The Levitt Pavilion MacArthur Park Bandshell from “New Girl”

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Brace yourselves, my fellow stalkers, because today’s post is going to be a long one!  Another New Girl location that my good friend/fellow stalker Lavonna asked me to track down recently was the park where Jess (Zooey Deschanel) held a recital for her “Ensembell” bell choir in the Season 1 episode titled “Bells”.  This actually turned out to be a rather fun hunt for me because, in an unprecedented turn of events, the Grim Cheaper became a bit fixated with helping in the search.  When the two of us first watched the “Bells” episode a few weeks after Lavonna’s challenge, he thought the park and its unique bandshell looked familiar, but he could not place where he had seen them.  So he immediately started doing research on local parks, yet, sadly, came up empty-handed.  Then, a few days later while we were out and about stalking, anytime we would happen to drive by a park, he would pull over to see if the New Girl bandshell was there.  As luck would have it, he ended up spotting it that same afternoon at MacArthur Park in the Wilshire District of Los Angeles.  Whoo-hoo!  Thank you, GC!  So we pulled right on over to snap some pics.

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The land where MacArthur Park now sits was first developed by the City of Los Angeles as a drinking water reservoir in the 1880s.  When the area’s piping systems were later changed around 1890, the reservoir was no longer needed and the site was transformed into a public park known as Westlake Park.  The locale, which featured a picturesque lake, a boathouse, and manicured gardens, quickly became a popular recreational destination for the wealthy citizens who lived nearby and the wealthy tourists who vacationed at the many luxury hotels in the neighborhood.  During that era, the 32-acre property was known as the “Champs-Elysees of Los Angeles”.  Oh, how times have changed!  In 1934, it was decided that Wilshire Boulevard, which formerly dead-ended at Westlake’s western border, would be extended and connected to Orange Street in order to run through to downtown Los Angeles.  A berm was built which bisected Westlake, and its large lake, into two halves, with the northern portion of the lake eventually being drained, leaving a smaller, 8-acre, 23-million-gallon, 15-foot deep pond on the property’s southern side.

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Sadly, during the ‘80s, the site, which in 1942 was renamed General Douglas MacArthur Park in honor of the famed WWII general, became a haven of drug, gang and criminal activity.  Despite an attempted revitalization in 2002, the property is still pretty dangerous.  Even though we stalked the park during daylight hours, I was still extremely uncomfortable being there.  While we were snapping pictures of the Levitt Pavilion bandshell, which was completely renovated in 2007 and now offers over 50 free concerts each summer, some loon jumped onto the stage armed with a huge generator, microphone and boom box and proceeded to put on his very own rap concert.  I cannot even imagine what the place is like at night!  It sure is picturesque, though!

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MacArthur Park is full of shady characters and we also witnessed a few drug sales in the short ten minutes we were there.  To quote the Wikipedia page on the location, “Public urination in the park is illegal but commonplace.”  Yep, that pretty much sums it up!  As you can see below, though, the site does boast some pretty incredible views of the downtown L.A. skyline.

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Because the park, which in 1972 was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #100, is so picturesque, it is not hard to understand why it has been the site of countless filmings over the years.  The place also inspired the Richard Harris-penned 1968 song for Jimmy Webb titled “MacArthur Park” and Donna Summer’s 1970 remake of it, and it also quite possibly might have been the location of the eponymous bridge in the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 1992 hit “Under the Bridge”.

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In the “Bells” episode of New Girl, MacArthur Park stood in for the fictional “Pershing Park” where Ensembell held their first recital.  (The homeless guy fist-fighting the air in the first screen capture pictured below is pretty much a true-to-life description of the types of people one will encounter at the park.)

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In the Season 1 episode of Dragnet 1967 titled “The Bank Examiner Swindle”, MacArthur Park was where Sgt. Joe Friday (Jack Webb) and Officer Bill Gannon (Harry Morgan) interviewed Fred Gregory (Burt Mustin), one of the victims of a financial scam against the elderly.

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In the Season 1 episode of Starsky and Hutch titled “Lady Blue”, MacArthur Park stood in for the fictional “Lincoln Gardens” where Detective Ken ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson (David Soul) and Detective Dave Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser) investigated the murder of Starsky’s ex-girlfriend Helen.

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And in the Season 2 episode of Starsky and Hutch titled “Vendetta”, the park was where the duo picnicked with their girlfriends before getting interrupted by a “1040” call.

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In the Season 5 episode of The A-Team titled “The Grey Team”, MacArthur Park was where Templeton ‘Faceman’ Peck (Dirk Benedict) and John ‘Hannibal’ Smith (George Peppard) spied on a Soviet agent named Saroff (Tony Steedman).

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In 1993’s Falling Down, MacArthur Park was the spot where William ‘D-Fens’ Foster (Michael Douglas) got into an altercation with a homeless man.  At the time of the filming, the lake had been drained and the park was undergoing major construction for the Metro Rail Rail Line addition, so it looked considerably different than it does today.

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In 1997’s Volcano, MacArthur Park was the site where seven public works employees were steamed to death while working on a storm drain.

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The location was used extensively in 2001’s aptly-titled MacArthur Park.

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In 2005’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Harmony Faith Lane (Michelle Monaghan) saves her friend Gay Perry (Val Kilmer) from being killed at MacArthur Park.

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The music video for Gym Class Heroes’ 2005 song “Cupid’s Chokehold/Breakfast in America”, which starred Katy Perry, was shot extensively at MacArthur Park.

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You can watch that video by clicking below.

Gym Class Heroes: “Cupid’s Chokehold/Breakfast in America” Filmed at MacArthur Park

In the Season 6 episode of Numb3rs titled “Hangman”, Don Eppes (Rob Morrow) and his FBI team were shot at while setting up security for a political rally at MacArthur Park.

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In the Season 1 episode of fave show FlashForward (I am still not over the fact that it was cancelled!) titled “Black Swan”, there is a flashback scene of the blackout experience of a man named Ned Ned (Keir O’Donnell) in which a city bus crashes into the MacArthur Park lake.

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In the Season 1 episode of American Horror Story titled “Murder House”, MacArthur Park was where the ultra-creepy Larry Harvey (Denis O’Hare) approached Ben Harmon (Dylan McDermott) to ask for $1,000 to get headshots taken.

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MacArthur Park has popped up on the television series Southland no less than 3 times.  In the Season 2 episode titled “Butch & Sundance”, the park was where Detective Sammy Bryant (Shawn Hatosy) chased a gang member named Orlando (Eddie Maldonado).

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In the Season 4 episode titled “Identity”, Detective Bryant and Officer Ben Sherman (cutie Ben McKenzie – sigh!) arrested a teenager for drug possession at MacArthur Park.

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In that same episode, MacArthur Park also appeared as the spot where Detectives Lydia Adams (Regina King) and Ruben Robinson (Dorian Missick) tracked down a suspect named Nicole (Chrissy Stokes).

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And in the Season 4 episode titled “God’s Work”, Officer John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz – aka Beverly Hills, 90210’s Tony Miller Smile) talked to his unnamed sponsor, who was played by Lawrence Gilliard Jr., about his partner, Officer Jessica Tang (Lucy Liu), while walking around MacArthur Park’s lake.

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In 2011’s Drive, “Driver” (Ryan Gosling) made a deal with Cook (James Biberi) while at MacArthur Park.

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And while IMDB claims that the Season 2 episode of the original Melrose Place titled “Till Death Do Us Part” was shot at MacArthur Park, filming actually took place at the similar-looking Echo Park.

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MacArthur Park was also featured in the movie Brave New World, but unfortunately I was unable to find a copy of that production with which to make screen captures for this post.  And while the location supposedly appeared in 1992’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I scanned through the flick earlier today and did not spot it anywhere.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Levitt Pavilion MacArthur Park bandshell, from the “Bells” episode of New Girl, is located at 2230 West 6th Street, on the northern side of MacArthur Park, in Los Angeles.  You can visit the Pavilion’s official website here.  Be forewarned, MacArthur Park is not the safest place, especially at night, so please exercise caution.

The “American Horror Story” House

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Last week, fellow stalker Owen sent me an email with a tip, as well as this Curbed LA article, about a Haunted-Hollywood-type location that he thought I might be interested in stalking – the imposing brick and marble abode which figures as the focal point of the new television series American Horror Story.  And right he was!  I had just TiVo-ed the premiere episode of the show the previous night and could hardly wait to sit down and watch it.  And I was not disappointed – American Horror Story is absolutely riveting!  The fact that Owen had already tracked down the main location used in it was like icing on the cake!  Randomly enough, another fellow stalker named August sent me an email this past Thursday evening in which he also tipped me off to the location of the American Horror Story house, along with a link to the exact same Curbed LA article that Owen had also sent!  I figured the universe was most definitely trying to tell me something, so I dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out to stalk the place this past weekend.

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The American Horror Story house was originally built sometime during the early 1900s (the home’s official website says it was built in 1902, but Curbed LA and various other sites state that it was most likely constructed in 1908) by Alfred F. Rosenheim as his personal residence.  The prominent Los Angeles architect also designed the Majestic Theatre on Broadway, the Herman W. Hellman Building in Downtown Los Angeles (L.A.’s very first first ten-story building), the Doheny Mansion’s glass conservancy and palm house in West Adams, and the Second Church of Christ Scientist, also in West Adams.  The Rosenheim residence, which in 1999 was declared Los Angeles’ Historic-Cultural Monument Number 660, features a 9,660-square-foot, three-story main house, 7 bedrooms, 7 baths, Tiffany stained-glass windows, as well as Tiffany glass doors and light fixtures, maid’s quarters, a library, a hand-painted Japanese gold- and silver-leafed ceiling, a formal dining room, six different Batchelder fireplaces, a solarium, and a 1,600-square-foot basement.  According to the Paradise Leased blog, upon its unveiling, the Los Angeles Times stated that the mansion was “magnificently appointed” and featured “almost every conceivable modern convenience and luxury” – including an intercom system that is still in working condition to this day!

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In 1918, Rosenheim sold his self-designed abode to a mining tycoon named A.J. McQuatters, who used the mansion as his winter home.  The property went through a succession of different residents in the following years, including character actor Edward Everett Horton, who leased the home for a short while, and the Sisters of Social Service, who converted the dwelling into a convent.  In 1954, the Sisters also built a 50-foot-long, 4,500-square-foot detached chapel on the premises. That chapel has since been transformed into a recording studio.  According to Curbed LA, the Rosenheim house has been on and off the market since 1999 and is currently for sale for a cool $4.5 million.

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As you can see above, the residence, which sits on a 3/4-acre, corner plot of land and is truly magnificent in person, is actually much larger than its façade would lead you to believe.  The place is absolutely GINORMOUS!

American Horror Story House–For Sale

You can watch the home’s real estate video by clicking above.

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The pilot episode of American Horror Story opens up in the year 1978 and shows two twin boys wreaking havoc on a dilapidated old mansion.

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The real life interior of the property, which you can see pictures of here, was used in the filming of those scenes, although it was dressed considerably to appear neglected and run-down.

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The episode then switches to the present day where it begins to follow the story of the Harmon family – mother Vivien (aka Connie Britton), father Ben (aka Dylan McDermott), and daughter Violet (aka Taissa Farmiga, who, in real life, is the younger sister of Up in the Air’s Vera Farmiga) – who has moved from Boston to Los Angeles in order to start a new life after suffering a considerable series of misfortunes.  The family purchases the old mansion, which has since been fixed-up, despite being told about the previous owners’ murder-suicide, which took place shortly beforehand.

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The real life interior of the house, in its actual state, is used extensively as the interior of the Harmon residence.  You can see more interior photographs of the property here.

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Oddly enough, though, the series does not make use of the property’s kitchen, which you can take a look at here.  As you can see, it looks nothing like the kitchen that is shown on TV.

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Thanks to fellow stalker Robert, from the Movie Locations and More website, I learned that the Rosenheim home was also used in the Halloween-themed Season 4 episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer titled “Fear, Itself”,  as the Alpha Delta fraternity house where Buffy Summers (aka Sarah Michelle Gellar) and her friends attended a Halloween party.

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The interior scenes look to have been shot at a different location, though.

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Except for the scene in which Oz (aka Seth Green) turned into a werewolf, which was filmed inside of one of the property’s real life bathrooms.

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There seems to be quite a bit of erroneous information about the home’s filming history floating around online.  According to the property’s official website,  it appeared in a 1950’s movie named Old Blue Eyes which starred Frank Sinatra, although I can find no such production listed on Frank’s IMDB page.  And according to this website, the house was also used in 2002’s Spiderman and 2007’s Because I Said So, but I scanned through both of those movies earlier today and did not spot the place anywhere.  That same website also states that the residence appeared in Seabiscuit, but because I do not own the film and could not find it to rent or stream anywhere, I was not able to verify that.

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalkers Owen and August for telling me about this location!  Smile

Stalk It: The American Horror Story house is located at 1120 Westchester Place in the Country Club Park section of Los Angeles.