Mission Street from “Little Black Book”

Back in November 2010, a fellow stalker named Clayton wrote a comment on my post about Fair Oaks Pharmacy from Mr. Deeds (which you can read here) alerting me that fave movie Little Black Book and the 1985 classic Back to the Future had also done some filming at the 50s-style soda fountain.  And while he was actually wrong on both counts, his comment led me to the discovery that part of the opening sequence from Little Black Book had been filmed just down the road from Fair Oaks Pharmacy, at three different locations along South Pasadena’s picturesque Mission Street.  So I ran right out to stalk them.  For whatever reason, though, I completely forgot about writing the spots up for a blog post until a couple of weeks ago when I got on my kick of tracking down the remainder of the locales from the flick.  Better late than never, though, right?

[ad]

Mission Street first popped up in Little Black Book’s opening scene (which was also featured at the end of the movie), in which Stacy (Brittany Murphy) is shown crying, while listening to Carly Simon and blocking what is supposed to be New Jersey city traffic, in her bright yellow Volkswagen bug.

That scene actually took place in front of Ellen’s Silkscreening on the corner of Mission Street and Mound Avenue.  As you can see below, a few fake street signs were added for the shoot, but otherwise the location looks pretty much exactly the same in person as it did onscreen.

Mission Street pops up again just a few minutes later in Little Black Book’s opening montage in which Stacy is shown falling in love with her new boyfriend, Derek (Ron Livingston).  In one of the montage scenes, the couple goofs around in a store window, making it appear as if they can fly.

That sequence took place in the doorway of Space Arts Center, just a few storefronts east of Ellen’s Silkscreening.  I absolutely LOVE that the little bulletin board visible behind Stacy and Derek in the scene is there in real life, albeit in a different color.

Had to do it. 

Later in the montage, Stacy and Derek are shown walking Derek’s dog, Bob, in front of a large brick building, also supposedly located in New Jersey.

In reality, that building is the former Mission Arroyo Hotel, located about four blocks west of Space Arts Center.  The 1923 structure no longer serves as a hotel, but is a commercial space comprised of offices and shops.

That same building masqueraded as the supposed Haddonfield, Illinois-area Nicol’s Hardware store, where Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Annie Brackett (Nancy Loomis) ran into Annie’s father, Sheriff Leigh Brackett (Charles Cyphers), while he was investigating the robbery of “some Halloween mask, a rope and a couple of knives” in the 1978 classic horror film Halloween.

As you can see below, the building hasn’t changed much over the years.

The former Mission Arroyo Hotel can also be seen in the background of the 2008 comedy Step Brothers, in the scene in which Brennan Huff (Will Ferrell) and Dale Doback (John C. Reilly), after a failed job interview, realize that their destiny is to start an entertainment company.

And although the camera was facing the opposite direction and the Mission Arroyo Hotel can’t actually be seen, it was at that same intersection that an adult Jenna Rink (Jennifer Garner) dissed her childhood crush, Chris Grandy (Jim Gaffigan), in all-time favorite movie 13 Going on 30.  You can read my November 2007 post about that location here.

For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Clayton whose comment led me to find this location! 

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 

Stalk It: In the beginning and end of Little Black Book, Stacy’s car is parked in front of Ellen’s Silkscreening, which is located at 1500 Mission Street in South Pasadena.  The “flying” window from the movie’s opening montage is the doorway to Space Arts Center at 1506 Mission Street.  Later in the montage, Stacy and Derek walk past what is now WOD Gear Clothing Company at the former Mission Arroyo Hotel, which is located at 956 Mission Street.  Nicol’s Hardware from Halloween is now Radhika Modern Indian restaurant at 966 Mission Street, also a part of the former Mission Arroyo Hotel.  The Mr. Deeds soda fountain, aka Fair Oaks Pharmacy, is located at 1526 Mission Street.  And the hardware store from Teen Wolf can be found at 1518 Mission Street, but I have yet to blog about that particular locale.