The Brain Trust has solved the mystery of the department store used in “The Public Enemy.” Thanks to Craig Deco, Lee Rivas and Nathan Marask!
Here are our young ruffians (Frank Coghlan Jr. and Frankie Darro) sliding down the escalator in the 1931 film “The Public Enemy.”
And here’s the answer to our mystery: It’s the downtown May Co., as shown in this 1933 photo in the Los Angeles Public Library’s Herald Examiner collection. Our mystery elevators are off to the right.
Thanks, Brain Trust!
ladailymirror.com 
In New York …at Macy’s and Bloomingdales, et al, …I’ve always wondered about the little blocks of wood in the area between the two escalators …almost an art deco touch but not quite. I wonder if they were added after this movie proved to be so popular and to prevent the use made of that space by these two young actors. Or by the Marx Brothers in other films.
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