L.A. Noir-chitecture: A Hard-Boiled Tour through the Historic City November 9, 2008

This special one-day tour will feature historic locations from the work of Los Angeles-based noir authors such as Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. Los Angeles is home to some of the greatest noir fiction and film, with historic buildings-- often glorious and sometimes shady-- that provide the authenticity craved by authors and filmmakers alike. Here is a preview of selected tour locations; check back for additions and updates.

Warner Brothers Studios
Come see the historic New York Street, also known as shadowy 1940s San Francisco, as it appears in the 1941 film adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's noir classic The Maltese Falcon.

Parva-Sed-Apta Apartments
Visit an apartment in the Tudor Revival Parva-Sed-Apta, home to author Nathanael West while he wrote The Day of the Locust.

Glendale Southern Pacific Railroad Terminal
Explore the Glendale Southern Pacific Railroad Terminal, a Spanish Colonial Revival jewelbox of a train station and the "scene of the crime" in the film adaptation of James M. Cain's Double Indemnity.

Formosa Cafe
Visit the historic cafe, stomping ground of the Hollywood elite and notorious gangsters, featured in the 1997 film adaptation of James Ellroy's L.A. Confidential.

Mulholland Dam at the Hollywood Reservoir
Examine the Mulholland Dam at the Hollywood Reservoir, designed by engineer William Mulholland and a character in contemporary noir author Michael Connelly's The Overlook.

Villa Primavera
Explore this intimate, Spanish-style courtyard apartment complex featured in the classic 1950 film adaptation of Dorothy B. Hughes novel In a Lonely Place.

Noir fiction, also called hard-boiled crime fiction, is a uniquely American style of writing that is often associated with detective short stories and novels. Classical noir fiction portrays the world with gritty realism and a dark and unsentimental viewpoint.

The Conservancy will present this tour in partnership with the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs as part of The Big Read, an initiative of the National Endowment of the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture.

The tour will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, November 9. Tourgoers will drive themselves to each stop, then receive a docent led tour of the site. Tickets are $25 for Conservancy members and $30 for the general public.

Official Website: http://www.laconservancy.org/events/Events_noir.php4