La Canada Flintridge – IAMNOTASTALKER

June 28, 2019July 30, 2019

Café Descanso from “Big Little Lies”

My mom recently commented to me that the latest season of Big Little Lies is shot very tightly, which she finds surprising being that director Andrea Arnold sought to feature more of the great outdoors this time around. Even Blissful Drip Café, the prop coffee shop built specifically for the series on a bluff overlooking Monterey Bay, isn’t really shown. As my mom lamented, anytime the ladies dine there, all that can really be seen are the chairs. Odd considering the strikingly dramatic views that would be visible if the camera just panned back slightly. One spot we are getting more of a glimpse of (though not by much) is Café Descanso, a casual outdoor eatery located at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge. Though I would have recognized the restaurant on sight having frequented the gardens many a time in the past, I was lucky enough to interview Big Little Lies’ insanely talented production designer John Paino a few months back (which I’m still pinching myself over!) as part of an article I wrote for the June issue of Los Angeles magazine and during our chat, he mentioned its Season 2 cameo. I didn’t realize just how much the place was going to be featured, though, and have been pleasantly surprised to see it pop up in every episode that has aired as of yet, sometimes more than once! So I just had to pop by for a quick stalk while driving through the area recently.

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I covered the history of Descanso Gardens way back when in a May 2009 post (I’m going to have to update that one soon!), so I’ll spare you a recap here. Suffice it to say the 160-acre site is a bucolic wonderland of lush landscapes which include a rosarium, an oak forest, koi ponds, and a Japanese tea garden. The venue charges a meager $9 admission fee, as opposed to The Huntington’s $25, so it does get pretty significantly crowded, something I bemoaned in my previous post. Regardless of the crowds, though, Descanso is beautiful.

The property boasts two onsite dining options – Maple, an upscale indoor eatery, and Café Descanso (pictured below), a walk-up window deli/bakery connected to a large outdoor patio. Both are operated by the Patina Restaurant Group.

The offerings at Café Descanso include pastries, coffees, salads, sandwiches, beer, wine and more.

I did not sample any of the fare while there, so I can’t say whether it is good or not, but the atmosphere sure is stellar!

Judging by the crowds, though (the line to the walk-up window never seemed to wane), I’d say the food must be pretty tasty.

Bonus – because the café is situated outside of Descanso’s entrance, admission is not required to dine there! (The same is true of Maple.)

Café Descanso is a truly idyllic little spot and, with its mature foliage, definitely has a Monterey feel, so it is not surprising that it came to be used on Big Little Lies.

In the series’ Season 2 opener, ”What Have They Done?”, Nathan Carlson (James Tupper) runs into Ed Mackenzie (Adam Scott) at the eatery and asks him to take his wife, Bonnie Carlson (Zoë Kravitz), out to lunch in the hopes of getting her to open up since “she’s gone missing in mental action.”

Unfortunately, I failed to bring screen captures with me on this particular stalk, so my photos above and below are from slightly different angles from which the scene was shot.

In the second episode of Season 2, titled “Tell-Tale Hearts,” Renata Klein (Laura Dern) tells Madeline Martha Mackenzie (Reese Witherspoon) about her husband’s financial misdeeds while at Café Descanso.

Again, my photos are slightly off angle-wise.

Later in that same episode, Ed and Nathan run into each other once again at the café and almost come to blows.

That particular scene was shot by the eatery’s walk-up window, which was changed a bit for the shoot. Not only was a menu board removed, but a sugar and creamer station were positioned at the forefront of the space, I believe, to make it appear to be more of a coffee shop than a restaurant.

In “The End of the World,” Madeline stumbles upon Ed and Bonnie having coffee together at Descanso Café.

Needless to say, she does not take the sighting well.

And in “She Knows,” Madeline and Renata run into Detective Adrienne Quinlan (Merrin Dungey) there.

I am fairly certain Café Descanso will be featured in additional Season 2 episodes and will update this post accordingly.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Café Descanso, from the second season of Big Little Lies, can be found at Descanso Gardens which is located at 1418 Descanso Drive in La Cañada Flintridge. You can visit the garden’s official website here. The café, which is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is situated past the venue’s ticketing area, but is outside of the actual entrance, so admission is not required to dine there.

November 5, 2015October 27, 2015

New “L.A.” Mag Post – The “Hot to Get Away with Murder” Castle

Don’t forget to read today’s Scene it Before post for Los Angeles magazine. It’s about the castle that has been featured this season on How to Get Away with Murder. My articles typically get published in the early afternoon hours.

February 22, 2012February 21, 2012

The Interior of the “Bruce Almighty” Party House

In honor of my girl Jen Aniston receiving the 2,642^nd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today (a ceremony that I will actually not be attending because, after the debacle that was the Horrible Bosses premiere this past summer, I have a severe aversion to any event that has the potential of being too crowded or too chaotic), I thought that I would blog about a location from her 2003 romantic comedy Bruce Almighty. As I mentioned this past July in my post about the Stern House in Pasadena, which stood in for the exterior of the supposed Buffalo, New York-area Vanderbilt Estate where the Channel 7 news team threw a party in honor of Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) in the flick, I was fairly certain that a different property had been used for the interior. And for the past seven months or so, I had been just a wee-bit obsessed with tracking down that interior. Unfortunately though, while I searched through countless real estate listings and location websites during my hunt, I had come up completely empty-handed.

The most memorable aspect of the interior of the Bruce Almighty party house was the two-story front entrance foyer and its dual curving staircases.

Back in July, while researching the Stern House, I had come across a picture of Jen sitting at the foot of one of those staircases on IMDB’s Bruce Almighty photo page and, it will come as no surprise, that it soon became embedded in my memory.

So when I spotted that very same staircase pop up in the mansion belonging to wealthy steel businessman Henry Rearden (Grant Bowler) in the 2011 movie Atlas Shrugged: Part I a couple of weeks ago, I just about died! I, of course, immediately started doing research on Atlas Shrugged filming locations (in fact, I did not even finish watching the film, I became so obsessed!) and fairly quickly found an article in which a commenter had stated that Frank’s residence was located in La Canada Flintridge, across the street from the 2011 Pasadena Showcase House of Design. And while it would seem that it would be fairly easy to track down the 2011 Showcase House, for whatever maddening reason, I could not find it anywhere! Fortunately, after spending countless hours searching by myself, I decided to enlist the help of fellow stalker Mike, from MovieShotsLA, who texted me back a few minutes later with an address. THANK YOU, Mike! So, this past Monday afternoon, while the two of us were out doing some stalking in the San Gabriel Valley, we ran right over there to take some pics.

In real life, the estate, which was originally built in 1993 by architect Wayne Siggard, boasts 5 bedrooms, 7 baths, a whopping 11,700 square feet of living space!!!, and an almost 2-acre plot of land. The mansion, which, as you can see above, is pretty darn spectacular, is currently listed on MLS for a cool $7,950,000, although it does look like a sale might be pending. You can visit the home’s real estate website here. Oh, what I would not give to see the inside of that place in person!

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In Bruce Almighty, the interior of the mansion was used extensively during the party scene and the master bedroom area was where Grace Connelly (Jennifer Aniston) caught Bruce in a passionate embrace with his “Spanish-accented” co-anchor, Susan Ortega (Catherine Bell).

The estate was also used extensively in Atlas Shrugged: Part I. Both the exterior . . .

. . . and the interior of the property appeared in the movie.

And the very same bedroom where Bruce and Susan kissed in Bruce Almighty was also featured as the bedroom of Henry and his wife, Lillian Rearden (Rebecca Wisocky), in Atlas Shrugged.

Photographs of the magnificent stairwell that I spent over seven months searching for are pictured above. Sigh! What I wouldn’t give to sit on them to pose for a photograph like Jen did!

Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for finding this location! Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The interior of the Bruce Almighty party house, aka Henry Rearden’s mansion from Atlas Shrugged: Part I, is located at 4158 Commonwealth Avenue in La Canada Flintridge.

January 23, 2012January 23, 2012

Chez Cherie Cooking School from “I Love New York”

This year for Christmas, I decided to gift the Grim Cheaper with tickets to a cooking class. The GC is an absolutely FABULOUS cook, while I, on the other hand, can hardly crack an egg, as I mentioned in my January 2010 post about the home where Julia Child grew up. So I thought that taking a class together would be a fabulous opportunity for him to pick up some new tricks and for me to (possibly) learn some basics. After doing extensive research online, I came across Cherie Mercer Twohy’s Chez Cherie cooking school in La Canada Flintridge and became a bit enamored of the place. Most of Cherie’s classes are taught demonstration-style, rather than hands-on, and students are not only encouraged to bring a bottle of wine to enjoy during the lesson, but afterwards, the entire group gathers together to dine on the feast that Cherie has just created. More than simply courses, Cherie’s lessons sounded like full-on experiences, so I immediately signed us up for her Cold Weather Cooking Class, which we attended on the evening on January 10th. And, let me tell you, we had an absolute blast!

The moment we walked through Chez Cherie’s front door we were greeted by Cherie’s husband, who, taking note of the champagne bottle in the GC’s hand, immediately handed over two champagne glasses. It was then that I realized this was my kind of place. Winking smile We were then led to the adorable kitchen area, where chairs were set up classroom-style for the 30 students in attendance. (At the time, I did not realize that the school was a filming location, so I, unfortunately, did not take any photographs before or during the lesson.)

When we entered the kitchen, my eye, of course, immediately went to the various celebrity photographs displayed on the wall and I just about fell over when I saw that Cherie had taken not one, but TWO pictures with the grande dame of cooking herself, Julia Child! How incredibly cool is that?? (That is also Jacques Pepin posing with Julia and Cherie in the photograph on the right.)

Cherie also had pictures with Paula Deen and her husband, Michael Groover;

Season 6 Top Chef finalist Kevin Gillespie;

and No Reservations’ Anthony Bourdain. Love it!

On our menu for the evening were the following dishes: Pomegranate-Braised Short Ribs, Parsnip Mashed Potatoes, Spanish Flavors Meatloaf with Romesco Glaze, Pork and Pumpkin Chili, and Sticky Caramel Pudding – the recipes for which were authored by Cherie herself. And I have to say that, even though I am not a fan of pork or red meat, I loved ALL of the offerings – even the short ribs! The class, which lasted about two hours, was thoroughly entertaining, as well, and because it was demonstration-style, I was able to really pay attention and felt like I learned quite a bit – as much as any non-domestic goddess like myself could be expected to learn, anyway. Winking smile The GC even picked up a few tricks of the trade to add to his extensive repertoire. All in all, we had a fabulous evening and I am fairly certain that we will be attending classes at Chez Cherie on a regular basis from now on. I am dying to enroll in the hands-on Romantic Dinner for Two lesson being offered on Valentine’s Day, but I am not sure that the GC will fork over the $170 tuition cost. (Pictured above is Chez Cherie’s absolutely ADORABLE dining area where we ate our meal.)

Cherie Mercer Twohy actually began her culinary career later in life. After her three children were of school-age, she decided to enroll in the California School of Culinary Arts where she received her Professional Culinary Arts diploma. Shortly thereafter, she went to work as an instructor at HomeChef Pasadena. When the cooking school suddenly and unexpectedly went out of business, Cherie took matters into her own hands by leasing a demonstration kitchen (on her own dime) to finish out a 12-week cooking series, which her beloved students had paid for in advance. She founded Chez Cherie in 2000 on the belief that cooking should be fun and relaxed, and the place has been going strong ever since. Cherie is also a Level 1 Sommelier, the author of the wildly popular I Love Trader Joe’s cookbook series, and a member of the Certified Culinary Professional – a highly prestigious designation assigned to only 300 chefs worldwide. After we finished eating, I, of course, just had to approach Cherie to ask if any television shows or movies had been filmed at the school and I was floored to learn that I Love New York had shot an episode there. (I would just like to make it very clear here that I am not in any way a fan of I Love New York, but was excited to learn the information as it meant that I could blog about Chez Cherie.)

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In the Season 1 episode of I Love New York titled “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”, New York (Tiffany Pollard) takes contestant Chance (Kamal Givens) on a date at Chez Cherie cooking school. Cherie told us that her husband had handled all of the details of booking the shoot and that, prior to the filming, she had no idea what she was in store for. Needless to say, she was, ahem, surprised – especially when Chance and New York started furiously making out in the dining area. Before scanning through “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” to make screen captures for this post, I had never before watched an episode of I Love New York and, now that I have, I can honestly say that it was one of the most awful shows I have ever seen! The fact that there was a second season of it is mind-boggling! While watching, I was reminded of the scene in Billy Madison in which Billy (Adam Sandler) discusses the children’s book The Puppy Who Lost His Way at an academic contest, after which the Principal (James Downey) says, “Mr. Madison, what you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.” (You can watch that clip by clicking above.) I can honestly say that I am definitely now dumber for having watched an episode of I Love New York. But I digress.

Quite a few areas of Chez Cherie cooking school appeared in I Love New York, including the entrance;

the kitchen;

and the dining room.

Cherie was even featured quite prominently in the episode.

Martin Yan, aka “Yan Can Cook”, also filmed a video demonstration of the Master Grade Knife Sharpener at Chez Cherie. I was especially excited to hear this as Martin had founded his Yan Can International Cooking School in Foster City, California – the small suburb of San Francisco where I grew up.

Martin Yan–Master Grade Knife Sharpener at Chez Cherie

You can watch Martin’s Master Grade Knife Sharpener demonstration by clicking above.

Chef Ben Ford, who just so happens to be Harrison Ford’s son, also once taught a blind man how to cut a lobster while at Chez Cherie for some sort of cooking show, but I was, unfortunately, unable to find any information about it online.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Chez Cherie cooking school, from the “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” episode of I Love New York, is located at 1401 Foothill Boulevard in La Canada Flintridge. You can visit the school’s official website here. La Crescenta Motel, aka the Bide-A-Way Motel from Win A Date with Tad Hamilton, is located just up the road at 2413 Foothill Boulevard in La Crescenta.

April 9, 2010April 9, 2010

“The Wedding Singer” Limo Test Parking Lot

One location that fellow stalker Owen has been on the lookout for for what seems like years now is the parking lot where Robbie (aka Adam Sandler) and Julia (aka Drew Barrymore) tested Sammy’s (aka Allen Covert’s) limo driving skills in fave movie The Wedding Singer. And I think I can safely say that this particular hunt has been one of the most challenging and longest lasting stalks that I’veexperienced to date. For whatever reason, no matter how hard we tried, neither of us could seem to locate that lot! I’m really not joking when I say that the two of us looked at pretty much every single parking lot in the greater Los Angeles area, either in person or via aerial views. Owen even managed to contact at least a dozen crew members involved in the 1998 production, all of whom gave him a different answer when asked where the limo test scene had been filmed. Talk about frustrating! Then, miracle of miracles, Owen somehow got his hands on the entire collection of shoot sheets from the movie, one of which stated that the limo scene had been filmed in a public parking lot somewhere on Honolulu Avenue in the city of Montrose. So, that following Saturday, I dragged my fiancé over to Montrose to stalk each and every lot in the immediate area.

While watching the Wedding Singer scene, Owen had noticed what he called a “distinct-looking tree” in the background behind Robbie and Julia. It was that tree that my fiancé and I set out to find that Saturday morning in Montrose. Sadly, though, none of the lots on Honolulu Avenue had a single, solitary tree, let alone a distinct-looking one. Owen and I had all but given up hope at that point when fellow stalker Chas, of ItsFilmedThere, managed to get a hold of one of the Wedding Singer producers, who remembered that the scene had been filmed in the auxiliary bus parking lot at Descanso Gardens. Amazingly enough, I had actually already stalked Descanso’s main lot looking for that tree, but had come up empty-handed. I hadn’t realized at the time that there was an additional, second lot on the premises. So, this past weekend, I dragged my fiancé out to Descanso once again, Wedding Singer screen captures in hand, to track down Owen’s distinct-looking tree.

And, sure enough, we did! Surprisingly enough, even though the Descanso Gardens auxiliary bus lot is quite large, I spotted Owen’s tree almost immediately. And I, of course, just had to pose in front of it holding my Wedding Singer screen caps! 🙂

And I am very happy to report that, even though twelve years have passed since The Wedding Singer was filmed, Owen’s tree looks much the same today as it did onscreen. Sure, it’s a bit larger now and grows a bit more to the right than it did in the movie, but for the most part it is immediately identifiable. YAY!

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Now, I do realize that there are some stalkers out there who might say that this location is “just” a tree or “just” a parking lot. And I get that, I do. I mean my favorite locations have always been – and always will be – film and television houses. (Ranking a close second are restaurants, but I digress.) At the same time, though, this has been one of the most fun stalks I’ve ever been involved with. As I said above, it’s been long and challenging, but I mean that in the best possible way. As my fiancé likes to say, it’s about the journey, not the destination. And even though I was “just” searching for a parking lot – and a parking lot tree – this journey was definitely a blast! And I’d like to thank Owen for inviting me along for the ride! 🙂 So, yes, while it is just a parking lot, I decided this location was definitely blog-worthy. And, aside from Owen, I knew my friend and fellow stalker Ashley over at TheDrewseum would also appreciate this particular locale. 🙂

In the super cute scene which took place at Descanso, Robbie creates an obstacle course of sorts out of cones to test his best friend’s limo driving ability before he will allow Julia to hire him for her upcoming nuptials. During the test, Julia says, “Of course I’m going to hire him – not only is he your best friend, but he’s the only limo driver in town.” To which Robbie replies, “Yeah, I just like having fun with him.” LOL Sammy unfortunately hits several of the cones during his test, causing Robbie to admonish, “You hit two cones! Those could have been people! Those could have been guests at her wedding!” To which Sammy says – in what I think is Owen’s favorite line out of the entire movie – “They were CONES!” LOL

You can watch the hilarious limo test scene by clicking above.

Big THANK YOU to Chas, from ItsFilmedThere, for finding this location! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Wedding Singerlimo test parking lot is actually the auxiliary bus parking lot at Descanso Gardens, which is located at 1418 Descanso Drive in La Canada Flintridge. The location where Julia and Robbie were standing in the scene is denoted with a pink “X” in the above aerial map. Sammy’s limo test starts out next to the shrub located just due north of the pink “X”.

December 22, 2009December 22, 2009

The Martini House from “It’s A Wonderful Life”

As difficult as it may be to believe, even though I absolutely love Christmas and even though I am a huge film buff, up until this past weekend I had never in my life watched the 1946 holiday classic It’s A Wonderful Life. I know, I know, for a person like me, not having seen that movie borders on sacrilege! But when fellow stalker David contacted me a few months back and let me know that he had tracked down a location used in the film, I just HAD to stalk the place – and, of course, include it in my Christmas posts. I also just HAD to sit down and finally watch It’s A Wonderful Life, which my fiancé and I did this past Saturday night. I have to admit that I didn’t actually have high hopes for the flick, as I pretty much expected it to be right on par with Citizen Kane, a movie I could hardly sit through despite the fact that it is generally regarded as the greatest film of all time. So, I was absolutely shocked when I ended up LOVING It’s A Wonderful Life. The movie was funny, heart-warming, and poignant. Most shocking of all, though, was how prevalent and timeless it actually was, despite the fact that it was filmed over 63 years ago. I literally almost fell off the couch laughing in the scene in which the Bailey’s housekeeper, Annie, eavesdrops on George and his father’s dinner conversation, causing George to say, “Well, Annie, why don’t you draw up a chair, then you’d be more comfortable and you could hear everything that’s going on.” LOL LOL LOL For those of you hold-outs out there who have yet to watch It’s A Wonderful Life, the movie truly is a must-see – especially in these days leading up to Christmas. 🙂

Unlike me, fellow stalker David has long been a fan of It’s A Wonderful Life. In the late ‘80s, he even got to stalk the inside of the Beverly Hills High School gym, where the infamous Charleston dance contest scene took place. And, yes, the floor of the BHHS gym really does open up to reveal a 25-yard swimming pool which is housed beneath. You can see a photograph of the pool here. So cool! Anyway, flash forward to about twenty years later when David’s wife bought him a book about the making of It’s A Wonderful Life for Christmas. The book stated that the house belonging to the Martini Family in the movie was located somewhere in La Canada Flintridge, a small city situated just outside of Pasadena. So, of course, David got to cyber-stalking, but, sadly, couldn’t seem to locate the residence. A short while later, though, he discovered a little website called Zillow, which he used to search the La Canada Flintridge area, and voila, it wasn’t long before he stumbled upon the correct house! YAY! David immediately posted the newfound address on Wikipedia’s It’s A Wonderful Life page, but – surprise, surprise – that information was quickly removed due to the fact that no source had been cited. Why legitimate information on Wikipedia is continuously removed while incongruous information is allowed to stay posted is BEYOND me. Not that I am bitter about it or anything. 😉 Anyway, David got into a bit of a Wiki-war with the administrators of the encyclopedia website, re-posting the information each and every time it was taken down LOL, which finally resulted in his posting about the house being deleted from the site for good. But, ironically enough, in the midst of the Wikipedia battle, numerous filming location websites and It’s A Wonderful Life fansites picked up David’s information and posted it online, ultimately resulting in Wikipedia re-posting the address and deeming it “reliable” years later. LOVE IT! 🙂

The Martini House is featured very briefly in It’s A Wonderful Life, in the scene in which George (aka James Stewart) welcomes the Martini Family to their new home in Bailey Park and his wife Mary (aka Donna Reed) presents them with bread, so “that this house will never known hunger”, salt, so “that life will always have flavor”, and wine, so “that joy and prosperity may reign forever”. 🙂 I am very happy to report that the house looks EXACTLY the same today – over 63 years later!!!!!! – as it did when the movie was filmed! 🙂 Even the position of the address number, the doorbell, and the mail slot are EXACTLY the same! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! 🙂

The Martini’s neighbor’s home, which flashes by quickly in the scene, also looks very much the same as it did back in 1946.

A few of the other homes on the street were also featured briefly in the Martini house scene, but as you can see in the above screen captures and photographs, those residences look much different today.

And try as I might, I have not been able to determine the exact house in front of which Sam Wainwright was parked during that scene, but I am pretty sure it is the property pictured above, which as you can see, has also changed significantly. Don’t quote me on that one, though. 🙂

The shot showing the Bailey Park entrance sign was filmed just down the street from the Martini House, at the corner of Viro Road and Lamour Drive, but as you can see in the above screen capture and photograph, that corner looks much different today. The curved tree where the sign once hung is now gone and new foliage has popped up all along Viro Road blocking the view of most of the houses.

In real life, the Martini neighborhood was completed in 1946, just prior to the filming of It’s A Wonderful Life. With the picturesque mountains in the background and the obviously new construction, it’s not hard to see why producers chose the community to stand in for the newly built Bailey Park neighborhood in the flick. As you can see, though, the area has grown quite significantly since the ‘40s.

I highly recommend stalking the Martini house to all fans of It’s A Wonderful Life. It truly is remarkable to see a location look exactly the same in person as it did in a movie which was filmed over six decades ago!

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Big THANK YOU to David for finding this location.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Martini house from It’s A Wonderful Life is located at 4587 Viro Road in La Canada Flintridge. The neighbor’s house is located at 4581 Viro Road. The entrance to the Bailey Park community can be found at the Southwest corner of Viro Road and Lamour Drive. In the shot showing the Bailey Park sign, the camera was looking north. In the scene, George’s car turns west off of Viro Road onto East Lamour Drive, but, in reality, he should have just continued straight on Viro Road to head to the Martini House. The houses George and Mary walk in front of at the end of the scene are located at 4588 and 4592 Viro Road. And, finally, I believe that the house where Sam’s car was parked is located at 4582 Viro Road.

May 27, 2009June 27, 2019

Descanso Gardens

This past weekend I dragged my fiance and my parents out to stalk Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge – another location that I discovered thanks to my new favorite stalking book. The 160-acre botanical garden has been featured in countless movies and television shows over the years and is also a popular wedding venue.

E. Manchester Boddy (pronounced “Boh-dee”) first purchased the property now known as Descanso Gardens in 1937 to build a home for his family. Besides being the owner and publisher of the Los Angeles Illustrated Daily News, Boddy was also a horticulturalist and a commercial camellia grower and he needed a piece of property large enough to cultivate his prized flowers. Rancho de Descanso, as it was then known, fit the bill perfectly. In 1938, he commissioned a 12,000 square foot home to be built on the property. The 22-room mansion, named the Boddy House, was designed in the Hollywood Regency style by “architect to the stars” James E. Dolena. Boddy positioned the home in the very southeast corner of Descanso – which means “rest and repose” in Spanish – so that he and his family would be able to enjoy specatular views of the San Gabriel Mountains. In 1953, Boddy sold the entire 160 acre property, including his custom built home, to the City of Los Angeles, who later opened it up to the public. In 2007, the Boddy Home was featured as the Pasadena Showcase House of Design and was completely renovated and restored to its former glory. The bottom floor of the home is open for all visitors of Descanso Gardens to tour. The Boddy House can also be rented out for weddings and private events.

Descanso Gardens encompasses a twenty-acre oak tree forest, a bird sanctuary, a five-acre rosarium featuring over three thousand roses, a Japanese tea garden, countless waterfalls and koi ponds, a lilac garden, and a California garden featuring Redwood trees, California poppies, and chaparral plants. The site is stunning and extremely expansive, but also, sadly, very crowded, I believe due to its low admission price.

The venue’s beauty has, of course, led to countless onscreen cameos. Descanso was the location of Nikolas Natchios’ funeral in the 2003 movie Daredevil.

Its greenhouse was used in a prominent scene in Minority Report.

And Reese Witherspoon has filmed no less than three productions at the Gardens! In Legally Blonde, Descanso was transformed into Golden Springs Spa where Reese and her partner Luke Wilson interviewed Raquel Welch. The building located just to left of Descanso’s main entrance was used as the entrance to the spa.

Both the interior and the exterior of the Boddy House were used as the home of John Voight, where Reese spends Christmas, in last year’s Four Christmases. Because the movie has not yet been released on DVD, I was not able to make screen captures of it. 🙁 According to one of the Boddy House docents, though, the mansion was significantly dressed up for the filming of the movie and is not very recognizable. Four Christmases featured many areas of the Boddy House, including the front entrance, main foyer, library, and living room. Reese also filmed her latest Avon commercial, which has yet to be released, at Descanso Gardens.

An episode of Mad Mad was also recently filmed on Descanso’s main lawn area (pictured above). Descanso Gardens was also featured in Memoirs of a Geisha, America’s Sweethearts, Graduation Day, Tiny Dancer, Congo, Land of the Lost, the recently wrapped Untitled Duplass Brothers Project starring Marisa Tomei, Jonah Hill, and John C. Reily, and Eddie Murphy’s new movie The Incredible Shrinking Man.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Descanso Gardens is located at 1418 Descanso Drive in La Canada Flintridge. The Gardens are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The entrance fee is $8 for adults and $3 for children aged 5 to 12. Children under 5 are free. You can visit the Descanso Gardens website here.