A crew member disassembles lights after the shooting of a hospital scene at (CIT)² for Curb Your Enthusiasm, the unscripted HBO comedy show.

St. Luke’s second act

Doctors and nurses no longer walk the halls of the former St. Luke Medical Center, but actors who play those roles remain in action.

As frequent sightings of trucks loading and unloading equipment in the parking lot attest, production companies routinely use the Pasadena architectural landmark for shoots. Caltech purchased the 1930s-era property from Tenet Healthcare in 2003 for future use in augmenting Caltech’s research mission, and renamed it (CIT)².

Since then about 70 productions have visited, including many commercials, television shows such as Judging Amy and Cold Case, and major motion pictures, including Meet the Fockers and The Ring Two. An estimated 80 percent are hospital themed.

Million Dollar Baby, the 2005 Academy Awards Best Picture winner, used the intensive care unit, patient rooms, and hallways. The TV series Without a Trace used the operating room, corridors, radiology, the chapel, and third-floor space.

Of course, Caltech doesn’t rent out the place for bragging rights to the celebrities who have worked there, including Clint Eastwood, Scarlett Johansson, and Jack Nicholson.
The rental fees help pay the bills. Filming generated $500,000 for Caltech during its first year of ownership, and will earn even more during the second year ending in July. “This income has been helpful in offsetting some of the cost associated with utilities, general maintenance, and upkeep on the 13-acre property,” says Rick Canny, project manager with Caltech’s Architectural and Engineering Services.

“The beauty of the space up there is that it can be transformed,” says Denise Nelson Nash, Caltech’s director of public events. “Currently it’s unoccupied, so it gives great flexibility and latitude to the production companies.” The site also offers a wealth of parking, which means trucks and personal vehicles stay off the surrounding residential streets.

Real to Reel, Caltech’s location agency, pays attention to details that ensure good neighborhood relations, Nelson Nash says. “We are trying to be good neighbors regarding when and where the production trucks go in and out, hours of filming, and notifying neighbors of upcoming shoots.”

The Office of Public Events reviews all scripts and treatments before contracts are signed. “We don’t want anything shot there that we wouldn’t be proud of,” Nelson Nash says.

The property appeals to location scouts, who are looking for well-maintained, empty buildings with large rooms and architectural flair, says Nick Arquette, director of acquisitions for Real to Reel. The company represents private properties in the Los Angeles area to the entertainment industry. Real to Reel takes a percentage of the fees, which run $5,000–$9,000 daily, with an average shoot running three to five days.

The main building’s Spanish-style dome and facade look much the same as when the hospital was opened by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange. During the Great Depression, the San Gabriel Valley area blossomed as Americans came looking for warm weather and a new start in life, and St. Luke was one of the first hospitals to serve the area.

“That site is unique in L.A. County,” Arquette says. “There are very few hospitals available for shoots that are from the 1930s and are in good condition. It feels like an old hospital.” In-demand features, he says, include the large rooms, the hallways, the kitchen, and architectural details. In addition, the third floor features a “raw” room that can be turned into anything a set designer has in mind. After its days as a working hospital were over, St. Luke preserved enough furniture and hospital equipment to continue resembling a working hospital, which adds to its value to clients.

Real to Reel also handled film rentals for Tenet, which closed the hospital in May 2002 because of declining patient numbers and profitability. As for the future, “filming will continue at (CIT)² even as Caltech gradually occupies the site,” Canny says.
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