Mack Sennett’s Cyclorama

The next time you’re stuck in traffic on Glendale Blvd, try picturing Mack Sennett’s Cyclorama in its original location just behind OJ Plumbing on the southwest corner of Glendale Blvd and Effie.

Here’s a short (13 seconds) video that tries to do just that:

Actors ran on treadmills as the matte painted background of the Cyclorama whirred behind them.

You can watch a child and a monkey escaping on a sailboat with the Cyclorama in action here:

http://youtu.be/IIeDCgvrVlA?t=1m33s

The two houses and the retaining wall at the top of the frame are still there on the east side of Glendale Blvd., silent witnesses to the Keystone Kops and the birth of film in Los Angeles.

2012 was the centennial celebration of Mack Sennett’s Keystone Studios, but the coming years will bring the centennials of Chaplin’s Tramp, Cleopatra, Triangle Films and Intolerance among others, providing ample opportunities to explore and celebrate the legacy of the silent films in Echo Park and Silver Lake.