Sam Spade's Office

Night Bruce Ferrari (Atlas Obscura User)

When the owner of a building in downtown Winters, California was trying to rent out his retail space, he found himself running into trouble with the City. The City required the building be earthquake proof and also comply to current building codes, a mandate that would cost the owner over $100,000.

Unable or unwilling to fork over such a large sum, the owner decided to rent it out anyway. His new tenant was Sam Spade—the detective sleuth from the Maltese Falcon starring Humphrey Bogart. The owner also had Mr. Spade join the Chamber of Commerce.

The window to Sam Spade’s office is best viewed at night. Internal lights within the building shine through the window and it appears as if Sam is working late at night on his latest caper. In reality there’s nothing behind the window except an abandoned space: a bare floor and some miscellaneous junk that has been collecting dust for years.