Side by side, what appeared to be two pictures of the same brownstone were in actuality structures on opposite sides of the country. In New York, the original building, and in Los Angeles, its replica, made of cheap materials and with no structure beyond its façade. James Sanders guided the audience at NYPAP’s 5th annual Bard Birthday Breakfast on December 12, 2008 through many similar archival photographs showing these types of comparisons between New York City buildings and their movie set twins in Los Angeles. These detailed photos of New York City, which Mr. Sanders discovered while conducting research for his book Celluloid Skyline: New York and the Movies, were taken in an effort to document the city’s streetscapes so that they could be accurately recreated on Hollywood lots. Mr. Sanders’ illuminating talk, enjoyed by a full room of early risers at the Harvard Club, not only touched on an interesting period of film history where New York City based movies were all shot in Los Angeles due to inadequate sound technology that picked up too much street noise in cities, but also showed that this rich documentation captured and preserved a piece of New York’s history. Many thanks to all who attended and supported NYPAP’s 2008 Bard Birthday Breakfast Benefit. 

Location:
Harvard Club of New York City
35 West 44th Street
New York, NY 10036
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