L.A. CAMEO: The Early Los Angeles of TNT's "Mob City"

You may remember last summer I posted some pics from the set of Frank Darabont's new Los Angeles noir-themed TNT drama "Mob City" (back then it was still being called "Lost Angels"), including the meticulously constructed re-creation of 1940s-era City Hall. At the time, I chatted with location manager Scott Poole (who also works on "Mad Men"), who lamented all of the renovation and gentrification taking place downtown. It's great for the city, but alas, not good for productions looking to re-create old L.A.

"The surge of money being put in downtown (is a problem for us)," he told me. "The places we've filmed over the part 20 years that had still been intact, they're all being renovated."

Still, Poole and his team did a good job utilizing the spots that can still double for 1940s L.A. And the show also managed to balance a mix of real and faux locations. See below for images from the second episode of "Mob City."


This is 1947 Los Angeles, so here's a Red Car from the Sunset line.


Alexa Davalos (as Jasmine Fontaine) steps off the Red Car.


The Hollywood outpost of Miceli's (where interiors were also filmed for a scene).


This may be my favorite detail of the whole episode: A newspaper stand with the "Los Angeles Examiner" logo on it. (The Examiner, of course, was famous for emphasizing its Black Dahlia coverage during the year that "Mob City" is set.)


Here's some creative license. Obviously the seedy Bunker Hill of that era is long gone, so it's all up to the producers to create something. "Bunker Hill Bill's" never existed, but for the purpose of "Mob City" it did.


You can't do a period Los Angeles drama without a Union Station scene! And it looks great here.


Davalos, as Jasmine, strolls inside. Luckily, there's still plenty of Union Station that looks authentically straight out of the 1940s.


A flashback in the episode takes us back to a re-creation of how 1920s downtown L.A. must have felt like.


My other favorite shot from this episode: In the 1927 flashback, you catch a glimpse of City Hall (completed in 1928) under construction.

Tour A Rediscovered 1920s Speakeasy Under Downtown's King Eddy Saloon (VIDEO)

In honor of the launch of TNT's new L.A. noir drama MOB CITY, everyone's favorite historic tour operator, ESOTOURIC, conducted a look inside downtown's King Eddy Saloon and a rediscovered 1920s speakeasy below. "Mob City" author John Buntin was on hand as well. Watch above.

Check out a tour of the "Mob City" set (back when it was being produced under the working title "Lost Angels"), including a replica of 1940s City Hall, here.

Retro Friday: Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles

Fans of 1930s Los Angeles history and Raymond Chandler buffs should get a kick out of this documentary, which looks at the lawlessness and crime of the time as seen through Chandler's noir eyes. It's in three parts below.

Investigation Discovery Explores 'LA: City of Demons' With James Ellroy

James Ellroy is bringing his take on the dark side of Los Angeles to the Investigation Discovery channel.

"James Ellroy's LA: City of Demons," which debuts Jan. 19, looks at "some of Hollywood's most nihilistically notorious crimes from the past to the present."

In the six-part series, Ellroy will be front and center, talking to witnesses, prosecutors, investigators and jurors. To add an even more surreal sheen to the show, Ellroy's work will be interrupted occasionally by an animated crime dog, "Barko." Seriously.

"Crime is a palpitatingly perennial gas – and L.A. crime is the craaaazy creme-de-la-crime," Ellroy says. "Viewers are terribly tired of the trailer trash tragedies that caustically contaminate documentary TV. They wantonly want to groove, grok, gravitate and glide toward glamorous crime – and L.A. is where all that shimmering sh…stuff…pervertedly percolates. This show will be serious, satirical and great fun."

The show will kick off with Ellroy's personal account of the unsolved 1958 murder of his mother. The show will also look at the mob's relationship with the LAPD; the 1950's tabloids; dead celebrities; and serial killers such as the "Hillside Strangler."

Ellroy, of course, has chronicled the seedy side of L.A. through his books "The Black Dahlia," "The Big Nowhere," "L.A. Confidential" and "White Jazz." Ellroy just released his most recent memoir, "The Hilliker Curse."

"James Ellroy is the preeminent crime writer in the world, today, and provides our audience with an outrageous roller-coaster ride that neither they nor ID ever wants to end," said Henry Schleiff, president and general manager, Investigation Discovery. "Indeed, while Ellroy has said that crime owns him, what is even more fascinating is how this 'Diogenes of the Dark' captivates millions of readers and our audience through his incredible storytelling."

Digital Ranch Prods. is behind the show; Rob Kirk, Rob Lihani; David Cargill and Sara Kozak are executive producers.