The Girls Just Want To Have Fun Apartment Building!!

As I sit here writing this I am in shock – absolute shock.  This morning at around 10 O’clock I got a phone call from fellow stalker Chas who had some news to share with me, some very big news!  Are you all sitting down for this????  Chas was calling me up to tell me that HE HAD FOUND THE GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN  APARTMENT BUILDING!   No, that was not a major typo, you did just read that last sentence correctly!!!!  Chas, who I am now probably going to name my first born after, actually FOUND THE GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN  APARTMENT BUILDING!!!!  For those who are new to my blog, the large brick apartment building that Sarah Jessica Parker lived at in fave ’80s movie Girls Just Want To Have Fun is for me the absolute Holy Grail of filming locations, the one location I have spent YEARS looking for but could NOT for the life of me find, the one spot that I was sure I would go to my grave still wondering about.   And Chas FOUND IT!  In record time, too!

I only set Chas on the mission of finding the GJWHF  apartment this past Sunday night and being that I have spent YEARS searching for it, it is absolutely unbelievable to me that he located it in a record TWO days!  And the guy doesn’t even live in the L.A. area!!!!  He has to have ESP or something!  It’s a gift, I tell ya!   And, oh yeah, did I mention that he has NEVER EVEN SEEN THE MOVIE!  LOL  After seeing the ONE screen capture of the building I had posted online, Chas got an inkling as to where it might be located.  And sure enough, minutes later, he found it – right where he thought it would be!  Totally mind-blowing!  What’s even more amazing to me is that he recognized the building using aerial images, as the bird’s eye view of it (pictured above) does not look at all like how I pictured it to be.  Because of the angle at which the apartment was always shown in the movie, I was under the impression that it was a U-shaped structure surrounding a grassy courtyard. 

In reality, though, the GJWHF  apartment building is made up of four separate matching buildings which surround a grassy courtyard.   The two rear buildings have a large space running in between them which was not visible in the movie.  

Pretty much immediately after Chas told me the good news, I ran right out to FINALLY stalk the GJWHF  apartment!   And I have to say that seeing it in person was heaven – absolute heaven – for me!  I honestly never believed the day would come when I would actually be able to STALK THE GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN  APARTMENT BUILDING!!!  My biggest fear was that the place had been torn down, so, to see it in person today was INCREDIBLE!  I honestly could NOT have been more excited!!!!!  And while the apartment does look slightly different today than how it appeared in GJWHF, what’s amazing to me is how little has actually changed in the twenty-four years since filming took place!!!  For the most part, the building looks EXACTLY the same as it did in 1985 when GJWHF  was filmed.  

The main changes occured in the building’s courtyard area, where the walkway and foliage now look quite different than how they appeared in the movie.  But other than that, the rest of the building looks virtually identical to how it appeared onscreen back in 1985!  And it was so very cool to see it all in person!

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This morning, when Chas first told me he had found the much-coveted apartment building, I was in absolute and total shock.  My first thought was ‘What in the heck am I going to do with all of my free time?’   LOL  You see, for the past year and a half, anytime I’ve had a free moment or two, instead of picking up a magazine or turning on the TV, I’d hop on Google Maps and search for the ever-elusive GJWHF  apartment building.   And anytime I’d drive through a new neighborhood, I’d crane my neck looking down each and every side street hoping against hope I’d randomly stumble upon it.  So, to be honest, seeing that building in person today was a bit of a bittersweet moment for me.   As excited as I was, I couldn’t help but wonder (subtle SJP reference there) what in the heck I am going to do with myself now!!  LOL LOL LOL I feel like a mountain climber who spends years training to climb Mount Everest, finally makes it to the top, and then wonders ‘Now what?’   The Girls Just Want To Have Fun  apartment was my definitely my Mount Everest.  🙂   I have no doubt, though, that it won’t be long before I come up against a new hard-to-find location that will keep me up for many a night!  🙂

Big  Huge THANK YOU to Chas for finding this location!!!!!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The Girls Just Want To Have Fun  apartment building is located at ( WOW I never thought I’d be writing those words!) 511-517 South Mariposa Avenue in Los Angeles.