Click here to read my new post for Dirt about George’s house from Booksmart.
Molly’s Apartment from “Booksmart”
Recently I’ve had to face the fact that my friend Owen, a Connecticut native, possibly knows more than I do about Pasadena, the city that I called home and regularly explored for almost 15 years! Last December, he tipped me off to Oaklawn, a gorgeous South Pasadena enclave full of cinematically famous houses I had not previously heard of. Then, a few weeks ago, he sent me this Entertainment Weekly article about locations from Booksmart. I had yet to see the 2019 comedy at the time, but the photo of the gloriously pink mid-century modern apartment complex where Molly (Beanie Feldstein) lived immediately caught my eye. I was shocked to learn while diving into the article that the retro property, made up of condos in real life, is in Pasadena! How I had missed it in all my years residing in Crown City is beyond me! So I made it a point to amend that and headed on over there soon after.
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Villa San Pasqual, as Molly’s complex is known in real life, was designed in 1953 by architect Lionel V. Mayell.
The property, a designated Pasadena landmark, features striking mid-century detailing, including a bright stucco exterior, hipped roofs, and arresting floating staircases with uniquely-patterned railings.
Oh, and front doors with centered knobs. Why do we not do that anymore??
The complex’s pink and turquoise color combo is perfection!
The sprawling property, comprised of 15 separate buildings surrounding landscaped courtyards, is absolutely huge! You could get lost wandering the grounds.
To say Villa San Pasqual is cinematic is an understatement! The interiors are even more so!
The complex is incredibly versatile, too. It could just as easily portray Las Vegas as it could Los Angeles or Miami onscreen. In fact, according to The Movieland Directory website, it appeared in a 2010 episode of CSI: Miami, but I have been unable to figure out which one.
Per Entertainment Weekly, Booksmart’s director Olivia Wilde and production designer Katie Byron zeroed in on the locale because “they fell in love with the retro peach color.” As did I, ladies! As did I (though I consider it more pink than peach). The site also fit in with their desire to film at a “quintessentially Angeleno complex.”
Wilde furthers, “I also love that [Molly’s complex] is designed to make you commune with your neighbors, yet it’s something Molly would want nothing to do with.”
The only thing missing according to the duo? “One of the cheesy, vaguely European monikers that evoke a vacation rental.” So they added the Le Capris sign – “intentionally misspelled so that it wouldn’t be confused with a real building,” per EW.
In the movie, Molly lives in Unit T of Villa San Pasqual’s southeastern-most building, which is situated on Catalina Avenue.
It is denoted with yellow arrows in the photos below.
Interiors appear to have been filmed on a set. You can check out the real inside of Unit T here.
Villa San Pasqual boasts a couple of other roles on its resume.
Along with the aforementioned appearance on CSI: Miami, I also learned via The Movieland Directory that David Sinclair (Alimi Ballard) and Colby Granger (Dylan Bruno) chased down a suspect there in the Season 4 episode of Numb3rs titled “Graphic,” which aired in 2007.
Villa San Pasqual also popped up a couple of times as the complex where Levi Callow (Luke Wilson) lived on the television series Enlightened, which aired from 2011 to 2013.
For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine, and Discover Los Angeles.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 
Stalk It: Villa San Pasqual, aka Molly’s apartment complex from Booksmart, is located at 1000 San Pasqual Street in Pasadena. Molly lived in unit T of the complex’s southeastern-most building (denoted with a yellow arrow below), which is situated on South Catalina Avenue.
The Lewis Estate from “American Woman”
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.
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.
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.
The unique property, designed by Benton/Park/Candreva Architects, is formed by two dodecagons (aka 12-sided structures) connected via a glass pavilion.
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.
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!
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.
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.”
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.
The property’s real-life pool and backyard area have been featured several times on the series, as well.
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.
The Lewis Estate briefly pops up in the pilot episode of Snowfall, which aired in 2017, as the residence of Robert Volpe (Taylor Kowalski).
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.
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.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 
Stalk It: The American Woman house is located at 17862 Via Vallarta in the Lake Encino neighborhood of Encino.