Your definitive source to filming locations and all things Hollywood!
The Hollyhock House has finally reopened! The landmark residence, star of Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death, was closed for two years due to the pandemic but is now welcoming visitors once again. You can read about it over at Dirt.
Hollywood’s stunning Villa Carlotta masqueraded as the Chateau Marmont on the fab Paramount+ series The Offer. You can read about the gorgeous property in my latest post for Dirt.
Fans of The Offer should be sure not to miss my latest post for Dirt about the extensive role Paramount Pictures plays on the new series.
Bosch: Legacy wrapped up its first season last night. If you’re chomping at the bit for more, like me, head over to Dirt to read my latest post about the charming apartment complex where Maddie (Madison Lintz) lives on the series.
Head over to Dirt to read all about Lucy’s El Adobe Cafe, a Hollywood staple that was featured in Gangster Squad, as well as a few other productions.
Head over to Dirt to read about the former 101 Coffee Shop from Swingers which is reopening this fall as the Clark Street Diner.
Be sure to check out my new post about Azalea restaurant from The Unicorn over at Dirt.com.
My mom often calls me “DB” for Dumb Blonde. I can’t be offended as I’ve certainly earned the nickname thanks to countless airheaded antics over the years. Case in point – I recently got a request from @nic_fury on Instagram to dedicate a blog post to the apartment complex where David Seville (Jason Lee) lived in Alvin and the Chipmunks. As fate would have it, I stalked the locale years ago, but somehow never wrote about it. I decided to amend that and, since I had never actually seen the 2007 film, promptly streamed it. The only trouble was, I rented Garfield, another live-action/computer-animated flick from around the same time, instead. It took about twenty minutes of watching before I realized my mistake. Thankfully though, while I had the wrong movie, I had the right location. In Alvin and the Chipmunks, Dave lives at St. Andrews Bungalow Court in Hollywood, a charming complex that I stalked way back in 2009.
[ad]
The U-shaped site, consisting of 15 bungalows built around a lush courtyard hidden away from the street, was commissioned in 1919 by Fay Sudrow as an investment property. Per a National Register of Historic Places registration form compiled by the United States Department of the Interior, “The court is an example of an ‘owner/builder’ construction, a common practice in early Hollywood. Builder-built (as opposed to architect-designed) housing employs standard, inexpensive, wood-frame construction with minimal architectural and decorative refinements. The ‘agent’ employed to construct the complex is identified as W. Jones, and the eight-room duplex in the back was built by a contractor identified as Frank Pece. No architect was identified, which suggests that Frank Pece may have purchased architectural plans from a design service.”
That design service must have been top-notch because, “minimal decorative refinements” notwithstanding, the complex is nothing short of idyllic! Each of the 14 standalone bungalows, as well as the duplex units, originally boasted one bedroom and one bath, but many have since been transformed via the installation of an interior wall into two-bedroom spaces. According to the NRHP registration form, the Colonial Revival-style cottages feature coved ceilings, crown moldings, built-in buffets with glass-fronted cabinets, and front porches with “nine unique gable treatments.”
Due to shifts in the neighborhood and severe negligence, St. Andrews Bungalow Court fell upon hard times in the 1980s. It hit the auction block in 1987 and was set to be razed the following year. Demolition permits were even filed and, though they were fortunately revoked, the site was abandoned in 1989. Vandals soon descended, hurling the place into further disrepair. A guardian angel came in the form of the Hollywood Housing Community, which acquired the complex in 1992 and completely restored it, transforming the 700-square-foot bungalows into residences for those with special needs. The new and improved St. Andrews Bungalow Court opened for occupancy in December 1995. It remains in the hands of the Hollywood Housing Community today.
Per the NRHP registration form, the complex is an “outstanding example” of a bungalow court and is “unusual for its size and for the attention to individual detail bestowed upon each unit by its anonymous designers.” Situated just steps off Sunset Boulevard and across from a strip mall with a Burger King and a 7-Eleven, it is a bucolic little sanctuary, hidden away behind a white picket gate and arched hedges. One could easily pass right by without realizing the tiny oasis is even there. It reminds me quite a bit of the apartments where David Silver (Brian Austin Green) lived during the later years of Beverly Hills, 90210, which can be found less than half a mile away at 1547 North Serrano Avenue.
St. Andrews Bungalow Court pops up countless times throughout Alvin and the Chipmunks and, in fact, is a focal point of the movie.
Though the front gate was swapped out for the shoot . . .
. . . little else was altered.
The complex is just as adorable in real life as it appeared onscreen!
In the movie, David lives on the southern side of the complex, towards the rear. In real life, his unit is numbered 1520.
It is denoted with a white arrow in the Bing aerial below.
Onscreen though, the cottage is addressed 1958, which is a nod to Chipmunks creator, singer-songwriter Ross Bagdasarian Sr. His son, Ross Bagdasarian Jr., served as executive producer on the film and threw in many tributes to his father, 1958 being the year that two of his big hits, “Witch Doctor” and “The Chipmunk Song,” first reached number 1. (Side note – David Seville is actually Bagdasarian Sr.’s stage name. Figuring his full moniker was too long to fit on a 45, he went with a pseudonym, one that paid homage to the city in Spain where he was stationed during WWII.)
Only the exterior of St. Andrews Bungalow Court appeared in Alvin and the Chipmunks. The inside of Dave’s home was a soundstage-built set. Per Brian Carroll, assistant to the film’s Animation Supervisor, Chris Bailey, “The entire interior and walkway in front of the house was built on a soundstage at Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood. The director, Tim Hill, did a great job of mixing the exteriors shot at the apartment complex with the footage shot on stage.” The fact that a set was used is quite apparent while watching, though, as Dave’s residence is obviously larger than 700 square feet.
You can check out what a portion of one of the real bungalow interiors looks like here. The production team incorporated some of the actual design elements into the set, namely the built-ins, glass-fronted cabinets, and checkered kitchen floor.
St. Andrews Bungalow Court was also featured in 2009’s Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, though the footage, featured solely in establishing shots, looks to have been re-used from the first movie. It doesn’t appear that any actual filming of the follow-up took place on the premises.
In an odd twist, at one point in the “squeakquel,” Toby Seville (Zachary Levi) is shown walking to his car, supposedly parked outside of St. Andrews Bungalow Court. The vehicle is actually a good three miles away on the 1300 block of North Ogden Drive, though. (Parking in Dave’s neighborhood must really suck!) I recognized the spot where filming took place immediately thanks to the house visible behind Toby, which is one of my favorite movie residences of all time! Long time readers of the site should recognize it, as well – it’s Stu’s (Ed Helms) home from The Hangover!
The interior of Dave’s apartment in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel was also a set, albeit slightly altered and enlarged from the one in the original movie, but no less charming.
For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 
Stalk It: St. Andrews Bungalow Court, aka Dave’s apartment complex from Alvin and the Chipmunks, is located at 1514 –1544 North St. Andrews Place in Hollywood.
There’s something about filming at a real place instead of a set that lends authenticity to a production, especially a period piece. As Jon Favreau said on the subject, “I came up through independent film, where you’re usually shooting on location. I hate when it looks like you shot on a set instead of on location.” Director Ryan Murphy must ascribe to the same filmmaking style as he chose to lens much of Hollywood at real spots. Doing so gave the Netflix miniseries a richness that otherwise would have been lacking. From Golden Tip Gasoline to the Deco Building to Henry Willson’s (Jim Parsons) office, the show truly brought Old Hollywood to Technicolor life, despite being shot in 2020. Nowhere was this more apparent than at the stately mansion belonging to Ace Studios head Ace Amberg (Rob Reiner), his wife, Avis (Patti LuPone), and their daughter, Claire Wood (Samara Weaving).
[ad]
The handsome estate, which sits on a tree-lined street in Windsor Square, was designed in 1921 by architect Frank Meline, who also gave us the Ruskin Art Club, aka Chief Irving’s (Lance Reddick) residence from the Amazon series Bosch.
Though it looks considerable in size from the street, it is actually much larger than the sprawling exterior would have you believe.
The massive pad boasts 6 bedrooms, 4 baths, an incredible 7,310 square feet (!), a marble entry canopied by a 2-story skylight, multiple fireplaces, painted ceilings, stained glass pieces, a detached 2-car garage, a pool, a 0.41-acre lot, and what a 1991 real estate listing described as a “Sistine Chapel-like ballroom.” You can check out some early photographs of the interior here.
In 1923, original owner Jefferson L. Byrne sold the property to prominent developer/theatre magnate Joseph Toplitzky. He promptly hired Morgan, Walls & Clements (who were behind the aforementioned Deco Building, also featured in Hollywood) to do some renovations, including adding a bath and enclosing a porch. Toplitzky commissioned the firm once again in 1927, this time to add a bedroom, bathroom, and dressing room to the home.
The exterior of the mansion is actually only featured once on Hollywood and very briefly at that. In the episode titled “Meg,” Avis and Claire wake up to a burning cross in their front yard, put there in protest of the controversial movie Ace Studios is producing.
Outside of the opulently-framed front door, we don’t get a very good look at the place. So how did I find it, you ask? Thanks to a page on OnLocationVacations detailing a January 14th, 2020 shoot for Hollywood at 415 South Windsor Boulevard, which I came across while researching the show’s various locales. One look at the address on Google Street View told me it was the Amberg residence.
The exterior may have been neglected a bit onscreen, but the breathtaking interior appeared numerous times throughout the limited series’ 7-episode run. I was stunned at the intricacy of it all. Every inch of the place seemed prettier than the last. They just don’t make houses like that anymore!
Shooting inside the palatial estate must have transported LuPone and her costars straight back to the 1940s, the period in which Hollywood was set. Being on location, in general, inspired the actress, whose Avis character was loosely based upon Irene Selznick, daughter of MGM co-founder Louis B. Mayer. In a move highly unconventional for the time, Irene separated from her husband, Selznick International Pictures head David O. Selznick, in 1945 and relocated to New York, where she went on to become a successful theatre producer. She even gave Marlon Brando his big break in A Streetcar Named Desire! Irene, like Avis, was a definite trailblazer. As part of her research, LuPone read Selznick’s 1983 autobiography, A Private View, which served to further immerse her in the world of historic Tinseltown. As she told Entertainment Weekly, “I became obsessed with Old Hollywood having read that book. Every time we were someplace, I’m looking around for what is left. And we were shooting at Paramount one day and the driver took us from Paramount back to our studio and I passed the Hollywood Dream apartments and just the idea of people’s lives . . . Now when I look at the old movies and I see the girls that are, you know, sort of the t*ts and a** in the background, what was their life? Was their life what we’ve heard their life was? Or, you know, was it legitimate? I mean, I’m still blown away!” Oh yes, the magic of Hollywood can definitely do that to you!
For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 
Stalk It: The Amberg residence from Hollywood is located at 415 South Windsor Boulevard in Windsor Square. Judge Crawford’s (Bob Gunton) house from Fracture is two doors down at 435 South Windsor.
Ryan Murphy’s latest streaming foray, Hollywood, may be getting some serious side-eye from critics (as evidenced here and here), but I’ve got nothing but love for it! Sure the Netflix miniseries is campy, idealistic, and not entirely factual despite depicting some real-life characters and circumstances. But it is also fun, upbeat, and joyous – not to mention delivered at a time when audiences most need all of the above! And boy, does it showcase some fabulous Los Angeles locales! One spot that immediately caught my eye was the apartment screenwriter Archie Coleman (Jeremy Pope) secured for his actor love, Rock Hudson (Jake Picking), in episode six, “Meg.”
[ad]
It is there that Archie, down on one knee, professes his love to Rock and presents him with a key to their new place, a fabulous two-story apartment complete with a gorgeous stone fireplace, carved ceiling beams, retro sconces, and a towering wrought iron staircase. Though the dreamy space only appeared in one brief segment, it sure made an impression! Thankfully, it was a snap to track down!
At the top of the scene, Rock is shown making his way through the building’s lush central courtyard. One look at the French Normandy-style architecture and abundance of foliage, and I knew the locale was most likely in or near Park La Brea, a neighborhood in L.A.’s Miracle Mile District abundant with similar complexes. So I used Street View to poke around the area and wound up locating Archie and Rock’s new place at 6412 West Olympic Boulevard in Carthay, just a few blocks south of where I thought I would.
The 8-unit building was originally constructed in 1934, so its fits the late ‘40s-era setting of Hollywood perfectly, though its architecture really is timeless.
God is in the details, as they say, and this spot is chock full of them!
From the stucco work to the wrought iron grating to the door and window framing, the design is sublime.
I was especially taken with the boy and girl silhouette portraits that decorate the two turrets on either end of the building.
It is the complex’s northwesternmost unit, which can just barely be seen in my photo below, that stands in for Archie and Rock’s new home on Hollywood.
Addressed with a “3” in the episode, the door (which was swapped out for the shoot) is actually marked “6418 1/2” in real life.
Though pretty enough to have been a set, for inside shots the production utilized the unit’s actual interior! You can check out some listing photos of it taken by Apartment Equities LLC here.
The space couldn’t be more Old Hollywood if it tried, so it is easy to see how it wound up on the show. I was smitten with every last bit of the ambiance featured in the scene – the candles, the single lit lamp, the staircase, the ceiling beams, the ornate fireplace, and the warm wooden floors. Talk about romantic!
The interior reminds me quite a bit of the apartment where Emily Friehl (Amanda Peet) lived in A Lot Like Love, one of my favorite spaces in the entire history of moviedom, which likely explains why I was so drawn to it.
Pretty much every unit in the building is spectacular in real life, as you can see in the various MLS photos below. That front door, amirite! Sadly, per apartments.com, there are currently no vacancies, otherwise I might be tempted to pack my bags and leave the desert!
For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine, and Discover Los Angeles.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 
Stalk It: Archie and Rock’s new apartment complex from the “Meg” episode of Hollywood is located at 6412-6418 West Olympic Boulevard in Los Angeles’ Carthay neighborhood.