Impossible-to-find-near-LA location #512: the Multi-Level Cell Block.
You see this one all the time in 90s action movies like The Rock, Face-Off, and Con Air. But if you’re filming in LA, please do not put this in your script, because it simply does not exist!
I forget what job I was scouting for, but the big finale was supposed to take place in a two-tiered cell block surrounding an open inner space, exactly like we all imagine when we picture a prison.
I found incredible examples all across the country: Alcatraz, Florida’s Hendry Correctional, Ohio State Reformatory, Oregon’s Snake River Correctional, Pennsylvania’s Eastern State Pen (a favorite!), and the Old Main Prison in Santa Fe.
But this had to be in LA, and after tapping out literally all the options within the thirty-mile zone, I had to hang my head in shame and concede defeat.
Oh, we have plenty of filmable prisons. But the two-tiered style is distinctly alien to LA, which is why a lot of those famous cell block filming locations were actually builds on a sound stage.
In fact, years ago, one local mom-and-pop studio realized the value of such a location, and purchased a cell block set after the completion of the action film it was built for, and for a long time, that was the go-to in LA. But ultimately, the demand for an empty studio was higher, so they got rid of it.
So filmmakers, please take note! Standard single-level prison blocks? LA has plenty! But the multi-level archetype? Chances are, the one you’re picturing was a fantasy from the movies.
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