Solved at Last! – the Safety Last! Mystery Building
Harold Lloyd filmed his stunt-climbing “thrill” comedies on the rooftops of eight buildings in the downtown Los Angeles Historic Core. Remarkably, seven of these eight buildings are still standing. (In all Lloyd employed 14 buildings in one way or another – see descriptions here.)
The Dresden Apartments (yellow arrow) and California Garage (red arrow) on W 7th east of MacArthur Park
The Dresden Apartments and California Garage
But a mysterious ninth building belongs in the Lloyd Thrill Picture Hall of Fame (see left). As explained in a prior post, we learn early in Safety Last! (1923) that Harold’s roommate Bill Strother can climb tall buildings when we watch him scale a four-story apartment in order to escape from a cop. If you click the image of Bill below, you can see how the climbing was controlled with his hands.
Click to enlarge – Bill Strother mid-climb
Despite an abundance of clues, including the fact the building faces an east-west trolley line, and stands beside an alley and a “California Garage” selling tires, the mystery building eluded my detection for years.
This all changed when ”Skip,” a resourceful but publicity-shy reader was able to identify the extant (if heavily remodeled) building as the former Dresden Apartments at 1919 W 7th Street. As Skip explains, he could not locate the California Garage either – there seems to be simply no historic record of this establishment. But tracking down a false lead brought Skip’s attention to the Westlake neighborhood, where he had once lived. So following hunches, and using the Bing’s Birds-Eye aerial view, Skip “flew” around the area until a four story building caught his eye. The short-long window pattern on the alley side of this building seemed unique to the area, and matched another shot from the movie.
Then and Now – the Dresden Apartments, 1919 W 7th Street. (c) 2013 Google.
As shown above, the front of the 1910 vintage building is now so badly butchered Skip was hesitant at first to contact me about it being a match. Although initially difficult to see, the remaining architectural elements match up precisely.
1919 W 7th Street. USC Digital Library
Moreover, vintage aerials photos (left) confirm the match, as do the distinctive parapets of the former L.A.F.D. Engine Co. No. 11 fire station at 1819 W 7th Street that appear down the street.
The Sorrento Apartments at 694 S. Burlington, on the corner of 7th Street, also appear further east down the street. Harold Lloyd filmed many scenes there for his early 1917 short comedy The Big Idea.
Below, the L.A.F.D. Engine Co. No. 11 fire house.
Click to enlarge. Looking east past Bill Strother’s cap towards the L.A.F.D. Engine Co. No. 11 – 1819 W 7th Street. Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Archive
Below, the corner of the Sorrento Apartments.
Looking further east towards the Sorrento Apartments, 694 S. Burlington. (c) 2103 Google.
Below, a 1940 view east down W 7th Street towards the Dresden Apartments. The Sorrento Apartments stand tall further down the street.
Looking east down 7th Street, circa 1940, at the Dresden and Sorrento Apartments. USC Digital Archive
The L.A.F.D. Engine Co. No. 11 fire house is still located at 1819 W. 7th Street (below), although it was completely upgraded in 1977.
L.A.F.D. Engine Co. No. 11, 1819 W. 7th Street. (c) 2013 Google.
This setting has been on the top of my Most Wanted list for years, and I want to express my gratitude to Skip both for his ingenuity in solving the puzzle, and for his kindness in sharing it. Thank you so much Skip, I really appreciate.
You can read all about how Harold Lloyd filmed Safety Last! in my book Silent Visions and in these prior posts.
A short segment from the Locations and Effects 2013 documentary with Academy-Award winning effects supervisor Craig Barron and the author filmed for the Criterion Collection release of the Safety Last! Blu-ray appears below.
HAROLD LLOYD images and the names of Mr. Lloyd’s films are all trademarks and/or service marks of Harold Lloyd Entertainment Inc. Images and movie frame images reproduced courtesy of The Harold Lloyd Trust and Harold Lloyd Entertainment Inc. Locations and Effects (C) 2013 The Criterion Collection.
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Filed under: Harold Lloyd, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Safety Last! Tagged: Harold Lloyd, Hollywood, Hollywood Tour, How Harold Lloyd filmed Safety Last, Lloyd Studio, Lloyd Thrill Pictures, Los Angeles Historic Core, Man on the Clock, Safety Last!, Silent Comedians, Silent Comedies, Silent Movie Locations, Silent Movies, Stunt Climbing, then and now
