‘Curb’ finale features Claremont ‘courthouse’

Remember when HBO’S “Curb Your Enthusiasm” filmed at Pomona College, way back in March 2023? I’d almost forgotten it myself, and I was there.

Nearly 13 months later, the shoot ended up as a scene in the series finale. (Apparently it takes a lot of effort to produce a semi-improvised comedy.)

At the time, we looky-loos along Claremont’s College Avenue saw protesters waving handmade signs outside the stately Carnegie Building, which seemed to be standing in for a courthouse in Atlanta. That proved to be true.

As the finale April 7 revealed, series star and creator Larry David was heading to court after inadvertently violating Georgia election law. He had casually given an old acquaintance a bottle of water while she was waiting in line to vote.

This made him a flash point for voting-rights debates. Outside the courthouse, protesters chanted “Free Larry” or held signs reading “Justice for Larry,” while one counter-protester brandished a sign declaring “I Don’t Trust the Guy.” Ted Danson, a frequent “Curb” guest, was there in Claremont for the scene.

College Avenue is shown, as is Bridges Auditorium and the Carnegie Building. To disguise Claremont’s leafy, low-rise look, “Curb” had to get creative. Rob Lawrence posted screenshots on the Claremont Connects Facebook page. As Ron Scott remarked: “I like how they superimposed the Atlanta skyline behind Pomona College.”

Making Claremont resemble Atlanta must have blown the season’s entire special-effects budget.

This “Curb” episode was a metacommentary on the last, controversial episode of “Seinfeld,” which Larry David wrote. In that finale, Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer

THEO WARGO – GETTY IMAGES Larry David speaks onstage during “An Evening With Larry David — A Farewell To ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm,’” hosted by HBO & Tribeca Film in New York City on April 5.