Keystone Studio - Then & Now

by Bryant Arnett

(click on any image for a larger
picture)

Chaplin's autobiography describes the Mack
Sennett Keystone Studio as existing in a suburb of Los Angeles called
Edendale.  After searching through my maps for the city, I came to the
conclusion that it simply no longer existed.  Then one day, while driving
my usual daily commute down the "Glendale Corridor" where the 2 freeway turns
into Glendale Blvd., I glanced over at a post office and noticed the sign on the
front:  "U.S. Post Office - Edendale Station."  I could hardly believe
that I had been driving right through Edendale for years!  Further research
led me to dig up my old copy of Theodore Huff's book "Charlie Chaplin" and I
discovered from it that the Keystone Studio was located at 1712 Allesandro
Ave.  As it turns out, that particular stretch of Allesandro was now
Glendale Blvd. (Allesandro continues a few blocks above and a few blocks below
this location, which is now 1712 Glendale Blvd.).  Not only was I driving
through Edendale, I was driving right through the center of the Keystone
Studio!  The above photos are looking East from Effie Dr. looking across
Glendale Blvd.  The large concrete building appears to be the only
remaining piece of the original studio.   Closer inspection reveals
where the original windows have been plastered over.   The building is
now part of a Public Storage company.  I wonder if the people working in
the Jack in the Box realize that they might be flipping burgers in the exact
spot where the Tramp was born!  I took the above Now photo from the roof of
my car.   I am fairly sure that the original photo was taken from the
rooftop of a house a bit further back and higher than my location.  I am
certain the house was there at the time, since it looks very old and does not
appear to have been painted since about 1914.

This shot is of the West side of Glendale
Blvd.  The studio had expanded to both sides of the street.  The only
surviving thing from the Then photo is the two story brick building in the
distance. It has now been painted white and contains a very small, very old
market and deli. From Chaplin's autobiography…

It was lunchtime and I watched the men
and women in their makeup come pouring out of the bungalow, including the
Keystone Cops. They crossed the road to a small general store and came out
eating sandwiches and hot dogs. Some called after each other in loud, raucous
voices: "Hey, Hank, come on!" "Tell Slim to hurry!"

Someday, I will have to stop and get a
sandwich or a hot dog at this market.

This shot was taken from near the same
vantage point as the first picture, but much further back, up a hillside on a
narrow staircase that leads up to another street.  The house in the
distance at the extreme left, behind the red Jack in the Box sign, is visible in
both the Then and the Now shot. This entire area is full of very old buildings
and houses.  I suspect that the entire area around the studio was used
extensively for location shooting and could be a gold mine for future Then &
Now adventures. Hmmmm….

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This page was created by Bryant Arnett
©1999

Part of the Chaplin Film Locations Then & Now
website.