Honor the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley in Hollywood

A century ago, three of the greatest comedies of all time, Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid (1921), Buster Keaton’s Cops (1922), and Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last! (1923), were filmed in the Heart of Hollywood along a nameless pedestrian alley running east-west between Cahuenga and Cosmo, just south of Hollywood Boulevard, now known as the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley.

With each movie inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress as a “work of enduring importance to American culture,” cinema’s highest honor, the alley represents a six-way constellation of iconic stars and masterpiece films absolutely unique both in Hollywood history, and throughout cinema itself.

Hollywood Heritage, Inc., working with local owners from the EaCa Alley Property Owners Association, the Hollywood Vinyl District, and numerous silent film enthusiasts and historians, is sponsoring this GoFundMe campaign for the purpose of celebrating this unique alley by raising $37,000 to install (in order of priority) street signs at the entrance to the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley (estimated cost $500), a bronze embossed plaque at the west end of the alley (estimated cost $5,000), and a mural in the alley showcasing the iconic films made there (estimated cost $30,000), with any remaining funds raised to be reserved for future maintenance.

Our goal is to raise these funds as quickly as possible to assure our celebration of the alley will coordinate with the inaugural National Silent Movie Day scheduled for September 29, 2021.

As a site-specific public art project, the mural(s) will reflect the alley’s rich artistic history, related to both silent film and the narrative of Hollywood’s growth, architecture, and place in American culture. Working with a public art consultant, a final design will be selected by the Hollywood Heritage Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley Advisory Committee in consultation with LA Murals.org, to advance our organization’s public mission and to promote Hollywood's cinematic legacy. Given the City’s administrative requirements and procedures for any proposed mural, we hope to announce the selected mural design on September 29, with installation of the mural to follow later.

As a California nonprofit public benefit 501(c)(3) corporation, our campaign directly fulfills Hollywood Heritage’s corporate charter, in part: (i) to discover and memorialize the history and architecture of Hollywood, (ii) to protect, maintain, and enhance the buildings and neighborhoods, and other monuments and artifacts, that exemplify Hollywood’s historic and cultural heritage, (iii) to inform and educate the public about this history and heritage, and (iv) to receive, acquire, hold, manage, administer, and expend property and funds for these charitable purposes.

All donations received by Hollywood Heritage in this campaign will be fully tax-deductible.

Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd are remembered as the kings of silent film comedy, who helped establish Hollywood as the movie capitol of the world by each operating studios and producing their classic films within Hollywood itself. These stars and Hollywood grew world-famous together. Celebrating this site as the “Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley” will honor the legacy of these great filmmakers and Hollywood’s unique cultural, social, and economic heritage.

“There is no better place in the entire country to celebrate National Silent Movie Day than here, where so much movie magic was made.”


For more information;

Hollywood Heritage   https://www.hollywoodheritage.org

National Silent Movie Day.  https://www.nationaldayarchives.com/day/national-silent-movie-day/