Our first clue that this was not a routine shoot came on a Wednesday night when the cars arrived: a dozen vintage VWs and Vespas along with a sporty looking coup, a VW van, and some sort of truck parked along Riverside Drive. Except for the admonition that we could not touch, we could give them a close-up inspection.

Riverside Drive and 157th transformed to Belziger und Gothaer (with locals passing through)

The next morning, the transformation – and the fun – began. The semis and trailers arrived as usual, but they parked on side streets, leaving the intersection of Riverside Drive and 157th where the Grinnell and Riviera meet, conspicuously open. Then, while one crew dropped a phone booth over a mail box – and not just any phone booth, but one labeled in German (Fernsprecher) – another replaced the 157th and Riverside street signs with Belziger Str. and Gothaer Straße and a loudspeaker. A little later, “movie chairs” appeared along the sidewalk in front of the Riviera, reserving seating for Kate, Collette, Laura, and Maggie. An outdoor shoot! We hadn’t had one of these since Gloria gunned down the mafia thugs and caused the spectacular car crash in 1979. Well, maybe a couple, but certainly none as exciting as that.

Those of us on the way to work figured we would miss all the excitement, but when we returned home in the late afternoon, we found that Riverside and 157th was still decked out as Belziger Str. and Gothaer Straße. As shooting time approached, efficient (and very courteous) assistants asked the locals to vacate the set, assuring us we could watch from across the street, and a costumed crowd gathered in front of the Riviera, ready to cheer as a VIP drove by in a limousine. After a few takes, it was over and a crew began setting up lighting for an interior shoot at the Grinnell.

Filming for Pan Am

Lighting technician provides “daylight” for an interior shoot at the Grinnell

Filming lasted through the evening, but the goodwill generated earlier in the day carried over and silenced the usual grumbling and complaints about noise and inconvenience.

If you’ve been following Pan Am since its premiere on September 25th, or even if you haven’t, but have seen previews of this week’s show, you’ll know that the glamorous Kate, Collette, Laura, and Maggie are on their way to Berlin where JFK is about to make an important speech. Maggie had campaigned for the president and is determined to meet him … tune in to see what happens – and to see Audubon Park transformed into Berlin.

Postscript:
A couple of weekends after the shoot, signs appeared in all the local buildings, inviting the entire neighborhood to an afternoon of free icecream as a thank you from the production company, a really nice gesture from a crew that is welcome back any time.

Link to episode: Ich bin ein Berliner
Exterior scenes shot in Audubon Park are about 10 minutes into the show, mostly around the oval with a great shot of the Grinnell at the beginning, and then street-level shots of Craigmoor Dwellings, Riviera, and 157th Street (Kanawah Court and Hortense Arms). Kate’s hotel room is a Grinnell dining room.