The “Perfect Strangers” Apartment Building

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A few weeks ago, while perusing fave book Marilyn Monroe Dyed Here: More Locations of America’s Pop Culture Landmarks by Chris Epting (which was gifted to me by fellow stalker Lavonna – thanks, Lavonna! Smile), I came across a blurb about the supposed Chicago, Illinois-area apartment building where Balki Bartokomous (Bronson Pinchot) and “Cousin Larry” Appleton (Mark Linn-Baker) lived in the 1986 television series Perfect Strangers.  As it turns out, the apartment building is not located in the Windy City at all, but right here in Downtown Los Angeles.  I immediately became intrigued with the place, not because it is in L.A., nor because I was a huge fan of the series as a child, but because in the blurb Epting had stated that while the top three floors of the property had since been torn down, the bottom level remained intact and still looked much as it did on the show, which absolutely flabbergasted me!  While a building being demolished in Los Angeles is, sadly, an all-too-common occurrence, only certain floors being demolished was something completely foreign to this stalker.  I did some further research on the subject, though, and discovered that it is apparently a semi-common practice in L.A. when repairing buildings that suffer from earthquake damage.  So incredibly odd!  Deciding I just had to see the place for myself, I immediately added it to my To-Stalk list and dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out there a few days later.

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In real life, the Perfect Strangers building was known as the Santa Rita Hotel and it consisted of four stories, as you can see below.  Thankfully, despite the fact that the top three floors are now missing, the bottom level does still have some semi-recognizable elements from what appeared onscreen.  The shape and layout of the fictional Ritz Discount store, where the cousins worked on the show, remains largely as it was during the filming, as do the protruding lip and grey line that run the length of the building.

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Standing there, looking at the structure, I was absolutely perplexed that it used to stand at four stories tall.  I still cannot fathom how in the heck the top levels were knocked down without damaging the bottom floor in the process.  But that is why I am a stalker and not an architect.  Winking smile Amazingly enough, even though it appeared to be quite beautiful, I could not find any information whatsoever online about the building, its history, or its partial demolition.  If I had to guess, though, I would say that the edifice was damaged during the Northridge Earthquake in 1994 and was demolished at some point shortly thereafter.  But, again, that is just a guess.  You can check out a 1939’s-era photograph of the Santa Rita Hotel on the USC Libraries website here.  And you can check out a great write-up on the location by a Perfect Strangers aficionado named John Corbett here.

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Thanks to another of John’s write-ups, I learned that the Santa Rita Hotel was only used as Larry and Balki’s apartment building during Seasons 1 and 2.  For Seasons 3 through 6 a different, but similar-looking structure, located at 326-34 West Dickens Avenue/2100-10 North Clark Street in Lincoln Park, Chicago, was used.  A screen capture of that building is pictured below.

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As John also pointed out in his post, oddly enough, in the nighttime establishing shots of the building a sign reading “Caldwell Hotel” is visible.  I am fairly certain, though, that that sign was just a prop, as was the case with the “Ritz Discount” sign.

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Because Perfect Strangers was a sit-com that was shot in front of a live studio audience, only the exterior of the Santa Rita Hotel was used in the filming.  The interior of Larry and Balki’s apartment was just a set that existed inside of a soundstage at Lorimar (now Sony) Studios.

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Be sure to “Like” IAMNOTASTALKER on Facebook here and “Friend” me on my personal page here.  You can also check out the IAMNOTASTALKER About Me page here.  And you can follow me on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Perfect Strangers apartment building is located at 1100 South Main Street in Downtown Los Angeles.

The “New Girl” Apartment Building

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My good friend/fellow stalker Lavonna has been begging me to track down locations from New Girl for a good three months now, but because I had never seen an episode of the series I was unable to do so.  Until last Monday evening, that is, when the Grim Cheaper and I finally sat down and started watching it from the beginning.  Thank you, Hulu!  I have to admit that I did not have very high hopes for the show as, for whatever reason, I am not that big of a fan of actress Zooey Deschanel (whose mom played Eileen Hayward on fave series Twin Peaks, but I digress).  I ended up LOVING it, though, and both the GC and I are now absolutely hooked!  After watching the first few episodes, I immediately started doing research on the warehouse-style loft apartment building where the New Girl gang lives (Lavonna’s most coveted locale from the series) and thankfully, Christine, over at fave website OnLocationVacations, had posted the address several times on her Daily Filming Locations page.  So I dragged the GC right on out to the Arts District in Downtown L.A. this past Saturday afternoon to do some stalking of the place.  (On a side-note, Mike, from MovieShotsLA, just taught me how to process my photographs using the soon-to-be defunct Picnik editing program, so I have been having a little fun with them today.  Don’t mind me.  Smile)

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I had never before visited – or even heard of – the “Arts District” (or “Artists District” as it is sometimes referred to) until this past Saturday, but according to the Los Angeles Downtown Arts District website, the area is the site of an average of 900 movie shoots per year!  Um, yes please – sign me up!  It is basically a stalker’s heaven – and one of the coolest spots that I have been to in all of my stalking travels.  The District became a haven for the artistically-inclined in 1976 thanks to the many affordable studio-type spaces available in the countless then-abandoned buildings and warehouses located there.  Artists gradually began to take over the many spacious lofts, turning them into art studios and illegal living spaces (the area was not yet zoned as residential).  In the 1980s, the Artists-In-Residence ordinance was passed which allowed lessees to use their flats as live/work spaces and, as a result, even more artisans flocked to the area.  Today, the Arts District is a flourishing mecca of artists and hipsters and boasts fabulous brick buildings, sidewalk cafes and more galleries than you can shake a stick at.  While there, not only did I feel like I had been transported back to my beloved Manhattan, but we ended up falling bass-ackwards into one of my most sought-after filming locations ever!  But that is another story for another post.

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In real life, the property where the New Girl gang lives is known as the Binford Building and it was originally constructed in 1906, but was not converted into a residential structure until the mid-1980s.  The 36-unit domicile was the brainchild of real estate developer Michael Kamin, owner of the Mika Company, who, in a 1986 Los Angeles Times article said, “We wanted to make the building a statement and an art piece  — something that says this is an exciting place to live, something to keep the focus on this street.”   I would say he succeeded – in spades!  The structure is definitely unique and the most eye-catching on the entire block.

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In New Girl, the Binford Building is where Jess (Zooey Deschanel), Nick (Jake M. Johnson), Schmidt (Max Greenfield), and Winston (Lamorne Morris) live.  The exterior of the structure is shown weekly on the series.

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The building’s main entrance has also popped up from time to time.

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That entrance is shown above.

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As you can see, the Binford’s real life directory and intercom are even visible on the show.  Love it!

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The interior of the gang’s apartment is just a set, though, located at Fox Studios where (I am fairly certain) the series is lensed.  You can check out some photographs of the interior of an actual Binford Building unit here.  As you can see, it does not look anything like the New Girl loft.  I am absolutely IN LOVE with the group’s sprawling, FOUR-bedroom, industrial, brick-walled loft, by the way.  The GC and I also live in a loft-style apartment that I ADORE, but it is 750-square feet, has no actual bedrooms and only ONE teeny-tiny closet!  Yes, ladies, I have to share a closet with my husband – GASP!  The GC recently commented that he has noticed his side of the closet getting gradually smaller over the years.  Ha!  And here I thought I was being all sly.  Winking smile So yes, I have been known to drool copiously while watching New Girl.  I definitely have apartment envy!

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I could do without their public-style bathroom, though, which is an aspect of the show that I still do not entirely understand.

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According to a message board on the Animation Nation website, the premiere episode of the cartoon Family Dog (which was part of Steven Spielberg’s anthology series Amazing Stories) was created by animator Brad Bird in one of the Binford Building lofts.  The family in the series was even named “The Binfords” in honor of the property.  Traction Avenue, the street where the Binford is located, was also mentioned (and briefly seen on a freeway sign) in Bird’s 2004 hit, The Incredibles.

Binford Lofts–the “New Girl” Apartment Building

You can watch a video about the Binford Building lofts by clicking above.

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Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Lavonna for asking me to find this location (and for turning me on to New Girl) and to Christine, from OnLocationVacations, for tracking it down!  Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Binford Building, aka the New Girl apartment building, is located at 837 Traction Avenue in the Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles.

The Historic Mayfair Hotel from “The Office”

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Fellow stalker John Bengtson, from the SIlent Locations blog, sent me an email last week after reading my post on Red Studios Hollywood from The Artist (a location that I had learned about from his website) informing me that he had tracked down some locales from Season 7’s “The Search” episode of The Office that I might be interested in stalking, most notably The Historic Mayfair Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles where Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and Holly Flax (Amy Ryan) shared a rooftop kiss.  Ironically enough, my good friend, fellow stalker Owen, from the When Write Is Wrong blog, had also sent me this location on February 4th of last year, the day after the episode had originally aired, along with a list of all of the other places featured in “The Search”.  And while I did stalk a few of them – Kung Pao China Bistro and Larry’s Chili Dog – for whatever reason, I never made it out to The Mayfair.  So, this past weekend, I decided to change that and dragged the Grim Cheaper right on over there.  (I am not sure what happened with the above photograph, but somehow it turned out a bit wonky and neither the GC nor I realized it at the time.)

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The Historic Mayfair Hotel was originally designed in 1927 by Alexander E. Curlett and Claud W. Beelman, the same architecture team who gave us the Park Plaza Hotel near MacArthur Park (an extremely popular filming location that I have stalked, but have yet to blog about), the Cooper Arms condominium building in Long Beach, and the Los Angeles Board of Trade Building in Downtown L.A.  The 13-story hotel, which at the time was named simply The Mayfair, was commissioned by Texas oil tycoons and was constructed at a cost of $1.5 million – and we’re talking 1920’s dollars!  In its heyday, the luxury property hosted such luminaries as Mary Pickford and John Barrymore.  Raymond Chandler even wrote and set his 1939 short story “I’ll Be Waiting” at The Mayfair, although he dubbed the place the “Windermere Hotel” in the tale.

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The property, which originally boasted 350 rooms, but now has just 304, was the largest hotel west of the Mississippi at one time and featured an immensely popular supper and dance club known as the Rainbow Isle Room, from which George Eckhardts, Jr. and the Rainbow Isle Orchestra would broadcast a live radio show each night.  In 2004, after suffering from a long period of neglect, the structure underwent a massive and much-needed $40 million renovation, at which point it was renamed The Historic Mayfair Hotel.  You can check out some great photographs of the place during its early days on The Mayfair’s Facebook page here.

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In “The Search” episode of The Office, after being stranded at a supposed Scranton, Pennsylvania-area gas station, Michael Scott goes on a walkabout which ends on the rooftop of The Historic Mayfair Hotel.  When Holly finds him there and Michael tells her how much he has missed her, the two finally kiss, ending several years worth of will-they-or-won’t-they-get-together storylines and allowing  audiences to finally breath a long-overdue sigh of relief.  Not surprisingly, the roof area of The Mayfair is closed to the public, so I was unable to snap any pictures of it.

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Mike, from MovieShotsLA, figured out that The Mayfair stood in for the supposed Chicago, Illinois-area The Addison Hotel where Beth Cappadora (Michelle Pfeiffer) attended her 15-year high school reunion in 1999’s The Deep End of the Ocean.

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It was from the lobby of The Mayfair that Beth’s 3-year-old son, Ben Cappadora (Michael McElroy), was kidnapped.

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As you can see above, despite the renovation, the lobby still looks very much the same today as it did back in 1998 when The Deep End of the Ocean was filmed.

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The super-nice front desk clerk that we spoke with while we were there informed us that both the interior and the exterior of the property had also appeared in 1994’s True Lies, as the supposed Washington, D.C.-area Washington Mayfair Hotel where Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger), on horseback, chased motor-cycle-riding religious zealot Salim Abu Aziz (Art Malik) through a lobby.

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The Mayfair lobby was actually one of three different lobbies used in that particular scene.  Harry is first shown chasing Salim across the length of The Mayfair’s lobby.

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The two then turn a corner and are magically transported to the now-defunct The Ambassador hotel, the same lobby of which was used as the Regent Beverly Wilshire in 1990’s Pretty Woman.

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The duo then heads outside, “across the street” and into The Westin Bonaventure Hotel.  In reality, when the Ambassador was still standing, it was located a good two miles away from The Bonaventure.  Ah, the magic of Hollywood!

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Thanks to the Richard Dean Anderson Website, I learned that The Historic Mayfair Hotel was also used in the 1986 Season 1 episode of MacGyver titled “The Assassin”.

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I am fairly certain that only the exterior of the property appeared in the episode, though, and that all of the interior hotel scenes were filmed on a set.  And while IMDB states that The Mayfair was also featured in 2009’s Don’t Look Up, I scanned through the flick yesterday while doing research for this post and did not see it pop up anywhere.

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalkers John Bengtson, from the SIlent Locations blog, and Owen, from the When Write Is Wrong blog, for telling me about this location and to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for informing me of its appearance in The Deep End of the OceanSmile

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Historic Mayfair Hotel, from “The Search” episode of The Office, is located at 1256 West 7th Street in Downtown Los Angeles.  You can visit the hotel’s official website here.

The Figueroa Hotel from “90210”

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A couple of years ago, while perusing through an issue of AAA’s Westways Magazine, I spotted an article about Southern California’s nicest most reasonably –priced hotels and, because I was dating the Grim Cheaper at the time, I figured I’d best read through it.  Of the ten properties featured in the column, the Moroccan-themed Figueroa Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles immediately caught my eye and I dragged the GC right on over there to grab a cocktail just a few nights later.  The two of us pretty much fell in love with the place’s unique architecture and exotic décor on sight and have returned there a couple of times over the years to grab a drink or just hang out.  So imagine my surprise when the Fig, as it is commonly referred to, popped up on fave show 90210 as the Cabo San Lucas resort where Liam Court (aka cutie Matt Lanter – sigh!), Annie Wilson (aka Shenae Grimes), and the rest of the West Beverly gang spent their Spring Break in the recently-aired Season 3 episode titled “The Enchanted Donkey”.  Because I had not taken many pictures of the hotel during our past visits, I immediately added the place to my Re-Stalk list and dragged the GC right on back over there this past weekend.

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The Figueroa Hotel, which was designed by Stanton, Reed, & Hibbard at a cost of $1.25 million, was originally built in 1925 by the YWCA as a hotel/residence for businesswomen and their families.  Shortly following the Great Depression, the 12-story, 409-room structure was turned into a public hotel and it later served a brief stint as housing for troops during World War II.  The property fell into disrepair in the years following, until the late 1990s when it was purchased by Uno Thimansson, who immediately set about renovating the place, giving it a Moroccan theme.  And, let me tell you, he did an incredible job.  Walking through the hotel’s front doors, one is quickly transported from the busy streets of Downtown L.A. into a Casablanca-esque oasis.  Every time I am there, I half expect to see Sam tickling the ivories while Bogie puffs away on a cigarette somewhere nearby.  True to Westways Magazine’s word, despite the hotel’s fabulous ambiance and location directly across the street from Staples Center and L.A. Live, it still boasts extremely reasonable room rates.  And while the reviews on Trip Advisor and Yelp are quite mixed, in this stalker’s never-to-be-humble opinion, the Figueroa looks like an extremely cool place to vacation.  Not to mention that the poolside bar is something of a celebrity hotspot, with everyone from Keanu Reeves to members of Depeche Mode dropping by for a cocktail throughout the years.

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The Figueroa Hotel was used quite extensively in “The Enchanted Donkey” episode of 90210 in which it masqueraded as the “Hotel Burro Encantado” (aka the Enchanted Donkey Resort) in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  Areas of the hotel which appeared in the episode include the main entrance;

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the poolside bar, where Teddy Montgomery (aka Trevor Donovan) met up for drinks with former schoolmate Tripp Wallison (aka Alan Ritchson);

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and the pool area . . .

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. . . behind which producers had an image of the Cabo San Lucas skyline superimposed.  In reality, the Figueroa Hotel pool boasts views of several massive Downtown L.A. skyscrapers.  I was literally cracking up taking the above photograph while envisioning  the way the pool appeared on 90210Winking smile

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And while I had assumed that one of the hotel’s real life hallways had been used in the episode, the GC and I ventured upstairs to take a look at one and, as you can see above, it does not at all match up to what appeared onscreen.  It seems that producers built a fake hallway set for the filming.

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I had also assumed that some of the Figueroa’s actual rooms had been used in the episode, as well, but as you can see on the hotel’s website, that does not seem to be the case.

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The super-nice front desk clerk also informed us that the Figueroa’s lobby restaurant, the Fig Street Café, stood in for a supposed Cuba-area eatery in the Season 7 episode of fave show CSI: Miami titled “The Deluca Motel”.

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The hotel was also featured in the Season 4 episode of Chuck titled “Church Versus the Seduction Impossible” as the Marrakesh, Morocco-area hotel where Chuck Bartowski (aka Zachary Levi), Colonel John Casey (aka Adam Baldwin), and Sarah Walker (aka Yvonne Strahovski) were sent to rescue Roan Montgomery (aka John Larroquette).

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In the Season 2 episode of Make It or Break It titled “Worlds Apart”, the Fig stood in for the Rio de Janeiro-area hotel where Kaylie Cruz (aka Josie Loren) and the rest of her teammates stayed during the World Gymnastics Championships.

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In the Season 2 episode of NCIS: Los Angeles titled “Harm’s Way”, the Figueroa stood in for the Blue Oasis Hotel in Sana’a, Yemen, where Sam Hanna (aka LL Cool J) and G. Callen (aka Chris O’Donnell) stayed while trying to capture the leader of a terrorist group.

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One of the hotel’s real life rooms – one that the GC, randomly enough, just so happened to snap a photograph of – also appeared in the episode.

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I find it highly ironic that NCIS: Los Angeles filmed at the Figueroa as I have always thought that the hotel’s lobby bears a striking resemblance to the NCIS headquarters on the series.

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Some filming of the yet-to-be-released James Cameron flick Battleship, which stars Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgard, and Brooklyn Decker, also took place at the Figueroa Hotel this past February.

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And on a Matt Lanter side-note – a couple of weeks ago the cutie actor tweeted that he was going to be featured on the cover of the June 2011 issue of Metro Magazine.  Well, I took one look at that tweet and ran right over to Vroman’s Bookstore to purchase a copy.  Sadly though, Allen, the man who runs the Vroman’s newsstand (and yes, I know his name because I shop there FAR too often) told me that not only did the store not carry Metro Magazine, but it was apparently not even available from their distributors.  So I marched on home and started searching for the publication online, but came up completely empty-handed.  I could not find it anywhere and I am a pretty good Googler!  Over the past few weeks I have also visited several newsstands and bookstores in search of the mag, but no one, it seemed, had ever even heard of it.  Flash forward to last night when the GC came home from work with the above pictured laminated photograph in his hands.  My birthday is today and he has been gifting me with little presents every night this week.  Last night’s present, as it so happens, was a copy of Matt Lanter’s issue of Metro Magazine.  As it turns out, Metro is published in the Philippines and not only was the GC able to figure that out, but he somehow managed to track down a man in the Philippines via eBay whom he had go purchase a copy for him!  It is currently being shipped to me and I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on it!  When the man heard why the GC had gone to such trouble to purchase the magazine, he said that he had inspired him to be a better husband.  How cute is that????  Best.present.ever!  Thank you, GC!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The Figueroa Hotel, from “The Enchanted Donkey” episode of 90210, is located at 939 South Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles.  You can visit the Figueroa’s official website here.

The “Pretty Woman”/”(500) Days of Summer” Fountain and Park

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Another Downtown Los Angeles location that my fiancé and I stalked this past weekend was the water fountain and park which appeared in both fave movie Pretty Woman and not so fave movie (500) Days of Summer.  I discovered this location way back in September of 2007 when I was called to serve as a juror on a four day trial at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Downtown L.A.  I’m glad to know jury duty is at least good for something.  😉 

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As I’ve mentioned a few times before on this blog, included in Los Angeles’ jury orientation presentation are directions to the nearest Starbucks – made complete with a PowerPoint slide showing a map which details the cafe’s exact location.  I am not kidding here!  Needless to say, I spent quite a bit of time at that Starbucks, especially because jurors are often given two hour-plus lunches (also not kidding!).  The “Courthouse Starbucks” as I came to call it is located in the middle of the Civic Center Mall, which is a large plaza that can be found about two blocks away from the Criminal Justice Center.  While waiting in line to order my latte one morning, I noticed a HUGE fountain located just north of where I was standing and immediately recognized it as the fountain which appeared in Pretty Woman.   I had always wondered where that fountain was located, so I was beyond floored to have discovered it while waiting in line to purchase a cup of coffee.  It always amazes me the things I notice if I just have my eyes open, instead of buried in my Blackberry.  😉  Anyway, because jurors aren’t allowed to bring cameras into the Criminal Justice Center, I wasn’t able to take any photographs of the fountain while on jury duty, so this past weekend I dragged my fiancé back there so that I could finally blog about the place.

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In Pretty Woman, the fountain shows up towards the end of the movie in the scene in which Vivian Ward (aka Julia Roberts) has just convinced Edward Lewis (aka Richard Gere) to take his very first day off of work.  Vivian is shown walking along the rim of the fountain where she announces that she wants a “snap dog” – whatever that is.

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The official name of the Pretty Woman fountain is the Arthur J. Will Memorial Fountain and it was dedicated on May 18, 1966.  Will, who served as the chief administrative officer of the County of Los Angeles from 1951 to 1957, was instrumental in developing the Civic Center Mall as an urban park and garden for those Angelinos who worked in the area so that they could enjoy a bit of outdoor time during their busy day.  The Civic Center Mall is officially known as El Paseo De Los Pobladores De Los Angeles, which translates to “The Walk of the First Settlers of Los Angeles”, and was named in honor of the 44 Mexican settlers who on September 4th of 1781 founded the City of Angels. 

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I have to give some serious props to the Grim Cheaper right now, as he is turning out to be quite the little stalker!  While we were taking pictures of the Arthur J. Will Memorial Fountain he immediately recognized the park located just south of it as the spot where Edward and Vivian “copped a squat” in Pretty Woman.  I am ashamed to admit that I didn’t recognize the park at all, and was so convinced that it wasn’t the same one which appeared in Pretty Woman that I told him not to bother taking any photographs of it!  It’s a good thing he didn’t listen to me,though, because as it turns out, the patch of grass which is located in the southern portion of the Civic Center Mall is, in fact, the Pretty Woman park.   Thank you, G.C.!

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The park was featured in the scene immediately following the fountain scene, in which Edward and Vivian are shown relaxing on a blanket and reading Shakespeare out loud to each other.

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As I mentioned above, the Civic Center Mall was also featured in the 2009 flick (500) Days of Summer and I immediately recognized the place when I saw the movie a few months back.  The Arthur J. Will Memorial Fountain appeared very briefly in the beginning of the big Hall & Oates “You Make My Dreams Come True” dance sequence.

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The vast majority of the dance sequence takes place on the walkway just east of the fountain, in between the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration building and the Courthouse Starbucks. 

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I also immediately recognized the dance area when I first watched (500) Days of Summer, as it is located along the exact route I would take multiple times each day while on my frequent Starbucks runs during jury duty – and yes, I go to Starbucks multiple times a day and I’m not ashamed to admit it!  🙂

Needless to say, the (500) Days of Summer dance sequence was my absolute favorite scene in the entire movie!  I’m a sucker for any sort of musical type performance and being that “You Make My Dreams Come True” is one of my VERY favorite ‘80s songs, I felt like the whole thing was pretty much tailor-made for me.  But because the scene was so incredibly fun and upbeat and joyful, it made the movie’s ending all that more shocking of a blow.  🙁  You can watch the big (500) Days of Summer dance number by clicking above – but I’m warning you, unless you want to be depressed for a good couple of hours, do NOT watch the rest of the movie.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Pretty Woman Map

Stalk It: The Civic Center Mall, aka El Paseo De Los Pobladores De Los Angeles, is located in between the Los Angeles County Municipal Court (111 N. Hill Street) and the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration (500 West Temple Street), and is bordered by Hill Street to the north and Grand Avenue to the south.  The Arthur J. Will Memorial Fountain, aka the Pretty Woman fountain, is located in the northern portion of the Mall, near North Grand Avenue, in between West Temple Street and West 1st Street.  The Pretty Woman park is located just a bit south of the fountain, on North Hill Street.  The (500) Days of Summer dance sequence took place on the walkway in front of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration.  The cameras were facing southwest for most of that scene, looking towards the Hall of Records building.

The “(500) Days of Summer” Bench

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Another Downtown Los Angeles location that my fiancé and I stalked this past weekend was the famous bench from 2009’s indie hit (500) Days of Summer.  A few weeks ago, fellow stalker Eileen emailed me to tell me of the bench’s location and to send me the above photograph of herself and her roommate taken while there.  I should mention here that I didn’t especially care for (500) Days of Summer.  Actually, it’d be much closer to the truth to say that I didn’t like the movie at all, and for the very same reason that I didn’t like 2006’s The Break-Up – it was far too depressing.  I went in expecting to laugh and came out completely crushed.  I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that the two main characters didn’t wind up together, being that the movie’s tag line read, “Boy meets girl.  Boy falls in love.  Girl doesn’t.”   But, being that I’ve always been an eternal optimist, the ending came as a complete shock to me.  For those who have yet to see (500) Days of Summer, I apologize if I just ruined it for you, but I think the movie would be a whole lot more enjoyable to watch if you know beforehand that the ending is not a happy one.  Anyway, I just about died when I saw Eileen’s photograph of the bench and noticed the little plaque glued to the back of it which heralds its famous cinematic appearance.  That plaque is just about the COOLEST THING EVER!  I think ALL movie locations should have something similar on display!  LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT!  So, even though I wasn’t a fan of the movie, I just HAD to stalk the bench to see that plaque with my own two eyes.

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The bench, which shows up twice in (500) Days of Summer, is a very significant location in the movie.  It first appears in the beginning of the flick – on “Day 95” – as the spot where aspiring architect/greeting card author Tom Hansen (aka Joseph Gordon-Levitt) takes new girlfriend Summer Finn (aka Zooey Deschanel) on a date.  He describes the bench as his favorite place in all of Los Angeles thanks to its view of some of Downtown’s most historically significant buildings.  After Zooey jokingly points out that the bench also has a view of quite a few parking structures, Tom says, “There’s a lot of beautiful stuff here, too, though.  I don’t know.  I just wish people would notice it more.”  I love that quote as it is sad fact that L.A.’s beauty is overlooked much of the time.  Southern California gets a bad wrap more often than not, but if you really take the time to look, there is a staggering amount of beauty and history and magic in this city.  That’s one of the things I love most about stalking – I get to see so many unique and fascinating areas of L.A. – like Tom’s bench – that I might never have known about had they not been featured in a movie.  So, thank you, Hollywood!  🙂

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Tom’s bench, and the one immediately to the right of it, shows up yet again on “Day 488”, in the scene in which Tom and Summer run into each other after she has married someone else.  See what I mean – depressing freakin’ movie!

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The park where the bench is located, a tiny, little spot known as Angels Knoll, also appears in the movie, on “Day 259”, in the scene in which Tom and Summer pretend to have Tourette’s syndrome.

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Tom’s bench is a very cool little spot and I am happy to report that it looks much the same in person as it did in the movie.

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Except that it now has that uber-cool filming plaque proudly displayed on its back.  LOVE IT!

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The view from the bench is also much the same in real life as it appeared in the movie.  And it really is quite a view!

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Because the movie filmed at so many unique and interesting locations and did such a fabulous job of highlighting Los Angeles’ beauty, I was quite shocked to find out today, thanks to IMBD’s (500) Days of Summer trivia page, that the original screenplay depicted the characters living in San Francisco!  Los Angeles is so prevalent in the storyline – the city could almost be considered the third main character  – that I can’t even fathom what the movie would have been like had it been filmed anywhere else.

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Ironically enough, while we were stalking the bench we ran into yet another stalker who was doing the exact same thing!  So, we, of course, got to talking to him and he alerted me to this (500) Days of Summer online movie locations map, which was apparently transcribed from a map that was given out as a promo during the flick’s June 24th, 2009 premiere.  I know I am repeating myself here, but that map has to be just about THE COOLEST THING EVER!  Why is something like this not done for all movies????  Do I have to think of everything?  Sheesh!  🙂  Anyway, as it turns out, my fellow stalker was visiting L.A. from Vancouver, British Columbia, which just so happens to be Mr. Michael Buble’s hometown.  So, since I just booked tickets for a little May vacation in the Pacific Northwest and have been busy making a list of all of my must-see locations up there, I asked him if he happened to know where MB’s childhood home could be found.  Well, let me tell you, he just about flipped out right there on the spot, gave me the weirdest look, and immediately hightailed it out of there.  Not kidding!  The guy practically ran from me – he could not get away fast enough!  He obviously thought I was a complete and total freak!  LOL  Ah well, I guess not everybody loves a stalker. 

Big THANK YOU to Eileen for telling me about this location!  🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

500 Days of Summer Bench Location

Stalk It: The (500) Days of Summer bench can be found in the western portion of Angels Knoll Park, which is located at 356 South Olive Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles.  The bench’s exact location is denoted with a blue circle in the above aerial map.  Angels Knoll is open daily, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during Winter months and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. during Summer months.

The (Possible) Cafe from Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” Video

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[UPDATE – The Monte Carlo Restaurant is NOT where “Beat It” was filmed.  The iconic video was actually shot at the Special Café, located just a few blocks away.  You can read all about it here.  Even though this post contains erroneous information, I am leaving it up as it chronicles an important part of the long, arduous journey my fellow stalkers and I embarked upon to track the locale down.]

For months now, it seems, Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I have been trying to track down the diner which briefly appeared in Michael Jackson’s iconic music video for his 1983 hit song “Beat It”.  Being that the video was produced well over 25 years ago in a part of L.A. that is rapidly changing, this proved to be one rather difficult stalking venture.  Even though we knew that “Beat It” was filmed in its entirety in Los Angeles’ Skid Row area, finding the exact locations used so long after the fact was literally like trying to locate a needle in a haystack.  At one point I even went so far as to email Bob Giraldi, who directed the video, to see if he could provide me with any location information, but he, unfortunately, never wrote back.  Not usually one to give up, I actually thought our hunt was pretty much dead in the water, until last week when I mentioned the quest to my friend and fellow stalked David who lives in Spain.  David is a huge, longtime MJ fan and I thought he might be able to provide some insider insight as to where the video was filmed.  And, as fate would have it, he did!  David mentioned that he had just purchased a book named Michael Jackson:  Before He Was King written by photographer Todd King.  At the very end of the book there is a photograph of MJ inside of the “Beat It” cafe, the caption of which states that it was taken at a real life diner on Fifth Street in what David said was the “Five Cents” area of Los Angeles.  Well, I mentioned that info to Mike while we were out stalking this past Friday and, after first stopping by the set of CSI: Miami and then the Academy Awards red carpet, the two of us immediately headed over to Downtown L.A. in search of that cafe!

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Even though Mike was born and raised in Los Angeles, he was unfamiliar with the area which David had described as being called “Five Cents”.  I, too, had never heard that term used before.  Mike eventually called up one of his friends who works for the LAPD to see if he could point us in the direction of Five Cents, L.A., but he, too, was at a loss.  It was at that point that I figured out that something might have gotten lost in David’s translation of the photo’s caption and so I got to Googling on my blackberry.  As it turns out, the place the caption had been referring to is a small section of Fifth Street in Los Angeles’ Skid Row, a part of town which has long been dubbed “The Nickel”, or in other words five cents.  🙂   Once that little mystery was solved, Mike and I headed over to Skid Row and proceeded to walk around the area.  I should mention here that I have always been a bit of a skittish person.  I don’t like venturing into “bad” or dangerous parts of town and I am literally afraid of my own shadow.  So, because it was already getting dark when we arrived in Skid Row, an area which can be a bit sketchy even during the day, I told Mike that as much as I wanted to find the cafe, we’d have to come back at a later date – preferably during daylight hours.   I was highly disappointed that we had to turn around after coming so close to locating the restaurant, so when I arrived home I immediately got to cyberstalking Skid Row.  Well, let me tell you, I just about had a heart attack when I saw the above pictured Google Street View image of the Monte Carlo Restaurant appear on my screen.  With its curved countertop and half green/half cream colored walls, I was fairly certain that I had found the “Beat It” cafe.  And, of course, the very next day I dragged my fiancé right out to stalk the place.

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As soon as I walked through the doors of the Monte Carlo Restaurant, with my camera in hand, one of the patrons asked if I was visiting the place because it had been featured in “Beat It”.  Well, let me tell you, I just about fell over!  I asked her how she knew it had been used in the video and she said it was pretty common knowledge in the neighborhood.  I couldn’t believe that here I had spent MONTHS searching for the location and all the time it had been “common knowledge” to some.  She then called the owner over so that I could ask a few questions.  And while the owner hardly spoke English, she did confirm to me that Michael Jackson had filmed a video there “over twenty years ago”.   Twenty-seven, to be exact.  The owner told me she has had the restaurant for over thirty years and that she was there the day filming took place, but said she didn’t get to meet Michael.  🙁

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 While I had always hoped that I would someday be able to track the “Beat It” cafe down, never in my wildest dreams did I EVER think that twenty seven-years later the place would still look EXACTLY the same.  So, you can imagine how floored I was to discover how little of the restaurant had actually been changed since 1983 when the video was filmed.  There are, of course, some differences, such as the fact that the front doors have changed, the counter has been cut in half lengthwise, and a false wall has been added to the back of the cafe, hiding the kitchen area.  Other than those minor alterations, though, the Monte Carlo Restaurant still looks almost exactly as it did in “Beat It”.   YAY!

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When I got home, though, and started to watch “Beat It” more closely, some doubts about the location were raised in my mind.  The video, or short film as Michael liked to call it, opens up in the diner where two gang members, while eating, hear word of a scuffle and immediately head out the door so that they can join in the fight.

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Later on in the video, Michael enters the diner, which is now empty, and does a little dance before the scene cuts to him getting jiggy with it in a pool hall.

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As you can see in the above screen captures, though, what started to confuse me was the fact that building which appears in the background when the gang members are shown exiting the cafe does not match the building which appears in the background when Michael is shown entering it.

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And neither building matches the one that is located across the street from the diner in real life.

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It also appears that the window which the gang members walk by on their way to the diner’s front door is flat, while the window that appears behind Michael is popped out.

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And, there is also an address number of “416” visible in the background behind Michael in the above screen capture, which doesn’t match the 109 address number of the Monte Carlo Restaurant.  So now, it seems, I am even more thoroughly confused than I was before I tracked the place down.  LOL   I thought of a few different explanations, though, which might clear up the contradictions.  One – it might just be a coincidence that the Monte Carlo Restaurant bears such a strong resemblance to the “Beat It” cafe and the owner and patrons were simply lying to me about it being used in the video.  Although, I am not sure what reason the owner would have for lying, other than to drum up business, which seems unlikely to me.  If she really wanted to do that, why not just hang a sign in the window touting the restaurant’s famous history?   Another option is that the Monte Carlo moved from one location on Fifth Street in Downtown L.A. to another and that the original dwelling was where the video was shot, which would account for both the change in address numbers and the difference in buildings located across the street.  That scenario also seems highly implausible, though.  Another explanation still – fellow stalker Chas from the ItsFilmedThere website recently tracked down the pool hall which appeared in “Beat It” [that will be Monday’s post :)], which, as fate would have it, was also a cafe located on Fifth Street in Downtown Los Angeles, so it’s entirely possible that photographer Todd King was mistakenly talking about that location when describing the photograph he had taken in the diner.  Which would mean that the diner might not actually be located on Fifth Street at all and that I am right back at square one.  I am really hoping that option is not true.  A fourth possibility is that part of the video was filmed at the actual Monte Carlo Restaurant and then the interior was later recreated on a soundstage for some re-shoots, which would explain the differing buildings seen in the background behind the gang members and Michael.  And yet another option still is that the owner of the Monte Carlo Restaurant was such a fan of MJ that she opened up a diner on the same street where “Beat It” was shot and then modeled her cafe after the one in the video.  But being that there wasn’t a single solitary MJ photograph on the wall or a piece of MJ memorabilia in the place, that last scenario is also pretty doubtful.  And finally, it’s entirely possible that director Bob Giraldi had set dressers add the “416” to the front window as decoration, but somehow that just doesn’t seem likely. So, if I’m so unsure about the Monte Carlo Restaurant, why write this post at all, you ask?  Well, I just can’t get past the fact that the restaurant looks so incredibly similar to the “Beat It” cafe or the fact that both the patrons and the owner told me that it was, in fact, the diner used in the video.  I am hoping that someone out there will know more about the filming of “Beat It” and will either be able to confirm where it was shot or at least point me in the right direction.  So, I am putting it to you, dear readers.  What are your thoughts on the matter?  Am I right to be in doubt or am I just seriously over-thinking the issue?

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And whether the Monte Carlo Restaurant was the actual “Beat It” cafe or not, I just had to do a little MJ dance while there.  🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The Monte Carlo Restaurant, aka the probable “Beat It” cafe, is located at 109 East Fifth Street in Downtown Los Angeles.  The cafe is just on the outskirts of skid row, so while it is safe to stalk it during daylight hours, I can’t really recommend going there at night.

The “13 Going On 30” Thriller Dance Location

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A few months ago, I enlisted the help of fellow stalker Owen in tracking down the location from fave movie 13 Going On 30 where Jenna Rink (aka Jennifer Garner) saved the Poise Magazine  party by performing her rendition of the Zombie Dance from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, which, not surprisingly,  just so happens to be my very favorite scene in the flick.  From the beginning, I was absolutely convinced that the “Thriller” scene had been filmed in a building located somewhere in New York, but Owen had a hunch that it had actually taken place right here in Los Angeles.  And, as usual, Owen was right.  After doing a bit of cyber-stalking, he somehow managed to track down one of the movie’s location managers who told him that Jenna’s “Thriller” dance had actually been performed inside of an oft-used filming location in Downtown Los Angeles, one that I am ashamed to admit I was already very familiar with – the former Bank of American building located on the corner of 7th and South Spring Streets.  The building has been used in COUNTLESS productions over the years, but I am sad to say that, for whatever reason, I somehow failed to recognize it.

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Being that the former bank’s big ol’ safe is clearly visible in the background of the “Thriller” scene, I really should have figured this one out.  Man, I’m such a blonde sometimes! 

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Once Owen had tracked down the location for me, I put the former bank building on my very long “To-Stalk” list and finally managed to visit the place in person while out doing some stalking in the Downtown Los Angeles area a couple of weeks ago.  The Spring Street Tower, as it is sometimes called, which was built in 1912 by the architectural firm of Schultze and Weaver, served as the Los Angeles headquarters for the Bank of America Corporation from 1930 to 1972.  After Bank of America vacated the twelve story high Beaux Arts style building, the upper floors served as offices for various companies throughout the years, while the marble clad lobby became an extremely popular filming location.  In recent years, SB Properties, a building development company, took over the building and converted the former offices into lofts.  And while the lobby area still looks much the same as it did during the time when it was operating as a bank, there are currently plans in the works for a restaurant and club to open up in that space, which is both good news and bad news.  Bad news because I am guessing that once the space becomes a restaurant, it will cease to be a filming location and will most likely be heavily remodeled and good news because if it does eventually become a restaurant that means that someday in the near future I will be able to stalk the area where Jennifer Garner danced, a place which is currently off limits to the public.  YAY!  🙂 

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When we first arrived to stalk the former Bank of America building, I did not actually have high hopes that I would be able to see any of the interior.  So, let me tell you, I just about passed out from excitement when I discovered that the lobby area, where the “Thriller” dance scene took place, was thoroughly visible through the former bank’s front windows.  From the windows you can see the vault;

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the main staircase;

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the second floor balcony;

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and several of the wood-paneled main offices.  You can also see some fabulous interior photographs of the bank building here.

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In 13 Going On 30, the former Bank of America building was the location of the Poise Magazine “Girls Night Out” party, during which Jenna’s boss, Richard (aka Andy Serkis) complains that the guests are leaving far too early and if someone doesn’t do something to liven up the joint – and quick – then the entire magazine might go down the drain.  So, Jenna immediately heads over to the DJ booth where she requests Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and then proceeds to lead the entire party in the famous Zombie Dance.  Oh, how I would love to do that dance at my wedding!  😉

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So I, of course, just had to imitate Jenna doing the “Thriller” dance while I was at the building.  🙂  I think it goes without saying that my fiancé was HIGHLY embarrassed while taking the above photographs of me. 

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The former bank is also where Robbie (aka Adam Sandler) tries to get a job to impress Julia (aka Drew Barrymore) in 1998’s The Wedding Singer.  When the bank’s manager, who was played by Kevin Nealon, turns him down, Robbie says, “You don’t even have to give me the job.  If you could just give me some business cards with my name on it, I think that might help.  How ‘bout this – I’ll give you ten singing lessons for one business card.  Please?”  LOL 

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In 1995’s Se7en, the bank building was dressed to look like a library and appeared in the scene in which Detective Lt. William Somerset (aka Morgan Freeman) researches the Seven Deadly Sins.

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In L.A. Story, the bank stood in for the Fourth Reich Bank of Hamburg where Steve Martin is forced to show his financial records to the owner of the impossible-to-get-into L’Idiot Restaurant in order to secure a dinner reservation there. 

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In 1994’s The Mask, the bank was used as Edge City Savings and Loan where Stanley Ipkiss (aka Jim Carrey) worked.

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In Spiderman 2, the bank appeared up as the spot where Peter Parker (aka Tobey Maguire) takes his Aunt May (aka Rosemary Harris) to apply for a loan from a bank teller played by none other than The Soup’s Joel McHale.  🙂  While the two are in the bank, Doc Ock shows up to rob the place and almost succeeds until Spiderman steps in and, of course, saves the day. 

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In Ghost, the bank was used as the place where Sam Wheat (aka Patrick Swayze) takes Oda Mae Brown (aka Whoopi Goldberg) to fill out a signature card under the false name of Rita Miller.

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In Blow, the former Bank of America building stood in for the Bank of Panama in one very brief scene.

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In The Prestige, the building shows up twice.  First, the bank lobby appeared as the courtroom where Alfred Borden’s (aka Christian Bale’s) murder trial is held.

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And second, the bank’s second floor mezzanine area stood in for the bar where Robert Angier (aka Hugh Jackman) shared a drink with Cutter (aka Michael Caine).

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The bank also appeared in the movies Marathon Man, Traffic, Fatal Vision, Prizzi’s Honor, St. Elmo’s Fire, All of Me, and in episodes of 24, Cagney & Lacey, Hill Street Blues, Matlock, and Hardcastle & McCormick.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The old Bank of America building is located at 650 South Spring Street in Downtown Los Angeles.  The best place to catch a glimpse of the interior of the property is through the windows located on either side of the building’s front doors, which are pictured above.

Pacific Dining Car

My father is currently in the hospital (again) as he just had some minor surgery – and no, it was not caused by me dragging him to filming locations! 🙂 As they say, though, every cloud has a silver lining! Not only has his hospital been used as a filming location, but there is a restaurant across the street from the hospital that is a favorite of film producers. My dad is staying at Good Samaritan Hospital in Downtown Los Angeles. Even though there are countless vacant hospitals all across LA that are only utilized for filming, for some reason Good Sam still shows up in productions now and again. The exterior was shown in an earlier episode of The Closer, it was featured on Dr. 90210 and a movie was filmed there last winter, but unfortunately I am not sure what movie it was.

Across the street from Good Sam is a restaurant that has been around since 1921 called Pacific Dining Car. Fred and Grace Cook opened the restaurant in a replica of train dining car on a rented plot of land in Downtown Los Angeles in 1921. The idea was based on a restaurant that they had visited in New York that was also situated in an authentic railway dining car. Owned and operated by the same family since its opening, Pacific Dining Car serves up some AMAZING food in a truly unique environment. You definitely feel like you are stepping back in time when you enter the restaurant.

The restaurant has long been a favorite of novelist James Elroy, author of Training Day, LA Confidential, Black Dhalia and the screenplay for the 2008 movie Street Kings. James usually writes about the LA area and often features Pacific Dining Car in his novels. Consequently the restaurant often shows up in the movies based on his books. The movie Training Day was filmed in the Pacific Dining Car, as was Street Kings with Keanu Reeves. Both movies were filmed in the Pacific Northwest Room of the restaurant. The scene from Training Day when Denzel Washington meets with the “three wise men” was filmed at the booth I am standing in front of in the picture to the left. (IMDB actually states that Training Day was filmed at the Santa Monica location of the Pacific Dining Car, but that information is incorrect.) My dad happened to also be in the hospital during the filming of Street Kings and I got to watch part of it be filmed. 🙂 I got to see Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, and Jay Mohr. I was HIGHLY disappointed, though, that I didn’t get to see Chris Evans, who also starred in the movie. He is such a cutie!! The security guard on duty during the filming was slightly disgusted with the fact that I was standing around watching the filming of Street Kings while my father was in the hospital. What can I say – once a stalker, always a stalker! 🙂

If you dine at Pacific Dining Car, chances are you’ll get to see a celeb. Famous patrons have flocked to the restaurant since its opening – including Louella Parsons, Mae West, Mickey Cohen, George Raft, Sid Ziff, all of Linkin Park, Nicholas Cage and Johnny Depp who just threw a party in the Astor Room of the restaurant.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It:: The Pacific Dining Car is located at 1210 West 6th Street in Downtown LA. You can call (213)483-6000 to make reservations. They are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and you can order breakfast there all day long! Pacific Dining Car is in a bit of a sketchy neighborhood and I recommend that you utilize their valet parking and exercise caution at night. Their sister restaurant is located in Santa Monica at 2700 Wilshire Boulevard, but that restaurant is only 18 years old and not as charming. Both restaurants are pricey and will run you about $50 a person for a meal. If you want a cheaper option, head to the restaurant’s full bar for a drink.

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