STAGE 30

The water tower’s tank has also been used to fill the massive 721,000-gallon water tank on Stage 30. The famous MGM musicals starring Esther Williams were filmed on Stage 30, as were other large-scale productions such as Tri-Star Pictures’ Hook and Columbia Pictures hits Spider-man and Men In Black II. The 90’ by 100’ tank is approximately twelve feet deep and has a twenty-foot plunge pit in the center. Under the top covering of plywood, the tank is covered by individual sections of strong flooring, each supported by four steel beams, so that this portion of the stage can be used at all times. The tank also serves a dual purpose; instead of filling it with water, film sets and camera equipment can be lowered into the large pit to create special effects and unique camera angles. For the Columbia Pictures film Zathura, a house set was lowered onto a special platform called a gimbel inside the tank, allowing it to be rocked and turned to help achieve an earthquake effect.