeback. The moment I was most excited to see re-created was the infamous dance-off that took place between Britney and ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake in 2002. The scene did not disappoint – and got me interested in tracking down the spot where the real life event occurred. Due to the highly transitional nature of the nightclub business, though, it required quite a bit of legwork to do so.

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Thanks to the place’s non-distinctive moniker, a Google search for “The Lounge” and “Los Angeles” did not provide much information. Adding “Britney Spears” into the search mix didn’t help. But when I swapped out her name for Justin’s, I started to make headway. Kicked back was a link to this 2003 MTV.com article which mentioned that the former *NSYNC-er was partnering with The Lounge owners Art and Allan Davis to open dim sum restaurant Chi. From there, I began searching for “The Lounge,” “Los Angeles,” and “Art and Allan Davis” and was finally yielded this 2002 image of actor Lukas Haas standing outside of the club. Though The Lounge was not visible in the photo, another restaurant was. While looking at the picture, I spotted the instantly identifiable yellow-paneling and green awning of Dan Tana’s in the background. The West Hollywood eatery has been a landmark since it was originally established in 1964 and the Grim Cheaper and I have dined there on several occasions, so I recognized it immediately. From there, it was not hard to discern that The Lounge was formerly located just west of Dan Tana’s at 9077 North Santa Monica Boulevard.

The Lounge saw its beginnings in January 1999 when the Davis brothers purchased La Masia, a decades-old Spanish restaurant/nightclub. The duo eventually revamped the site, re-opening it as the Latin Lounge in 2001.

The place was an instant hit with the Hollywood set, attracting such stars as Sarah Jessica Parker, Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Quaid, and Ricky Martin in its first months of operation.

The two-level supper club, which eventually dropped the “Latin” from its name, featured a small dance floor, live music, furry sconces (yes, you read that right – the light fixtures were apparently covered in fur), a leopard print bar, a chandelier that scaled two stories, colorful murals, and a mirrored mezzanine.

It was not long before The Lounge was the place to see and be seen with the likes of Matthew Perry, Hank Azaria, Hilary Swank, Melissa Joan Hart, Nicole Richie, Gisele Bündchen, Demi Moore, Brittany Murphy, Dean Cain, Ashton Kutcher, Paris Hilton, Ethan Embry, and Tiffany Amber Thiessen all popping in regularly. Oh yes, and Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake.

As reported at the time by Us Weekly, on August 1st, 2002, nearly 5 months after their split, Britney and Justin ran into each other at The Lounge. Britney reportedly got upset with Justin for dancing with his new flame, Jenna Dewan – yes, the Jenna Dewan that went on to marry Channing Tatum – and it resulted in a 90-minute dance-off between the former couple and their respective entourages. Britney later denied the report, but by then it had already become the stuff of pop culture legend. Britney Ever After’s depiction of the moment (pictured below) was absolutely delicious and completely ridiculous at the same time. Though I believe it was a fairly realistic re-creation of what actually happened that night. I mean, I can’t imagine a dance-off scenario that isn’t completely ridiculous. While researching this post, I came across two images (you can see them here and here) that show Britney leaving The Lounge I believe on the night in question. Though dated August 2nd, 2002, the day following the alleged dance-off, I am guessing by the time she left the club, it was after midnight the next morning.

Though The Lounge had a pretty good run, as is typical of most nightclubs, it did not last. By 2005, the site had become Lobby. When Lobby closed, the space was transformed into Foxtail, which was owned in part by Brett Ratner, and then later Mi-6. All three clubs were insanely popular with celebrities during their brief tenures.

The exterior of the property changed considerably during those ensuing years. At the time that The Lounge was in existence, the exterior was Spanish in style, as you can see here, here, and here. By 2008, the style had shifted to Art Deco and the building was covered with a screened façade.

In 2011, the space underwent an even more drastic remodel. As you can see in the Google Street View images below from April and July of that year, the property was taken down to the studs and completely rebuilt before re-opening as Italian eatery Mercato di Vetro. So, sadly, the building no longer looks anything like it did the night of Britney and Justin’s dance-off.

Today, the site houses a restaurant/club named Doheny Room.

Much like its predecessors, Doheny Room is a major celebrity hot spot, attracting the likes of David Spade, Chris Brown, Vanessa Hudgens, Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, and The Game on any given night.

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 Lounge, aka the site of Britney and Justin’s infamous 2002 dance-off, was formerly located at 9077 North Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. The locale is now the site of Doheny Room.

March 3, 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