Tiggle it... just a little bit.

writer-a:

The weather is beautiful today, so I decided to work for a bit on the bench on the park just outside the office and I’m glad I did, because I caught some interesting history from a Paramount Tour Guide on the space I’m working in.

I’ve always known this building “belonged” to Lucille Ball and was her office/dressing room, (It’s called Lucille Ball, after all) but I hadn’t known some of the finer details. The reason for the difference in the facade between “A” and “B” was always curious to me.  Turns out, Lucy was very sensitive about her reputation as a workaholic where her kids were concerned. SO, she had the park in the foreground built, behind which (out of frame, behind me) she (and the Studio) built a daycare center on the lot for little Ricky. It runs to this day. Lucy would hire photographers to come in and shoot her and the kids having a picnic on the grass, choosing either the California background (A) or the New York background (b) depending on where she wanted to have people believe she was at the time. Between the picnics, time in “New York,” and time in LA, she was a very attentive mom.

Ricky’s office, the one I’m sitting in currently, was right next door (“C”) and when they divorced, she had the door boarded up, with a promise from Paramount that the door was never to be used by anyone again. Obviously, they’ve kept their promise to this day. The door will never be utilized again. 

Also, before Lucy, “A” belonged to Katherine Hepburn. The story goes that when Lucy started with the studio, she boldly walked up to Hepburn and told her, “One day I’ll have your office.” And she did. 

Love it.  I work on a lot where they shot the first of her shows, before she hit the big times.  

(Source: writer-b)