The Stuart at Sierra Madre Villa from “American Woman”

The May Company from American Woman (6 of 42)

I’m taking a break from my regularly scheduled Big Little Lies reporting today to bring you a post about one of my favorite buildings in all of Pasadena – The Stuart at Sierra Madre Villa.  I’ve written about the Mid-Century Modern apartment complex and its cameo in That Thing You Do! before – way back in November 2013 – but last June, my friend/fellow stalker Kim sent me a photo of the place after seeing it pop up on American Woman, asking if I had any idea where it was.  It since went on to be featured prominently on the 2018 series (which has sadly been cancelled and won’t be returning for a second season), so I figured the site was worthy of a redo and stopped by for another stalk of it while passing through Crown City last week.

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The spectacular Neo-Formalist style property was designed by architect Edward Durell Stone, who also gave us New York’s Museum of Modern Art and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.  The structure, completed in 1958, originally served as the headquarters and plant of the Stuart Pharmaceutical Company.

The May Company from American Woman (7 of 42)

The May Company from American Woman (8 of 42)

The Mid-Century masterpiece boasts a myriad of striking architectural elements including saucer-like chandeliers, an arcade formed by cast concrete block screens, a long reflecting pool with fountains (which were not turned on the day I visited), gold columns, and pristine grounds designed by landscape architect Thomas Church.

The May Company from American Woman (9 of 42)

The May Company from American Woman (11 of 42)

Stuart Pharmaceutical’s forward-thinking owner Arthur O. Hanisch believed in creating a work environment that would foster both the health and comfort of his many employees.  As such, he had a plethora of then unique recreational amenities added to the complex including a pool, a pool house, a shaded pavilion, a garden court, a dining hall/lounge, and a terrace.  The original pool is actually still intact today and is pictured below.

The May Company from American Woman (1 of 42)

The May Company from American Woman (2 of 42)

Though the outside of The Stuart is stunning . . .

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The May Company from American Woman (12 of 42)

. . . it is the inside that sets my heart aflutter.

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The May Company from American Woman (22 of 42)

The two-story atrium that serves as the lobby’s centerpiece is nothing short of perfection!

The May Company from American Woman (32 of 42)

The May Company from American Woman (35 of 42)

Boasting massive hanging planters, globe lights, an open staircase, a coffered ceiling and textured wall paneling, the space is spectacular to behold.

The May Company from American Woman (27 of 42)

The May Company from American Woman (24 of 42)

It’s like the quintessential layout from a 1950s advertisement!

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The May Company from American Woman (28 of 42)

Or a Mad Men set come to life!

The May Company from American Woman (26 of 42)

The May Company from American Woman (25 of 42)

  As architectural historian Lauren Weiss Bricker stated in a 2004 Future Anterior article, Hanisch hoped to “build a completely new building concept.  He wanted his building to conform to the landscaping, not in the general California way but in a way that would combine timeless beauty with increased efficiency and a utilization of the Southern California climate to make for maximum comfort for his employees, both in working and recreation areas.”  I’d say he succeeded!  I can’t even imagine getting to work in such a beautiful space.

The May Company from American Woman (31 of 42)

The May Company from American Woman (34 of 42)

You can check out what The Stuart originally looked like here.  Amazingly, not much of its interior or exterior has changed over the years, though it did go through its fair share of trying times.

The May Company from American Woman (13 of 42)

Shortly after the Stuart Pharmaceutical Company merged with Johnson & Johnson/Merck Pharmaceuticals in 1990, the building was shuttered and then eventually put on the market.  In 1994, the Metropolitan Transit Authority snapped it up and, in a horrific turn, made plans to raze it to build a . . . parking lot.  Thankfully, the Pasadena Heritage Group stepped in, securing the property’s placement on the National Registry of Historic Places, thereby saving it from demolition.  The group couldn’t save the building from the vandals and vagrants that descended upon it during the years it sat vacant, though, and it suffered major damage and theft.  It was finally purchased by BRE Properties in 2002 and underwent a massive renovation helmed by preservation architect Robert Chattel during which the site was turned into a mixed-used apartment complex/performing arts center.  The 188-unit The Stuart at Sierra Madre Villa opened its doors to new residents in 2007.  Though some ancillary structures were torn down during the renovation, the original main headquarters, which serves as a leasing office and communal space, was left largely intact, as was the pool, behind which the residential buildings were erected, as you can see below.

The May Company from American Woman (3 of 42)

The May Company from American Woman (5 of 42)

On American Woman, The Stuart masks as the supposed Wilshire Boulevard May Company department store where Bonnie Nolan (Alicia Silverstone) gets a job after leaving her philandering husband.  It initially shows up in the series’ second episode titled “Changes and the New Normal,” first in the scene in which Bonnie shops for a suit prior to meeting with an employment agent and then as the spot where she puts her interest in fashion to good use by landing a saleswoman gig.

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That episode saw some on location filming at the building.

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As did the episodes titled “The Breakthrough” . . .

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. . . and “I Will Survive.”

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But for the most part, The Stuart was utilized in establishing shots.

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And only the exterior of it appeared onscreen.

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Interiors were shot on a set built at Warner Bros. Studio where American Woman was lensed.

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The series is hardly the only production to feature The Stuart.

The May Company from American Woman (17 of 42)

The May Company from American Woman (18 of 42)

The Wonders pose for publicity photos in the building’s atrium in 1996’s That Thing You Do!

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The Stuart portrays the fertility clinic that Kal (Ellen DeGeneres) and Fran (Sharon Stone) visit in the “2000” segment of the 2000 made-for-television movie If These Walls Could Talk 2.

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And in the Season 2 episode of Animal Kingdom titled “Betrayal,” which aired in 2017, The Stuart serves as the office of Morgan Wilson (Laura San Giacomo).

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For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Big THANK YOU to my friend Kim for alerting me to this location’s appearance on American Woman!

The May Company from American Woman (15 of 42)

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Stuart at Sierra Madre Villa, aka the May Company department store from American Woman, is located at 3360 East Foothill Boulevard in Pasadena.  You can visit the complex’s official website here.

Kabuki Japanese Restaurant from “Clueless”

Kabuki Japanese Restaurant from Clueless (14 of 20)

OK so I’m totally buggin’!  I just found out that Paramount Pictures is in talks to reboot Clueless!  This may be way harsh, but all I have to say regarding the news is ‘Whatever!’  The 1995 classic is absolute perfection AS IS and should NOT be touched!  Hearing about the project did remind me of several locales from the flick that I stalked long ago, but have yet to blog about, namely Kabuki Japanese Restaurant in Burbank, aka the former Crocodile Cafe, where Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone) lunched with her Beverly Hills besties Dionne (Stacey Dash) and Tai (Brittany Murphy).  I had been on the lookout for the eatery for ages – pretty much since starting my blog back in 2007.  It was not until 8 years later, on June 4th, 2015, that a reader named Jasmine finally solved the mystery when, in response to another reader asking about the restaurant in the comments section of my post on the Horowitz house from the movie, said, “It used to be Crocodile Cafe in Burbank on San Fernando and Orange Grove.  But now it’s a Kabuki.  I have no idea how I figured this out but I’m pretty sure that’s exactly where it was.  The booth they sat at is right behind the hostess/cashier.  I sound so stalkerish right now it’s ridiculous.”  Jasmine’s comment was quite stalkerish, but in the best way possible!  One look at images of the place online told me she was right.  I could not have been more thrilled and ran out to stalk Kabuki just a few days later with my friend Kate who was in town visiting from Kentucky.  Very shortly after that, author Jen Chaney released her fabulous book As If!: The Oral History of Clueless as told by Amy Heckerling and the Cast and Crew which confirmed Crocodile Cafe’s appearance in the film on page 126.

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The former Crocodile Cafe actually pops up twice in Clueless – first very briefly in the opening “So, OK, you’re probably going ‘Is this, like, a Noxzema commercial or what?’” montage.

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It then later appears in the scene in which Cher and Dionne take Tai out for a “calorie fest” to cheer her up after she finds out that snob-and-a-half Elton (Jeremy Sisto) isn’t into her.

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Upon walking into the restaurant, I was thrilled to see that despite the changeover from Crocodile Cafe to Kabuki, it was entirely recognizable from its big screen cameo.  Unfortunately, someone happened to be sitting in the exact booth utilized during filming, so I couldn’t snap any photos of it, but as you can see in the image below as compared to the screen capture, the booths remain very much the same today as they appeared in Clueless.  The cushioning has been swapped out and glass partitions have since been added, but other than that, they are untouched.

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Kabuki Japanese Restaurant from Clueless (10 of 20)

The front door and hostess area also largely look the same.

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Kabuki Japanese Restaurant from Clueless (7 of 20)

Crocodile Cafe’s bar, which was visible in both Clueless scenes, was apparently gutted when Kabuki took over.

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The area where it used to be located is pictured below.  Thankfully, the frosted glass blocks formerly situated behind the bar are still intact, as are the wood columns that frame them.

Kabuki Japanese Restaurant from Clueless (5 of 20)

It is not hard to see why the restaurant was chosen for the movie.  With its bright pink and green color scheme and 90s-modern vibe, the place fit in perfectly with the splashy, over-the-top visual aesthetic that made up Cher’s world.  Interestingly, Crocodile Cafe was not producers’ first choice, though.  Per As If!, “Originally the Clueless crew was hoping to shoot the restaurant sequences at California Pizza Kitchen.  But once the CPK people saw the final script, and saw how much breadstick-penis talk goes on between Cher, Dionne and Tai, they said no.  Says producer Adam Schroeder: ‘I think the whole idea of talking about boy parts in CPK, that made them uncomfortable.”  The default location turned out to be ideal, though.

Kabuki Japanese Restaurant from Clueless (8 of 20)

Kabuki Japanese Restaurant from Clueless (9 of 20)

Of Crocodile Cafe’s unique décor, Los Angeles Times writer Max Jacobson had this to say in a 1997 article, “It’s a breezy place with an open kitchen tiled in a pattern that looks like a multicolored snake.  The dining room–all brick walls, high ceiling and a gallery’s worth of modern art–is narrow and noisy.”  I believe the open kitchen Jacobson mentions (or at least a portion of it), which was not shown in Clueless, serves as the restaurant’s sushi counter today.

Kabuki Japanese Restaurant from Clueless (11 of 20)

Kabuki Japanese Restaurant from Clueless (4 of 20)

The Burbank Crocodile Cafe outpost opened its doors in July 1994, so it was new when Clueless filmed on the premises.  (Though I am unsure of the exact day the scenes were lensed, the movie was shot from November 21st, 1994 through February 7th, 1995.)  The eatery was the fifth in the CC chain, which was founded in Pasadena in 1987 by restauranteur Gregg Smith as a sort of casual version of his upscale and highly popular bistro Parkway Grill.  I was unable to dig up the year the eatery closed, but, per a newspaper ad I came across, the shuttering took place between May 2002 and July 2005, at which time Kabuki Japanese Restaurant was already in operation.  Oh, how I wish I could have seen the Croc when it was still open in all of its bright green and pink glory!

Kabuki Japanese Restaurant from Clueless (17 of 20)

Kabuki Japanese Restaurant from Clueless (19 of 20)

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Jasmine for finding this location!  Smile

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Kabuki Japanese Restaurant, aka the former Crocodile Cafe from Clueless, is located at 201 North San Fernando Boulevard in Burbank.  You can visit the eatery’s official website hereThe Downtown Christmas Shopping District from “The Voice of Christmas” episode of The Brady Bunch is located a little over a block away at 100 South San Fernando.

The Lewis Estate from “American Woman”

The American Woman House-0225

The internet has been going crazy as of late over images of Quentin Tarantino’s latest movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood filming on location in L.A.  The period piece, which stars Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Luke Perry (OMG!) and chronicles the murder of Sharon Tate, is set in 1960s Tinseltown.  As Tarantino said at CinemaCon in April, “Street by street, block by block, we’ll transform Los Angeles into the Hollywood of 1969.”  And transform it, he has.  The director has brought countless lost city landmarks back to life in their original locations.  I so wish I was there to witness it all!  Another recent production that has also been resurrecting retro L.A. is American Woman, which debuted on the Paramount Network in early June.  Set in 1975, the series is loosely based upon the life of Kathleen Richards, mom of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards, who serves as co-executive producer.  Though I find the show to be a bit blah, the costumes and music are downright intriguing and the locations have me practically foaming at the mouth, especially the mid-century modern pad that serves as the home of lead character Bonnie Nolan (Alicia Silverstone) and her two daughters, Becca (Makenna James) and Jessica (Lia McHugh).  So I, of course, set out to pinpoint it.

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Said to be in Bel Air on the series, one look at the retro-fabulous property told me it was more likely located in Encino.

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Thanks to the unique configuration of the residence, which consists of two adjacent rotundas, it was a snap to find.  I simply inputted “mid-century modern,” “house,” “Encino,” and “circular” into Google and the first response kicked back was a 2011 article about a pad for sale at 17862 Via Vallarta in Lake Encino complete with listing photos showing the very same spot I was searching for!  I ran out to stalk it shortly thereafter.

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Known as the Lewis Estate in real life, the 1972 residence was commissioned by Joby and Helen Lewis, proprietors of Lake Tahoe’s Cal-Vada Lodge, as well as several Los Angeles nightclubs.

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The unique property, designed by Benton/Park/Candreva Architects, is formed by two dodecagons (aka 12-sided structures) connected via a glass pavilion.

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The sprawling 4-bedroom, 4-bath, 5,377-square-foot estate boasts a 3-car garage, a sunken living room, Rosewood detailing, brass sunburst front doors, maid’s quarters, a fireplace, a fire pit, a pool, a spa, and 1.33 acres of land.  Amazingly, very little of the home has been altered since it was built 45-plus years ago.

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After Joby passed away in 1998, Helen continued to live at the residence.  Upon her death in July 2011, the property was put on the market for $2,900,000.  It eventually sold that November for $1,887,500 to husband-and-wife art auctioneers/architecture buffs Peter and Shannon Loughrey who have resolved to keep much of the place’s original detailing intact.  Peter is definitely a man after my own heart.  As a Ventura Boulevard article about the house states, “When Peter Loughrey first moved to California he was so enamored by the modernist homes he’d pass while driving through Brentwood and Bel Air that he’d often stop, ring the doorbell and ask the owner for a tour.  ‘A little old lady would answer and I’d say “Is this a Neutra house?”’ recalls Peter, referring to pioneering Austrian-American architect Richard Neutra.  ‘She’d say “Yes! How did you know?” Then she’d let me in, make me a sandwich and show me around.’”  Oh Peter, you and I could so hang!

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The Lewis Estate’s original detailing is no doubt what led to its use on American Woman.  The residence is featured regularly on the series in establishing shots of the Nolan family home, as well as in some on-location scenes.

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The residence’s actual interior, which you can see photos of here and here, appeared in the show’s first two episodes, “Liberation” (pictured below) and “Changes and the New Normal.”

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Beginning with episode 4, titled “The Cost of Living,” the production began utilizing a set for interiors of the Nolan home.  That set is pictured below.

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The property’s real-life pool and backyard area have been featured several times on the series, as well.

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Fellow stalker Lisa informed me that the Lewis Estate also appears extensively as the home of Ken (Brían F. O’Byrne) and Grace Karn (Michaela McManus) during the first season of the television series Aquarius, which aired in 2015.

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The Lewis Estate briefly pops up in the pilot episode of Snowfall, which aired in 2017, as the residence of Robert Volpe (Taylor Kowalski).

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And the house party at the end of 2019’s Booksmart takes place there, as well.

Eagle-eyed fellow stalkers likely noticed the blue and white filming notification attached to the residence’s front lamp in my photos.

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That notification was for Elle King’s “Shame” music video, which you can watch here.

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The American Woman house is located at 17862 Via Vallarta in the Lake Encino neighborhood of Encino.

The Complete “Clueless” Guide to L.A.

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I could NOT be more excited about my latest Discover Los Angeles article.  In fact, it might be my favorite blog post that I have ever written!  I present to you The Ultimate (and Complete!) Guide to Clueless Movie Locations in Los Angeles: Part I and Part II.  This one was truly a labor of love and took me countless hours of research to put together, but I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun stalking!  I cannot tell you the number of emails I sent out, people I talked to, doors I knocked on, or time I spent on Google Street View, but in the end it was worth it as my list includes every. single. locale. featured in the movie – right down to the pot Cher (Alicia Silverstone) hits on her way to school.  I hope all of my fellow stalkers enjoy reading the post as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

Contempo Casuals from “Clueless”

Contempo Casuals Clueless (2 of 8)

Happy 2015, folks!  Now that the holidays have come to a close, I will (hopefully) be back to my regularly scheduled blogging.  So here goes.  Stalking is obviously my favorite pastime, but shopping comes in at a close second.  So when I get an opportunity to combine the two, I jump at it.  A couple of weeks ago, the Grim Cheaper and I traveled to L.A. for a holiday party and decided to do some Christmas shopping the following morning before driving back to the desert.  Because I wanted to further investigate the Contempo Casuals that appeared in fave movie Clueless, I insisted we head over to Westfield Fashion Square.  For those who missed my August post about the Sherman Oaks mall and its appearance in the 1995 romcom, I’ll recap.

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For years now, misinformation has been rolling around the internet about which shopping center Cher (Alicia Silverstone) and friends shopped at in Clueless.  As I came to find out during a recognizance shopping mission in August, though, more than one mall actually appeared in the flick.  The establishing shot of the shopping center shown in the movie was of the Westside Pavilion in Rancho Park.  But the interior scene in which some “Barneys” tried to throw Tai (Brittany Murphy) off a balcony was lensed about ten miles north of the Pavilion at Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks.

Clueless Mall

While everyone and their mother has stated online that the Contempo Casuals that appeared in Clueless was the one formerly located at the Beverly Center in Beverly Grove, during the writing of my August post I started to believe that the Fashion Square Contempo Casuals was the outpost that had most likely been featured in the flick.  As I explained in the post, “Once I realized that Tai’s near-death experience had been filmed at Fashion Square, I got to thinking that the Contempo Casuals scenes were most likely shot there, as well.   It did not make sense to me that producers would go to the trouble of shooting the C.C. scenes elsewhere, especially considering that they were both extremely brief.  So I did some research and learned that there was indeed a Contempo Casuals located at Fashion Square in the mid-nineties, as you can see here and here.  I scanned through the C.C. scenes again and just about fell off my chair when I spotted the number 22 posted on the store’s window.  And while I could find no such numbers in any pictures of the Beverly Center via a Google image search, I did spot a number in the same style and color on the front of Victoria’s Secret in one of the photographs I had taken at Fashion Square a few years prior (pictured below).  Then I came across this listing and just about died of excitement upon discovering that the company currently located in storefront 22 of the Westfield Fashion Square is none other than Wet Seal, the very same brand that took over Contempo Casuals in 1995!  Based on all of that, I am 99.9% certain that the only mall interior that appeared in Clueless was Westfield Fashion Square. ”  Since that post, I have discovered that the suite numbers of stores at the Beverly Center are three-digit (as you can see here), not two, which is further proof that the C.C. from Clueless was not located there.

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So, while Christmas shopping with the GC, I set out to snap some pics of the Fashion Square Wet Seal and prove once and for all that my theory was correct.

Contempo Casuals Clueless (8 of 8)

Contempo Casuals Clueless (5 of 8)

I was a bit dismayed to discover upon my arrival that not only had the font and styling of the store’s numbers been changed since both the filming of Clueless in 1994 (the movie premiered in 1995, but was shot in 1994) and since my photograph of Victoria’s Secret was taken in 2012, but that Wet Seal’s actual suite number had been altered as well.  It is now addressed #21, instead of #22.  At first, I thought that Wet Seal might have moved storefronts at some point, but then I spoke with the incredibly nice people working at BCBG Max Azria (the company that currently occupies #22) and they explained that Fashion Square’s suite numbers do change on occasion.  Apparently, sometimes when a store closes, its space will be subdivided into smaller spaces and the neighboring suite numbers need to be shifted accordingly.  BCBG’s manager also informed me that Wet Seal had not moved storefronts since she started working at Fashion Square fifteen years ago.  She was also fairly certain that prior to Wet Seal opening, the space had housed a Contempo Casuals.  Eureka!

Contempo Casuals Clueless

Contempo Casuals popped up twice in Clueless.  It first appeared in the scene in which Cher attempted to gather her thoughts and regain her strength via a shopping trip.  That scene gave us a good glimpse of C.C.’s interior.  Though it has been remodeled since Wet Seal took over, as you can see below the basic set up of the store is the same today as it was in Clueless.  Both Wet Seal and the store from Clueless are large (Wet Seal is one of Fashion Square’s larger storefronts, as I came to discover during my stalking mission), extremely long and narrow, and boast very high ceilings (unusually high compared to the other shops located in the mall).

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Contempo Casuals Clueless (6 of 8)

In a later scene, Dionne (Stacey Dash) is shown standing outside of Contempo Casuals while talking to Cher on her cell phone.  As you can see below, the split-glass-paneled frontage shown in the movie matches that of Wet Seal, though the panels seem to be spaced further apart today than they were in 1994.

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The central positioning of the entrance doors that appeared onscreen match the current positioning of Wet Seal’s doors, as well.  Thanks to all of these correlations, I can now say with absolute certainty that the Contempo Casuals scenes from Clueless were shot at Westfield Fashion Square, not at the Beverly Center.

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For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online.

Contempo Casuals Clueless (7 of 8)

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Wet Seal, aka the former Contempo Casuals from Clueless, can be found in Suite 21 of Westfield Fashion Square, which is located at 14006 Riverside Drive in Sherman Oaks.  You can visit the mall’s official website here.

The “Clueless” Mall

Clueless Mall (5 of 8)

As evidenced by yesterday’s post, I have been on a major Clueless filming locations kick as of late.  One spot about which much conflicting information has been reported online is the mall (or malls) that appeared in the 1995 flick.  Some sites stipulate Westside Pavilion in Rancho Park was used, some surmise the Beverly Center in Beverly Grove made a cameo and still others claim that filming took place at Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks.  So I set out to end the confusion once and for all.

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Not surprisingly, Clueless featured several mall scenes.  In the first, which took place towards the beginning of the movie, Cher (Alicia Silverstone) headed to the mall with BFF Dionne (Stacey Dash) to “find sanctuary” after receiving a less-than-stellar report card.  The establishing shot shown in that particular scene was of the Westside Pavilion located at 10800 West Pico Boulevard in Rancho Park.  The locale was only used for that single exterior image, though.

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Clueless Mall (12 of 14)

Inside the mall, the girls are shown at Contempo Casuals lamenting the crusty demeanor of their debate teacher, Mr. Hall (Wallace Shawn).

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That same Contempo Casuals was also featured in the scene in which Dionne called Cher to inform her that they were going to have to make an appearance at the “Val party.”  Most websites state that the C.C. used in Clueless was the one formerly located on the sixth floor of the Beverly Center.  Some recent research leads me to believe that information is incorrect, though.  But more on that in a bit.

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Later in the movie, Cher and Christian (Justin Walker) witness some “Barneys” trying to throw Tai (Brittany Murphy) off a railing while out shopping for a leather jacket.

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I originally thought the interior of Westside Pavilion had been used in that scene, but, as you can see below, it does not match the mall shown in Clueless.

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So I headed out to Westfield Fashion Square recently and was thrilled to discover that it was the right spot!  The escalator that Cher and Christian rode in the scene is located in the eastern portion of the mall (on the Macy’s side of the center), directly outside of Williams-Sonoma and Zara.

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Clueless Mall (7 of 8)

While the tile flooring has been altered and the stores have since transitioned, the area still looks much the same as it did in Clueless, which had me grinning (ridiculously so) from ear to ear.

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Clueless Mall (4 of 8)

Tai’s “near-death experience” took place just across from the escalator, outside of what is now Foot Locker.

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Clueless Mall (1 of 8)

I was totally buggin’ when I realized that the benches visible in the movie were no longer there (or perhaps never were).  I so wanted to stand in front of one and say, “Car-pe Di-em!”

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Clueless Mall (8 of 8)

Once I realized that Tai’s near-death experience had been filmed at Fashion Square, I got to thinking that the Contempo Casuals scenes were most likely shot there, as well.   It did not make sense to me that producers would go to the trouble of shooting the C.C. scenes elsewhere, especially considering that they were both extremely brief.  So I did some research and learned that there was indeed a Contempo Casuals located at Fashion Square in the mid-nineties, as you can see here and here.  I scanned through the C.C. scenes again and just about fell off my chair when I spotted the number 22 posted on the store’s window.  And while I could find no such numbers in any pictures of the Beverly Center via a Google image search, I did spot a number in the same style and color on the front of Victoria’s Secret in one of the photographs I had taken at Fashion Square a few years prior (pictured below).  Then I came across this listing and just about died of excitement upon discovering that the company currently located in storefront 22 of the Westfield Fashion Square is none other than Wet Seal, the very same brand that took over Contempo Casuals in 1995!  You can see a photo of the storefront in its current state here.  Based on all of that, I am 99.9% certain that the only mall interior that appeared in Clueless was Westfield Fashion Square.

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Clueless is hardly the first production to make use of Westfield Fashion Square.  As I blogged back in 2012, the mall was where Michael Scott (Steve Carrel) took Dunder Mifflin’s fairer sex in the Season 3 episode of The Office titled “Women’s Appreciation.”

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In the Season 5 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “Christmas Comes This Time Each Year,” Westfield Fashion Square was both where Andrea Zuckerman-Vasquez (Gabrielle Carteris) and Jesse Vasquez (Mark Damon-Espinoza) tried to get their baby to pose for a photo with Santa . . .

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. . . and where Donna Martin (Tori Spelling) shopped with LuAnn Pruit (Caroline McWilliams).

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In the Season 4 episode of Malcolm in the Middle titled “If Boys Were Girls,” the Nolastname family headed to Westfield Fashion Square to do some shopping.

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Jane Kaczmarek returned there (to the mall’s southeastern parking lot) a couple of years later to film one of my favorite television scenes ever – the demolition derby scene from Season 6’s “Hal’s Christmas Gift.”

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You can watch that scene by clicking below.

In the Season 1 episode of Desperate Housewives titled “Move On,” Fashion Square was where Gaby took a low-budget modeling job.

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And it was at Fashion Square that Tina Cohen-Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz) fell into a fountain in the Season 3 episode of Glee titled “Props.”

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

Clueless Mall (3 of 8)

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Westside Pavilion, located at 10800 West Pico Boulevard in West L.A., was used for exterior shots of the mall in Clueless.  Interior mall scenes were shot at Westfield Fashion Square at 14006 Riverside Drive in Sherman Oaks.  The escalator that Cher and Christian rode in the movie is located on the eastern side of Fashion Square, in front of Williams-Sonoma and Zara, and Tai was almost pushed off the railing located in front of Foot Locker.

The “Clueless” Guide to Occidental College

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While it is well-known among location aficionados that Occidental College masked as Bronson Alcott High School in Clueless, an in-depth guide to the exact areas of the campus that appeared in the flick has never been published.  So, with some help from Mike, from MovieShotsLA, Owen, from the When Write Is Wrong blog, and a reader named Rebecca who grew up in Eagle Rock and knows Oxy like the back of her hand, I set out to do just that.

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A map of the Occidental College campus is pictured below.  I will be using the same numbering key provided on the map to identify the areas and buildings featured in Clueless.  So without further ado, I present to you the Clueless guide to Occidental College (in order of appearance)!

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1. Bronson Alcott High School Exterior – The south side of Occidental’s Johnson Student Center and Freeman College Union (#15) masqueraded as the front of Cher (Alicia Silverstone) and the gang’s Beverly Hills-area high school.

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Clueless Occidental College (6 of 22)

The building, which was designed by Myron Hunt, is shown repeatedly throughout Clueless and should also be recognizable to Beverly Hills, 90210 fans as the exterior of the Condor’s Nest at CU.

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Clueless Occidental College (6 of 23)

2. Walkway – The esplanade that Cher and her friends are often seen strolling along (and where the movie’s infamous “As if!” moment took place) is Oxy’s Central Quadrangle (#126).

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Clueless Occidental College (5 of 22)

The Quadrangle, which is situated directly south of the Johnson Student Center, served as the hangout of Bronson Alcott’s various cliques, including the TV station group, the Persian Mafia and the Crew.

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Clueless Occidental College (22 of 22)

The eastern portion of the Quad, in front of Occidental’s Johnson Hall/Alumni Auditorium (#2), is where Cher offered her father’s “sucky Italian roast” to Mr. Hall (Wallace Shawn) . . .

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Clueless filming Occidental (2 of 4)

. . . and where he later shared it with Miss Geist (Twink Caplan).

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Clueless filming Occidental (1 of 4)

3. Athletic Field – It is on Oxy’s Patterson Field (#101) that Cher convinces her P.E. teacher, Ms. Stoeger (Julie Brown – yes, that Julie Brown), to raise her grade from a C to an B.

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The field has changed a bit since filming took place, but it still very recognizable.

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4. Mr. Hall’s Pathway – The walkway leading to the south side of Occidental’s Booth Music and Speech Center (#14), which looks quite a bit different today, is where Cher observed Mr. Hall and came to the conclusion that he was in need of a “good, healthy boink fest.”

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Clueless filming Occidental (4 of 4)

5. The Teachers’ Lounge – According to an Oxy employee that Owen contacted, the faculty lounge where Cher tried to decide which teacher to set Mr. Hall up with (and coveted a Snickers bar) was one of the Johnson Student Center and Freeman College Union (#15) dining rooms.  Unfortunately, the interior of the student center was largely gutted and remodeled in 1998 and then again in 2013 and the vast majority of it looks completely different today.  I am not sure if the dining room that appeared in Clueless was renovated or if it currently remains in its onscreen state.  Here’s hoping!

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6. The Main Office – This location was the saddest discovery of all.  According to Rebecca, Bronson Alcott’s main office was the former Student Activities Office at the Johnson Student Center and Freeman College Union (#15), which prior to the 1998 remodel was known as the Freeman Student Union.  The space was gutted during the initial renovation and no longer exists.  You can see photographs of what the interior of the structure currently looks like here.

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7. Cafeteria Exterior – The eastern side of the Johnson Student Center and Freeman College Union (#15) served as the outside of the Bronson Alcott cafeteria.

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Clueless Occidental College (10 of 22)

That portion of the building looks a bit different today than it did in Clueless due to the fact that stairs and a wheelchair ramp have since been added to the exterior, I am guessing to comply with ADA regulations.

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The cafeteria doors look the same for the most part . . .

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. . . aside from said staircase and ramp addition.

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Clueless Occidental College (20 of 23)

Had to do it!

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Clueless Occidental College (12 of 23)

8. Parking Lot – Mr. Hall and Miss Geist shared their first kiss in the Admission and Visitor Parking (#43), in between the Admissions Office – Collins House (#19) and Newcomb Hall (#18).  Miss Geist is parked in front of Newcomb Hall in the scene.

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And Cher and Dionne are standing in the middle of the parking lot, with the Admission Office – Collins House visible behind them.

Again, had to do it!

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9. Tennis Courts – Oxy’s McKinnon Family Tennis Center (#107) is where Dionne (Stacey Dash) refuses to participate in a P.E. lesson because her tennis instructor “would prefer if I didn’t expose myself to any training that might derail his teachings.”

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Clueless Occidental College (1 of 2)

The courts are also where Cher and Dionne first meet Tai (Brittany Murphy) and decide to befriend her despite the fact that their “stock” might “plummet.”

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Clueless Occidental College (2 of 2)

10. Cafeteria Interior – The exact location of the interior of the Bronson Alcott cafeteria, where Tai and Travis Birkenstock (Breckin Meyer) first locked eyes, is a spot that I am unsure of.   Thanks to the carved columns, paned windows and brown doors visible in the background of the scene, I can say with certainty that it is (or was) somewhere on the Occidental campus.  My guess is that it was once located inside of the Johnson Student Center and Freeman College Union (#15), but was dismantled during the 1998 remodel.

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11. The Grassy Knoll – The spot where Travis and his fellow Loadies (who “no respectable girl actually dates”) hang out is along the western side of the Samuelson Campus Pavilion/Tiger Cooler (#16).

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12. The Fountain Photo Shoot – Cher’s impromptu photo shoot with the gang took place in the courtyard of the Booth Music and Speech Center (#14).

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Clueless Occidental College (13 of 23)

Again, had to do it!

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Clueless Occidental College (14 of 23)

13. Josh’s Girlfriend’s Dorm – Occidental was not solely used to stand in for Bronson Alcott High School in Clueless – a campus building also masqueraded as the dorm where Josh’s (Paul Rudd) girlfriend, Heather (Susan Mohun), lived.  The structure featured in that scene was Oxy’s Weingart Center for the Liberal Arts (#17).

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Clueless Occidental College (22 of 23)

In reality, the building is not a dorm, but instead houses an art gallery, art studio and classrooms.

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Clueless Occidental College (14 of 22)

14. Girls’ Locker Room – The locker room where Tai laments the fact that her feelings are not reciprocated by Elton (Jeremy Sisto) can be found inside of the Rush Gymnasium (#8).  You can see a real life photograph of the locker room that was used in the movie here.

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15. Art Museum – Oxy’s Arthur G. Coons Administrative Center (#1) masked as the art museum featured in the montage scene in which Cher decides that she wants to make over her soul.  (The outfit Cher wore in that scene is one of my favorites from the entire movie.)

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In real life, the building, which sits at the center of the Occidental campus, houses administrative offices.

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It was the structure’s glass lobby that stood in for the museum in Clueless.  In reality, there are no sculptures on display in that area.

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Clueless Occidental College (18 of 22)

16. Cher’s Pismo Beach Disaster Relief Booth – Cher and Dionne encouraged fellow students to sign up for the Pismo Beach Disaster Relief Team on the lawn located at the southeast corner of the Johnson Student Center and Freeman College Union (#15).

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Clueless Occidental College (3 of 23)

17. Pismo Beach Food Collection Drive – Last, but not least is another location I am unsure of.  Toward the end of Clueless, Travis donated some unusual kitchenware to the Pismo Beach Food Collection Drive which took place in some sort of conference/meeting room.  Thanks to its paned windows and the foliage and architecture visible in the background, I am certain that the room is (or, again, was) located on the Occidental campus.  Unfortunately, I have been unable to pinpoint exactly where, though.  If anyone has any ideas, please let me know!

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And that’s all, folks!  I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed putting it together!

Clueless Occidental College (5 of 23)

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

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalkers Mike, from MovieShotsLA, Owen, of the When Write Is Wrong blog, and Rebecca for helping me with this post.  Smile

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Occidental College, aka Bronson Alcott High School from Clueless, is located at 1600 Campus Road in Eagle Rock.  You can visit the school’s official website here.

Alicia Silverstone’s “The Kind Diet” Book Signing

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This past Wednesday night I dragged the Grim Cheaper out to my favorite local bookstore, Vroman’s (which coincidentally just appeared in the most recent episode of Modern Family, but more on that later), to attend the book signing and discussion for Alicia Silverstone’s new lifestyle tome The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet.  Even though I am not in any way, shape, or form a vegan, I was absolutely DYING to attend the book signing because, as I have mentioned a few times before on this blog, not only is Clueless one of my all-time favorite movies, but Alicia and I happened to grow up in the same hometown – San Mateo, California – so I have always had a very special place in my heart for the actress.  Because I am a diabetic and on a very strict, virtually no-carbohydrate diet, though, and because most vegan diets that I have read about tend to favor carbs, I was not actually interested in purchasing a copy of Alicia’s book for myself.  But my good friend Nat, who actually attended San Mateo High School – Alicia’s alma mater – is a vegan and she absolutely LOVES Alicia’s book – and her lifestyle blog, The Kind Life – so I decided I would purchase a copy for her as a little “just because” present.  Which is how the GC and I found ourselves heading over to Vroman’s at about 5 p.m. this past Wednesday night.  And, as always, before the event got started, I sent him outside to snap some photographs of Alicia when she arrived.  Winking smile

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The signing began right on time, at 7 p.m., but for some reason it was VERY strictly monitored.  No photographs WHATSOEVER were allowed during the event – not when Alicia walked into the room, not during the discussion session, and not while standing in line waiting to have our books signed.  We were told shortly before her arrival that each guest would be allowed one – and only one – posed photograph with Alicia (which I could NOT have been more excited about as most celebs will not actually pose for pictures during a signing), but otherwise photographs of any kind would not be allowed.  To enforce this, two quite burly Pasadena policemen were on site and they threatened to remove anyone who was even spotted with a camera in their hands during the event!  So I was extremely thankful that the GC had managed to snap some photographs of Alicia outside of the store.

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Alicia, who is currently pregnant, was ABSOLUTELY adorable in person and much taller than I had expected her to be, although she was wearing some fairly tall heels.  She walked directly to the podium upon arrival, introduced herself, and started speaking about why she decided to write The Kind Diet, which was an extremely surreal moment for me as it was like watching the Haitian immigrant debate scene from Clueless (pictured above) come alive before my very eyes.  I kept having to pinch myself to make sure that it was all really happening and that I wasn’t actually at home sitting in front of my television set.  I have to say that in person, Alicia reminded me A LOT of Cher, her Clueless alter-ego.  In real life, Alicia has the same mannerisms, facial expressions,  and vocal tendencies that I had grown so familiar with from watching the movie over and over again.  And I can honestly say that I love Alicia even more now than I did before.  The actress came off as extremely charming, warm, genuine, and sweet.  She was also poised, well-read, and wildly knowledgeable about veganism, holistic medicine, and healthy nutrition.  I was riveted listening to her and, while not a vegan, found myself agreeing whole-heartedly with the vast majority of what she had to say.  She also handled herself incredibly well when one of the audience members asked her an asinine question about veganism and pregnancy, in which he tried to make Alicia look bad.  (Honestly, if you don’t agree with her lifestyle and are not a fan of hers, then why come to the event????)  Alicia responded to him, though, with honesty, wit, and a bit of snarkiness and ended up making him look like a complete and total moron.  As we left the event, I found myself wondering how she managed to do that!  I cannot tell you how much I would love to be able to tell a rude person off without breaking my cool and all the while seeming poised and charming.  But I digress.  I was most surprised to hear Alicia speak about diabetes and veganism.  As it turns out, her diet does not favor carbohydrates at all and is actually very similar to the diet I am currently on, so it looks like I am now going to have to buy a copy of the book for myself! 

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After Alicia’s speech, which lasted about thirty minutes, we all lined up to meet the actress.  Alicia really took her time with all of her fans and seemed to have an incredibly warm and open personality.  And, as promised, every guest got to pose for a photograph with her, which I was absolutely floored about! 

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Nat’s signed book is pictured above.

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Alicia’s inscription reads, “Dear Natalie, Thank you for loving the book!  <3, Alicia Silverstone”.

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As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, fave show Modern Family recently did some filming on location at Vroman’s Bookstore.  The final scene of the Season 2 episode titled “Two Monkeys and a Panda”, in which Mitchell Pritchett (aka Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cameron Tucker (aka Eric Stonestreet) peruse various books on parenting, took place near the store’s Current Event’s section.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Vroman’s Bookstore is located at 695 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena.  You can check out the store’s upcoming signings here.  You can purchase Alicia Silverstone’s book The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet here.  You can visit Alicia’s lifestyle blog, The Kind Life, here.  And you can check out future L.A.-area book signings and other celebrity events on my Upcoming Celebrity Events page here.

Brockton Point Lighthouse from “The Crush”

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The third and final filming location that I stalked from the 1993 thriller The Crush while I was visiting Vancouver two weeks ago was the Brockton Point Lighthouse – the spot where 14-year old Adrian Forrester (aka Alicia Silverstone) tried to seduce Nick Eliot (aka Cary Elwes), the much older man who was leasing her parents’ guest house in the flick.  I found this location, once again, thanks to fellow stalker Owen, who in turn tracked it down via one of the movie’s crew members.  Thank you, Owen!  Brockton Point Lighthouse is one of three lighthouses that currently serve the Port of Vancouver and is located in British Columbia’s extremely popular, 1,000-acre Stanley Park.  The original Brockton Point Lighthouse tower was built in 1890, but it was replaced in 1914 with the tower that is currently standing today.  The lighthouse was designed by Canadian Colonel William P. Anderson, a civil engineer who over his lifetime designed more than 500 lighthouses situated along the Canadian waterfront.

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Brockton Point Lighthouse only pops up in one scene in The Crush, but it is a rather pivotal scene which provides the movie’s turning point.  In the scene, the seemingly innocent Adrian begs Nick to take her for a ride in his Valiant, claiming that there is a place she really wants to show him.  That place is the Brockton Point Lighthouse and it is there that Adrian first confides in Nick, telling him that she has no friends and that most people treat her like a freak due to her abnormally high intelligence.  When Nick promises to be a friend to her, Adrian immediately kisses him and the story takes off from there. 

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As I mentioned in last Thursday’s post about the Forrester mansion, while The Crush was set in Seattle, the entire movie was actually filmed on location in Vancouver, British Columbia.  Ironically enough, though, when Nick and Adrian first pull up to the lighthouse, you can clearly see the word “Brockton” painted on the ground.  I am very surprised that producers didn’t have the lettering digitally removed in post-production, being that the Brockton Point Lighthouse is a fairly well-known Canadian landmark.  In fact, Stanley Park, where the lighthouse is located, is pretty much known as Vancouver’s number one tourist attraction and is visited by over eight million people per year. 

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Sadly, though, when we got there, we discovered that the lighthouse is currently fenced in and closed to the public while it undergoes an extensive, $2 million federal restoration project.  And, while the lighthouse tower is still visible, the area where Adrian kissed Nick is, unfortunately, not.  Such a bummer!!

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Brockton Point Lighthouse features unparalleled views of Burrard Inlet and the Lions Gate Bridge and is a truly beautiful place.  I so wish I could have seen it at night as the view of the lights of the North Vancouver skyline is supposed to be spectacular.  In fact, I’m fairly certain that the lighthouse’s spectacular views are the main reason that it was chosen as the site of Adrian and Nick’s first kiss.

Big THANK YOU to Owen for finding this location!  🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Brockton Point Lighthouse location

Stalk It: Brockton Point Lighthouse is located on Brockton Point at the far east end of Stanley Park, off of Stanley Park Drive, in Vancouver, British Columbia.  Its exact location is denoted with the blue arrow in the above aerial map.