Burning Man’s House from “Major Crimes”

My friend Owen and I share an uncanny synchronicity.  The other night I received an email from him which said the following, “837 Beacon Ave., L.A.  You may want to stalk this place after you watch the Season 7 premiere of Parks and Recreation.”  I had yet to see the episode, but immediately looked up the address via Google Street View and just about fell off my chair.  The very same house had also appeared in that week’s Major Crimes and I had made a mental note while watching to track it down.  As I said, uncanny!  It was as if Owen had read my mind!

The reason Owen thought I would be interested in stalking the residence should be apparent to those who read my site regularly.  As you can see below, the property is abandoned and there is nothing this stalker loves more than an abandoned site.

In the Major Crimes episode that I had watched, Season 3’s “Special Master: Part Two,” the Major Crimes Division gang tried to catch a serial murderer/rapist known as “Burning Man” who was killing women in abandoned houses all over L.A.  They finally manage to locate him at his abandoned childhood home in what is said to be Boyle Heights.  In reality, though, the property is in Westlake.

The interior of the residence also appeared in the episode.

In the Season 7 episode of Parks and Recreation titled “2017,” which aired the day after “Special Master: Part Two,” April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza) and Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) stumbled upon an open house at the property while driving through Pawnee, Indiana’s “creepy Warehouse District.”

I loved the fact that the owner was holding open houses every day in the episode.  He was really motivated to sell!

While touring the interior, Andy states that the residence has the “fairly standard layout” of 12 closets, 3 bomb shelters, 5 dumbwaiters, 2 and 3/8 baths, and no kitchens.”  Ah yes, and there is also a staircase to nowhere and a fire pole on the premises.  Once the couple learns that the pad used to be a holding cell for assembly line workers from the Pawnee Doll Head Factory who had gone insane, they spontaneously decide to purchase it.  Sold!

In real life, the property, which was originally built in 1895, boasts 6 bedrooms, 2 baths, 3,264 square feet of living space, and a 0.18-acre plot of land.  And I am guessing that it does actually have a kitchen.

Though the property is abandoned in real life, I think it is in better shape than its façade would have one believe.  Granted the place is not turn-key by any means, but it’s not dilapidated, either.  I am also fairly certain that the windows are boarded up in order to protect them and not due to being broken.

Owen also let me know that April and Andy’s new home had appeared in several other productions over the years.  In the Season 8 episode of The X-Files titled “Via Negativa,” which aired in 2000, the house serves as the supposed Pittsburgh headquarters of the Third Eye cult.

The interior of the property also appears in the episode.

Detective Michael Raines (Jeff Goldblum) and his team arrest some murder suspects at the house in the Season 1 episode of Raines titled “The Fifth Step,” which aired in 2007.  Only the interior of the residence is featured in the episode.

In the Season 2 episode of The Mentalist titled “The Scarlet Letter,” which aired in 2009, the home masks as an apartment building where the stepmother of a murder victim lives.

The interior of the dwelling was also utilized in the filming, though obviously altered to appear as if it was comprised of separate apartment units.

That same year, the property was featured in the movie Blood and Bone as the boarding house where Isaiah Bone (Michael Jai White) stays after being released from prison.

The interior of the home also appears in the movie.

As you can see, it is in much better shape than one would expect.  The woodwork is gorgeous!  All the place needs is a little Magic Eraser and it would be amazing!

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

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Owen, from the When Write Is Wrong blog, for finding this location!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Burning Man’s house from Major Crimes is located at 837 Beacon Avenue in Westlake.

‘