OUR LADY OF DARKNESS
page two of three
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“A 7-story brick building with a steel frame on the south side of Geary Street, 25 feet west of Hyde Street … for use as a hotel.”
Leiber took the liberty of adding an extra story to the real-life six-story building in which he lived.
“should always close the transom, too, when you go out … Is thin people can get through transoms, you better believe…”
These days, the transoms above the doors have been paneled over, perhaps for that very reason. Shown here is room 607, Franz’s apartment. The real-life Fritz lived one floor down in 507.
“In the hall, Franz passed the black knobless door of the old disused broom closet and the smaller padlocked one of an old laundry chute or dumbwaiter (no one remembered which) and the big gilded one of the elevator with the strange black window beside it, as he descended the red-carpeted stairs, which between each floor went in right-angling flights of six and three and six steps around the oblong stair well…”
“Inside the lobby, there were a couple of rough-looking male types…”
©2005 Perry Lake and/or Mike Humbert