The Bank With Mosaic Movie Montages

This bank is a repository of movie history. Rozette Rago

The mosaic is a jumble of characters from different films. Rozette Rago

You don't even have to go inside to take glimpse film history. Rozette Rago

The bank's facade holds mosaics of film characters. Rozette Rago

Ready for my closeup! Rozette Rago

Bette Davis Avoiding Regret (Used with permission) (Creative Commons)

Fred Cherrygarden (Atlas Obscura User)

Julius Spada (Atlas Obscura User)

View from east side of Vine Street Avoiding Regret (Used with permission) (Creative Commons)

This bank is worth a visit even if you don’t need to withdraw any cash.

Long before it was a financial institution, this site at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street was a shooting location for the 1913 film, The Squaw Man, the first full-length feature to be shot in Hollywood. Decades later, when it became a Home Savings and Loan bank, the artist Millard Sheets designed murals nodding to the town’s history. Sheets designed mosaics for dozens of the bank’s branches across California.

Today, it’s a Chase bank whose facade still bears the mural of many Hollywood stars and the granite panels carrying others’ names. If you go to the back of the building, where the ATM is, you’ll also be able to spot stained glass windows depicting scenes from The Squaw Man and a number of pulse-speeding chase sequences.

Know Before You Go

No need to go inside: The prime view of the mosaics is on the northeast corner of Vine and Sunset. They're easiest to make out during the daylight hours, but you can stop by and see them any time. Same goes for the stained glass that you can see through the windows at the back of the building.