The “My So-Called Life” House

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Since I blogged about the house which stood in for the Chase residence in the pilot episode of My So-Called Life yesterday, I thought I would write today about the house which was used in the remaining 18 episodes of the series.  I have actually blogged about this location once before, over three years ago when I first started this site (and I absolutely CANNOT believe that it has already been THREE years!), but because it has been so long I figured the property was worthy of a more in-depth re-post.  So, here goes!  I became obsessed with finding the Chase residence back in 2007, but unfortunately, at that time the location was not posted anywhere online and the only information I had to go on was an address number of “1110” that was visible in the background of a few episodes.  I had a hunch, though, that the dwelling was most likely located in South Pasadena, as the producers of My So-Called Life had filmed another one of their series, thirtysomething, primarily in that area.  So, one weekend the Grim Cheaper and I ventured up and down all of the 1100 blocks located in South Pasadena until we found the house.  And, amazingly enough, it didn’t take us long at all.   

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As it turns out, the property is located just a few blocks south of Mission Street at 1110 Glendon Way.  And I am very happy to report that even though over one and a half decades have passed since filming took place, the Chase house still looks very much the same today as it did onscreen.

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The only real differences I noticed were that the exterior has since been painted a dark green color, while it was light blue on the series, and the French doors located just to the left of the front door have since been replaced by a large picture window.  Otherwise though, the property is completely recognizable from the show.

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The house is actually owned by the City of South Pasadena and is currently vacant, so I was able to snap some pics of the interior of the property through the front windows.  As you can see, it doesn’t bear much of a resemblance to the interior of the Chase house that was shown on the series, which was, of course, a set that was modeled after the residence used in the pilot episode.

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The Chase house was also used as the childhood home of Michael Myers (aka Daeq Faerch) in Rob Zombie’s 2007 remake of the horror film Halloween

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According to this website, the home’s real life living room and foyer appeared in Halloween, but the basement, bathroom, hallway, and bedroom scenes were filmed inside of a residence located at 2218 South Harvard Boulevard in Los Angeles.

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The house where Brian Krakow (aka Devon Gummersall) lived on My So-Called Life is located just across the street and two properties south of the Chase home. 

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Amazingly enough, it still looks very much the same today as it did when filming took place over 16 years ago. 

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In the episode titled “Dancing in the Dark”, Angela and Jordan Catalano’s (aka Jared Leto’s) very unromantic first kiss took place in Jordan’s car which was parked just outside of Brian’s home.

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And I am fairly certain that the real life interior of Brian’s house was also used in the filming of that episode.

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The home located just across the street from Angela’s, which was pictured in the background of quite a few episodes, still looks pretty much exactly the same today, as well.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Chase house from all of the episodes of My So-Called Life excluding the pilot is located at 1110 Glendon Way in South Pasadena.  Brian Krakow’s home is located across the street and two houses south of the Chase residence at 1115 Glendon Way.

15 Replies to “The “My So-Called Life” House”

  1. Loved this show too! Was sad when it ended but enjoyed watching it again when I got the dvd. I remember the show was set in Pittsburgh but I figured the filming sites were CA. I’m also re-watching Twin Peaks in anticipation of the reunion show for next year. I’d love to know where some of those sites are like the house where the Palmers lived???
    Thanks!

  2. Wow!! So interesting!! My acting coach played Sharon Cherski on the show, and Daeg Faerch is also in my class. So it was very interesting to learn that both my teacher and classmate filmed at the Chase house. Coincidence! Thank you so so much for posting these!!

  3. Sigh! So glad you went back & did another post on these MSCL locations. I think it’s definitely time I break out the dvd set and rewatch the series.

  4. Hey, Lindsay! I’ve been a huge fan of your website for quite a while now, so it was pretty exciting to see you link to my post from the Official Halloween Message Board! I’ve been a big fan of the horror series since I was a kid, and about ten years ago I bought a fan-made VHS tape of some guys who’d stalked several of the locations from the original movie and compared shots from the film to what the places looked like “today.” I thought this was just about the coolest thing ever!

    I eventually forgot all about the tape until years later when I stumbled upon a guy named Sean Clarke who posts online and in-print articles about horror movie locations under the title “Horror’s Hallowed Grounds.” He’s even made a couple episodes of a proposed HHG TV series that have appeared on DVDs for Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street. So I eventually decided to break out my old VHS tape again to watch it. By this time, Google Maps were pretty popular so I was able to check out the locations from space, which was pretty darn neat!

    Flash forward to last year when I discovered Google Street View. Well, someone had posted some of the filming locations from the Halloween sequels on the aforementioned message board and I decided to check them out. This lead me on a quest to pinpoint every location from every Halloween movie, done solely from the comfort of my computer up here in Ontario, Canada. The thread you linked to is the results of those efforts (although I’m ashamed I haven’t updated it several months).

    Well, eventually this lead me to start branching out and searching for locations from OTHER movies and TV shows that I’ve loved for years. Well, wasn’t I delighted to discover that there are several websites that are dedicated to this every same effort! By and large yours is my favorite, due to it’s in-depth coverage, not to mention the frequency of posts.

    Living a considerable distance from LA, and currently having no means of getting there, I’ve been a little saddened that I can’t visit these locations in person. However, it’s about a three-hour drive from my house to Toronto, so I’ve recently started making occasional trips to some of the numerous movie and TV locations that were shot in the Toronto area, including classics like Strange Brew, the Police Academy films, Black Christmas, and the Degrassi series, old and new.

    I’ve yet to post my pics online other than on my personal Facebook page, but I’m hoping to set up a blog soon with the shots I’ve gotten. Thanks again for all your hard work!

    1. Doug, wow! I don’t even know what to say! Thank you so very much for all of your kind words. I am flattered! And am glad to have connected with another fellow stalker! 🙂 So incredibly cool that you live in Toronto – there are SO many great stalking locales up there. Would love to see your pictures. Let me know if you need any help setting up a blog.
      Thanks again and happy stalking! 🙂

    2. I live in South Pasadena and love all the I am not a stalker posts on South Pas (as we locals call it) and Pasadena. I have friends in the industry ( two directors and two film producers) I love feeling in the loop (as a friend ) when they send out location scouts and so often they come through South Pas. I love it. Mad Men and a pilot for Showtime (Ronnie and Beverly – never off the ground) came to my door asking to consider posting my tiny cottage as a filming location with the intention of adding a facade to my home. I thought of posting on Craigslist a residential trade with someone else in a cool city known for filming, would have to be extremely discerning however.. I’m a huge fan fan of the Halloween series and was shocked when I took a local yoga class (in plain view of the Meyers house) and a principal cast member of the 1978 film was the regular instructor. That was a heck of a fun day for a fan and yes I still attend that class it has done wonders for my fitness and overall health. Doug will have to check your site. Find a way to look us up if you’re in the area btw another cast member of Halloween is also a local here and we’ll loved. Others include Dr Drew, Lance Eto (did I spell that right.?) and at one time George Lopez

  5. This makes me want to go back and stalk it again! I didn’t think to look for Brian’s house! My next trip back I am going to go back! Thanks!!

  6. Another great post Lindsay, thanks! What did the signs say on the window? I really love this house. Would love to have an exterior just like this. The stone makes it. I would also love to live in LA so I could help out on some of your searches.
    Great work as always.

    1. Glad you liked it. 🙂 The signs in the window say no trespassing. All city-owned houses in the area have those signs in the window because they are vacant.

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