Twilight Zone - "You Drive"

My wife and I are in the midst of watching every episode of the classic television series, Twilight Zone. I was excited to see images of Carlson Park in the 1964 episode, "You Drive". "You Drive" stars Edward Andrews as Oliver Pope, a misguided man who fails to report a hit and run accident that kills a paperboy. His lapse in judgement causes him to be haunted by his car. Carlson Park and the Carlson Park neighborhood are clearly visible in many of the scenes. I was amazed to see how similair the neighborhood looks in 1964 and today. I took the following series of photographs showing the neighborhood then and now. Below is a look at the paperboy riding down Braddock headed for his fateful collision, followed by a shot from the same location today. You can see the dining building and lamp post are visible in the background in both.

Here is a look across Motor to Carlson Park. The ficus trees must have been newly planted in 1964. They are huge now. And, of course, the phone booth is now gone.

Below is a look at Carlson Park, as a woman tries to save the paperboy, followed by the park as it appears today.

Below is a shot down Motor both then and now:

Below is another shot down Motor. The trees are way taller, but the houses are mostly the same.

Below is a shot from inside the pay phone. The houses on the corner of Motor and Braddock are clearly visible. I tried to recreate the same view.

Below is another shot across Motor and Braddock with the police on the scene.

The main characters live at 4183 Keystone Ave in Culver City. The house looks almost identical now as it did in 1964, including the same house number sign. When I was taking the photos, I talked to the owner of 4183 Keystone who claims that western movie star, Gabby Hayes, once lived in the house several decades ago. Gabby was in many movies in 30s, 40s and 50s, and has a star on the Hollywood walk of fame. Below is a look at the house then and now. Unfortunately, a truck was parked in front of the house, so the new photo is not that great. I am going to try to go back and take a better photo in the future.

Here is Oliver Pope leaving his home on Keystone and walking down the street towards Braddock, followed by a shot from today.

In the final scene, Oliver Pope walks down Jasmine where he is confronted by his haunted car. Below is Oliver walking down Jasmine, followed by a shot from today.

Here is a shot from inside the haunted car looking out at a house on Jasmine. The house looks almost the same today as it did in 1964.

Below is a shot of Oliver Pope making a run for it in between two houses on Jasmine. The homes are almost identical then and now.

Finally, here is a shot of Rod Serling. From the looks of the palm trees in the background, I believe this was shot in Carlson Park.

If you live in the Carlson Park area, I highly recommend watching "You Drive". It is available for streaming on Netflix, as is the entire Twilight Zone series.

Old Home Update

From doing some research on the internet, it appears the house at 9814 Washington Blvd is called the Paskan House. It was, at some point in the recent past, a doctor's office owned by Dr. Julius Paskan, MD. Dr. Paskan was born March 6, 1915 and died on April 22, 2010. He was a Culver City resident. I assume he may have left the home to the city, as it is currently city owned. A portion has been converted into a staging area for the Kirk Douglas Theater and it will soon be home to the new Jazz Bakery.

Old Home

I took a few photos of the old home located at 9814 Washington Blvd in downtown Culver City (basically right between the Kirk Douglas Theater and City Tavern). This will soon be demolished to make way for the new Gehry designed Jazz Bakery. The Jazz Bakery should be awesome, but it is too bad about this old house. I have done a little research on the web, but have been unable to find out the back story on it. From the looks of it, it must date from the 1920s or 1930s. The fact that it stands as the lone home in this part of downtown Culver City makes me think it must hold some historical importance. I will keep investigating. If anyone knows the backstory on this home, please comment.