Special Services Branch of The Electric Orphanage of North America, Inc.

We design and build pole lines . . . the old fashioned way.

Planning a motion picture or industrial film, where set decoration must attend to authentic historical detail?

Consider The Electric Orphanage’s Special Services. 

What better way to impart true “Americana” to your motion picture than incorporating authentically designed and placed open wire communications outside plant to your time period (1900-1960s).  

We provide historically accurate design, materials purchasing, proper construction and operations advisement to motion picture companies seeking accurate portrayal of typical communications systems landscape elements required for your films.  If you are a set perfectionist, “historically simulated” landscape architecture will not do.   Your audiences do notice film inaccuracies in set decoration.  We can assure authenticity. 

Time-specific actual communications structures will be erected with scrupulous attention to detail using bona fide equipment, hardware and materials.  Historically accurate materials can also be loaned for duplication by 3D technologies or can be commissioned by our construction contractors.

Specifically contracted equipment and materials used for your project remain the property of The Electric Orphanage. Upon your film’s completion, these structures and wire will be de-commissioned and safely returned by your construction forces.  Since many motion picture companies employ union represented labor forces, we only advise on installation and removal only.

Since each project is custom-designed and engineered, we invite you to contact us so that we can work with you to achieve convincing and authoritative period properties.   Use our “Contact Us” link to communicate your film’s goals to our staff so we may better assist your project efforts in a timely fashion.  For example: Once your film company has contacted us, we provide

• We visit your film site to consult with you on how our services may best fit your specific circumstances and individual requirements.
• We maintain confidentiality between your organization and ourselves as you require.
• Upon receipt of architectural plans and drawings from your Art Director, we can then begin to draw up 8 1/2″ x 17″ plats containing specifications of the mutually agreed-upon construction.
• When final approval is agreed, a full timeline will be required by your film company, to meet installation deadlines.
• We can arrange for our delivery or can meet your organization’s transportation needs as required.  Because we are located in the Midwest, transportation costs may be significantly smaller.
• It is recommended that the film company procure poles, guys, anchors and other heavier materials through our recommended sources.
• Because open wire construction is as individual as the epoch portrayed, the individual telecom owners and historical technical properties, we’ll work closely with you to guarantee your satisfaction as to the epoch your film is portraying.
• We recommend a business contract, to meet your qualifications entirely and comply with your deadlines.
• Our source materials are broad and incorporate potentially more loaned items than merely open wire telephone.  Be certain to ask about specific needs and applications beyond telecom design systems.
• We can construct lines to American Railway Association, Communications Standards, various individual railway company specification, Bell System and GTE styles, and particular Independent Telephone Company architecture. 
• All materials loaned must be returned in proper condition so they may be used in future projects.

“Killers of the Flower Moon”

This new Martin Scorsese-directed film will be released in 2023.   We have produced a 24 minute presentation on our involvement and invite you to view how our various contributions created the proper historical atmosphere as well as glimpses of set design.

Connecting bridle wire drops from open wire terminals to building station protectors on the set of “Killers of the Flower Moon.” 

“Oppenheimer” 

We provided many of the vintage street lighting for the film which premiered in July 2023.  You will notice the pole line in the “Los Alamos” set (which was not of our design or making) was adorned with many of our bracket arms and incandescent series roadway luminaires.  They were McGraw-Edison (Line Material Industries), Westinghouse, General Electric and other makers to fit the time period 1942-1945.

These were delivered by us to the Albuquerque, New Mexico warehouse where the “Gadget” (preliminary film title) electricians prepared them for the film.   Our delivery saved NBC/Universal $10,000.00 in shipping costs by our special delivery option.

We invite you to see the film and see for yourself the outstanding qualities of this very popular and timely topic of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s public career in physics and national politics.

Appeared in the Recent JFK Assassination Anniversary Motion Picture “Parkland” (2013)

This CL Series Western Electric Switchboard, used for long distance and exchange services at a typical AT&T Central Office, was recently used as a property in the upcoming movie Parkland.  As a “supporting cast member” this switchboard was used as the incoming call center for Parkland Memorial Hospital (as portrayed in the film).

Since the filming of the movie occurred in Austin, Texas–not Dallas’ actual Parkland Memorial Hospital–this unit was used as the “stand in” as the typical institutional switchboard of the time.  

As Hollywood never likes to let “facts” to get in the way of spinning a good story, honest-to-goodness research would have disallowed this unit’s use and instead, specified a then contemporary ’60s PBX system. True applications of this particular unit as pictured would have been seen in bays of Bell System long distance operator facilities back in the 1950s and 1960s. Gleaning from my experience of working in the North Dallas, Farmers Branch, and other urban locations around Parkland on Harry Hines Boulevard, I would surmise Parkland Memorial Hospital in the early 1960s would most certainly have had a Southwestern Bell electronic PBX 300 series busines phone system. These would have been used at large universities, businesses, hotels and other high volume service providers and not this unit used in the motion picture.  

However, for the undiminished purpose of weaving a genuinely good story from Bugliosi’s great book, don’t let this minor technical failure diminish your enthusiasm for seeing the upcoming picture.  Look for the switchboard above to be prominently featured and enjoy the movie!

The Electric Orphanage’s Switchboard to appear in “Parkland,” an upcoming JFK Assassination film directed by Peter Landesman and produced by Guy East, Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, and Nigel Sinclair for release in November 2013.

“Parkland” film properties people applied simulated paper directory number listings of hospital departments on listings shown to the left of the photo.

Please see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsOwpR3Ygzo&NR=1&feature=endscreen for information relative to its operation.