Last night, I was watching “The Bank Dick,” as I have  many times before, but this was the first with my new plasma TV, so I was much more aware of the detail. I spotted a photo of what looked like a familiar building used as a prop next to the door to the bank president’s office. Hm.

The pointed roof … the Art Deco lines … could it be the Los Angeles Public Library? I wasn’t sure.

Then I found it — a little bit clearer — in another scene.

This appears to be the Los Angeles Public Library. The general outline of the buildings look the same. We even find cypress trees in both images. But the west entrance has statues that are missing in “The Bank Dick” photo.

July 7, 1926: And apparently the statues have been at the west entrance since the library opened.

A puzzlement. I wonder if it could be an east entrance that was altered during an expansion of the building. Ideas?

Color Photo: The Los Angeles Public Library. Credit: Los Angeles Public Library.