Mr. Rogers meets E. L. Moore at the Ramsey Journal Building

Double stacked Ramsey Journal Buildings with a custom roof

Last night I watched A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, starring Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers. Although on the surface one might think this is some sort of Mr. Rogers biopic, Mr. Rogers isn't always the lead, but is often secondary as we learn about his character through his interactions with, and impact on, fictional Esquire writer Lloyd Vogel, played by Matthew Rhys. Overall, a good movie and worth watching.

Ok, but this is 30 Squares, so you probably know what's next. The movie makes extensive use of large, beautiful dioramas of New York and Pittsburg, as well as Mr. Rogers neighbourhood, to bridge various scenes. If that's all you watch the movie to see, that in itself is well worth it if you're into miniature buildings and special effects. (Take note: If you're watching just for the miniatures, make sure you watch all the end credits too because about midway through they've inserted some outtakes showing how the dioramas were used to shoot a number of scenes).

Ok, but here's what grabbed my attention right off the bat, in the opening sequence - a panning shot through Mr. Rogers' neighbourhood - what do I see but a tall brick building made from two E. L. Moore Ramsey Journal Building kits - or possibly, the two storey part of the Grusom Casket Co., which is a repurposed Ramsey Journal Building. In the lead photo, in the upper right corner, you can also see a building with the cupola from the Ramsey Journal kit.

On the DVD is a special feature on building Mr. Rogers' neighbourhood from HO scale plastic kits, and how the miniatures team built those excellent models of New York and Pittsburg. The photo on the right is a snap from that special feature. Those two buildings in the foreground are clearly the Ramsey Journal Building.

That little house at the end of the road is Mr. Rogers'. You see that grey building to the right and across the street? That looks like another Ramsey Journal building, or at least the walls from one.

This is another view of the same scene, from above Mr. Rogers' house looking back down the street. You can see that it's a Ramsey Journal kit. So, Mr. Rogers lived across the street from a building designed by E. L. Moore :-)

There are many well known kits in the neighbourhood from the cheap-and-cheerful era. In this photo, that little yellow bungalow is a very old non E. L. Moore Bachmann kit, which I think dates from the '50s - I have 3 of those stashed away.

In the photo on the right I recognize that split level house in the centre, but I can't quite place the manufacturer. Although, look behind it, that's the classic Revell Superior Bakery kit.

No doubt, an observer more diligent than me could identify the heritage of all the buildings in Mr. Rogers' neighbourhood. I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader :-)