Laurel & Hardy - the "Music Box" steps (Los Angeles, California) | stairs / steps, interesting place

USA / California / West Hollywood / Los Angeles, California
 stairs / steps, interesting place
Laurel and Hardy's famous piano moving scene was filmed here.

The steps which served as the location are still in existence here in the Silverlake district of Los Angeles. The "Music Box" steps are a public staircase, and do not lead to a single residence (as in the film), but instead connect Vendome Street (at the base of the hill) with Descanso Drive (at the top of the hill). They are located near the neighborhood where Sunset Boulevard and Silver Lake Boulevard intersect. The address is 923-935 Vendome Street near the intersection of Del Monte Street. A plaque was set into one of the lower steps between 1993 and 1995. (Google Maps link to the location.)

The "Music Box" steps can be seen in the background of an earlier Charley Chase silent comedy produced at the Hal Roach Studios, "Isn't Life Terrible?" (1925), during a scene in which Chase is trying to sell fountain pens to Fay Wray.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Music_Box_(1932_film)
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   34°4'59"N   118°16'31"W

Comments

  • These "Music Box" steps I just noticed them in the Three Stooges short entitled, " An Ache in Every Stake" . . . the steps are KEY to the plot and the entire film centers around these steps . . . seems since the 1940's, other homes have been built along side them .. but that is them . .amazing . .
  • Hard to find but worth it. take bus 3 or 302 from downtown LA and ask for silver lake boulevard stop. there is a café on the corner and the street is 2 along from there on the main road.
  • Wow. I used to walk these steps as a kid with my mother on her way to work. A damn dog would run up and down on the left side of the stair case, terrorizing me half way up the climb. Never knew it had historical meaning until now. Thanks, Aaron Rift!
  • I live in San Diego. But several years ago I happen to see the Music Box just before a trip up to L.A. At that point I decided to look up the location. It was easy enough to find and I really enjoyed seeing them. I walked all the step up to the top. That would have been quite a job to lift a piano up all those steps. From the bottom of the steps looking up, there are a pair of garage doors. Then going up the stairs there are apartments the entire way on the right hand side. During the time I was there it occurred to me that people living in those apartments and parking in the garages next to them probably know very little about the history. There is that plaque at the bottom, but I doubt people really pay much attention to it. It was fun to see them.
This article was last modified 8 years ago