Free: Watch ‘Union Station' at Union Station

Famous location: A trio of noir flicks'll flicker at the landmark.

While Southern Californians are a varied lot, which makes beautiful and accurate sense, given the fact that there are millions upon millions of us, there are a few shared traits that tickle those who do not hail from this hallowed region.

1) We always always say "the" before the freeway number (a not-to-be-quibbled-with tradition that's been dissected in the loftiest journals). 2) We desire an array of delicious hot sauces within arm's reach at most restaurants we frequent (even if you're not particularly a hot sauce fan, it just feels right to have all of that capsaicin close by and at the ready).

And 3)? We like watching movies in places that used the place where we are as a location. It's a fairly easy thing to do, here in Movieville, and it is about to happen again at a destination that's doesn't often screen films but does star in them.

It's Union Station, that dramatic-of-tower, lofty-of-ticketing-hall Art Deco-Spanish Mission wonder that's been greeting travelers at Alameda Street for nearly 80 years. 

You know how to reach the iconic hub, whether by rail or road, so get there on Friday, Oct. 7 for the kick-off night of a free-to-see three-movie film series, a series that features noir flicks all were shot at Union Station long ago, back in the day, in the wayback of yore.

A bonus: The pay-not-a-thing event happens in the Historic Ticketing Hall, which rumor has it is one of our city's most splendid spaces. (Okay, it's no rumor, but 100% factual, as anyone who has visited this airy room knows.) (And it hardly does to call the elegant and enormous hall a "room" as it feels like 30 standard rooms in one colossal concourse.)

"Union Station" is definitely on the bill — of course — and it is the series opener, too, on Oct. 7. "Criss Cross" with Burt Lancaster is the Nov. 4 treat, while "Too Late for Tears" rounds it all out on Dec. 2. Keep your peepers peeled for Union Station sightings in each movie, which should be plentiful, and perhaps particularly in the final film (where the station "figures prominently in the story").

The Scene

Want to find new things to do in Los Angeles? The Scene's lifestyle stories have you covered. Here's your go-to source on where the fun is across SoCal and for the weekend.

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After seeing how the vaulted ceiling, tile-laden landmark looked some 75 years ago or so, will you determine if it has changed much or not? (Spoiler: It really has not.)

Metro Art and the Film Noir Foundation are the co-presenters of this atmospheric event. 

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