"The Bank"

Charlie Chaplin filmed the opening scene of "The Bank" (Essanay, 1915) in front of the Trinity Auditorium, 855 S. Grand Ave. Thanks to the famed silent film detective John Bengtson for the Chaplin image above. See his fine article "How Charlie Chaplin Filmed The Bank" for more details about both the film and the building.

John notes: "Charlie Chaplin’s Essanay comedy 'The Bank' (1915) marks his final cinematic footsteps in downtown Los Angeles.  While Broadway, and other nearby Historic Core streets appear in several of his early Keystone films, including 'Making A Living,' 'His Favorite Pastime,' 'The New Janitor,' and especially 'His Musical Career,' Chaplin would never again stroll these urban sidewalks to make a movie [note: 'City Lights' (1931) includes scenes of Charlie and the drunken millionaire, perhaps stunt doubles, driving around several downtown corners...]"

See John's "Rare Chaplin Scenes" article for some early downtown views and his PDF of his "'City Lights' Film Location Tour.

Another shot from the film -- a screenshot from the new Blu-Ray edition of "The Bank." Again thanks to John Bengtson.

See the Los Angeles Theatres page on the Trinity Auditorium for more about the building.

On IMDb: "The Bank"