Ed Wood Wednesdays, week 240: Has the cocktail lounge from Plan 9 finally been found?

Don Davis is blinded by the light.

Ladies and gentlemen, a controversy is currently brewing in the world of Ed Wood. Controversy? Ha! Too weak a word! I should say a tempest! I've not seen the equal of it. Even now, while we're chatting here so enjoyably, a fierce debate rages in Ed Wood fan forums across the internet, turning friends into enemies and vice-versa. (Well, actually, the topic is limited to one Facebook group and the discussion has been quite civil, but humor me.) 

At issue is one particular location, a humble yet intriguing cocktail bar, from Ed's most famous film, Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957). Has the bar been found? Has it not been found? Is it unfindable? Is knowledge knowable? Words fail, buildings crumble, the ground opens wide.

Way back in 2018, I wrote an article about a long-gone L.A. night spot called the Mocambo that appeared prominently in Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957) as part of a montage in which UFOs are spotted in various places across America. In that article, I mentioned that there was a scene in Plan 9 in which Wood associate Don Davis staggers out of a seedy-looking cocktail bar and sees flying saucers hovering over Hollywood, much to his bleary-eyed astonishment. The bar's street number, 4092, is clearly visible, but narrator Criswell doesn't bother telling us which street this is supposed to be. Knowing very little of Los Angeles geography, I incorrectly guessed it to be Sunset and left it at that.

Recently, however, musician and bon vivant Mike Hickey aka Major Entertainer did a bit of sleuthing and determined that the site was actually 4092 Santa Monica Blvd. Here is the very entertaining video he posted about it:

Personally, I was convinced. In fact, a previous version of this very article declared the mystery solved. Meanwhile, however, other Woodologists were not content to let the matter rest. Brendon Sibley, for instance, wanted to know what that sign next to the door said, hoping that it might yield a clue as to the name of the place. He posted these enhanced screen shots:

The sign from the Plan 9 cocktail bar.

Most observers agreed that the sign said: "Public Place. No Minors Allowed. No Person Under 21 Allowed. Must Have Proper Identification or Driver's License." All very interesting, to be sure, but not helpful in identifying the place.

Then, just yesterday, James Pontolillo dropped the bomb in an epic Facebook post:

Unfortunately, I have to be a wet blanket and report that there is NO possibility that the previously identified building at 4028 Santa Monica Blvd was the site of the Plan 9 mystery bar. First major problem: records from the L.A. County Assessor's Office and Sanborn Insurance maps from 1900 to current day demonstrate that an address of "4092 Santa Monica Blvd" has never existed. The numbering along that stretch of Santa Monica Blvd was established as it developed in the 1900s-1920s and has not changed. The short block between Sunset Blvd. and Manzanita Street has always been numbered from 4000 – 4028 Santa Monica Boulevard. On the other side of Manzanita Street, the numbering along Santa Monica Blvd has always continued on from 4100.

Second major problem: there has never been a bar located in the building at 4028 Santa
Monica Blvd. It was an empty lot until 1923 when a brick and concrete block garage was constructed on the front of the property (current-day building) along with two wooden rental bungalows at the rear of the property (torn down sometime after 1976). For its entire history, this building has housed either automotive repair shops or outdoor lighting companies. During the time Ed was filming Plan 9, this building was home to the Electrical Displays Company (a neon lighting vendor).

Sadly, one of the 60+ people who died during the 1992 L.A. riots was killed on the street in front of this address. Juan Pineda, a 20-year-old cook at a Mexican restaurant on Wilshire Blvd, was shot several times and later died in hospital. 

Amazingly, James provided an occupancy history for this building, recreated from L.A. County Records, The LA Times, and Getty photo archives.

• pre-1923: empty lot

• 1923: building constructed

• October 1923: owner W. Higgins ("must sell immediately")

• 1924: Richard R. Boyd Garage

• December 1924: Red Crown Gasoline & Service [Standard Oil Co.], B.F. Winiger

• November 1925: available for rent

• 1927: Roe Lighting Company ("Electrical Advertising and Illuminations"), Slim Roe

• 1928: Harry H. Lane Garage, selling 1000 gallons gas per day

• 1933: Cleo Auto Repair (Lloyd S. Anderson)

• 1935: Hollywood Junction Fender Works (Mrs. Brown), having debt issues

• 1937: Junction Body Works (Bob Petty)

• 1942: A.R. Carter Auto Repair

• August 1947: property with brick/concrete garage and two bungalows put up for auction

• June 1948 - 1952: for lease as a garage or light industrial warehouse

• 1953 - 1961: Electrical Displays Company (neon lighting)

• 1971 - 1981: Vahe's Automotive

• 1981 - 1987: Bunuan Corporation (auto glass)

• 1991 - 2000: Auto Color Plus, Inc.

James then supplied some color photos of the disputed building at various times in history. The first is a black-and-white composite photo from 1974.

Vahe's Automotive in 1974.

The second image is a color photo from 2007.

The building as it looked in 2007.

So where does this leave us? The building in question may not be the famed Plan 9 cocktail bar, but it has witnessed a century of Los Angeles history. And the actual location from the movie can't be too far away. After all, how many addresses with 4092 can there be in one city? I remain confident that this mystery will someday be solved.