CBS Columbia Square Studio B

[only39]

Is anyone aware of any INTERIOR shots of CBS Studio B where Jack Benny did his later radio shows from? Does the old Studio B configuration still exist? (The stage, etc.) I found the information below about Columbia Square on Wikipedia, do any of you in Southern California have any updates? Is the complex now open? Thanks!

"In August 2006, the property was acquired by Las Vegas-based developer Molasky Pacific LLC, for $66 million. It plans to redevelop the 125,000-square-foot (11,600 m2) complex to continue to attract entertainment industry tenants. It is considering options that would include adding some residential units to the office and broadcasting facility. The project is valued at $850-million and is the largest development project in Hollywood, California. Developers plan a major mixed-use project that will take up an entire city block and restore the 105,000-square-foot (9,800 m2) historic CBS building as creative office space. Other proposed elements include a 380,000-square-foot (35,000 m2) office tower, 400 housing units, 12,200 square feet (1,130 m2) of retail and a 125-room boutique style hotel. Groundbreaking is hoped for 2009."

[JohnnyDollar]

I used to work at CBS Columbia Square at Radio Station KNX-1070. It was around 1991-1995. We were up on the 2nd floor and I remember the Jack Benny stage was just down the hall from our studios. I went in their many times. Studio B has pretty much been turned into a storage facility. The stage was still there as were the curtains. The stadium style seats (very steep, much like today's stadium style theaters) had been removed and wire cages had been constructed. These cages were used for secure storage for the Los Angeles CBS TV affiliate, channel 2, which operated down stairs. Of course now, KNX and CBS 2 has moved out and I haven't been by Columbia Square in years. Last I heard there were going to tear it all down and make condos. I always enjoyed going in there. Not much to see but it felt pretty cool!

[Moose Hatrack]

Columbia Square Studio B is a place I would like to visit! Fortunately, for a start, there are lots of links to pictures in this very forum if you just type Columbia Square in the search box. I wish there were pictures from inside the studio and control room during a Jack Benny broadcast. I would also enjoy hearing any descriptions of the broadcast process from setting the stage through sweeping the stage, including (but not limited to!) engineering, audience logistics, and artist considerations. (Did Jack insist on a certain color of towel and matching M&M's in his dressing room? Probably not.)
Where did I just read that the Lucky Strike audiences tended to be the same people over and over even though the staff worked hard to distribute tickets to fresh faces? Fascinating stuff! I would like to have met one of those who were fortunate enough to see show after show week after week! Maybe one of those frequent fliers was an amateur photographer and a box of Benny Show photos will turn up at an estate sale!

[only39]

Thanks for your information, JohnnyDollar. And I'm with you, Moose Hatrack: I'd love to hear from or read a more detailed account from someone who attended a Benny radio show broadcast! ("From setting the stage through sweeping the stage, as you say!") I'm hoping there's an old newspaper or magazine account that we'll stumble across someday...