Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I just completed our second filming locations video – about locales in the Simi Valley area. You can watch it by clicking above or on our YouTube channel here. Enjoy!
Author: Lindsay
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The Racquet Club of Palm Springs
On July 24th, while waiting in line for my morning coffee, my eyes wandered over to a nearby newspaper stand and landed on the headline Historic Racquet Club Hotel Destroyed in Fire. My heart immediately sank as the now vacant Racquet Club of Palm Springs is not only steeped in Hollywood history, but is rumored to be the spot where Marilyn Monroe was discovered in 1949. The thought that it had been decimated was devastating. My mom and I finally made it over there to survey the damage while we were in the area last week and found that the headline had been a bit exaggerated. Thankfully, the destruction was not nearly as bad as had been reported.
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I first stalked the Racquet Club in October 2008 (you can read that post here) and, despite the fire which gutted one structure and harmed three others, it looks much the same today as it did back then. In fact, while I was there with my mom, I could not figure out which of the buildings had been lost in the blaze. It was not until I got home and compared aerial views to news photographs that I was able to pinpoint it. The edifice destroyed was a two-story structure comprised of hotel rooms that had been built years after the Racquet Club initially opened. It is denoted with a pink arrow below. Thankfully, the property’s pool, its infamous Bamboo Room restaurant (where the Bloody Mary was invented), the bungalows and the Albert Frey-designed Schiff House remain intact.
That being said, the structures that do still stand are not in great shape and haven’t been for years.
The members-only Racquet Club of Palm Springs was founded by actors Charlie Farrell and Ralph Bellamy (who played James Morse in Pretty Woman) in 1934. At the time, the 53-acre site consisted of two tennis courts and a snack bar. Bellamy and Farrell sold off a majority of the land shortly after the club’s opening, leaving behind 11 acres. A pool was added to the property in 1935, the Bamboo Room in 1937 and 35 guest cottages in 1946.
Due to the fact that the public was kept out, the Racquet Club became an instant celebrity hot spot. Such stars as Audrey Hepburn, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, John Barrymore, Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Debbie Reynolds, Eddie Fisher, Elizabeth Taylor, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Carole Lombard, Clark Gable, Rita Hayworth, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh all spent time there. Their goings-on were reportedly quite raucous – so much so that The Charles Farrell Show, a television program based upon the club’s revelries, soon hit the airwaves. (The pictures below were taken during my 2008 visit.)
Legend has it that my girl Miss Marilyn Monroe was discovered by the Racquet Club of Palm Springs’ pool. (You can see the pool in the pictures below, which were also taken during my 2008 stalk.) As the story goes, photographer Bruno Bernard brought a blue bikini-clad Marilyn to the club as his guest and snapped images of her standing in heels on the property’s diving board. It did not take long for William Morris agent Johnny Hyde to sit up and take notice. He became enamored with the young starlet and quickly took her under his wing. The rest is history. You can read a story about the Racquet Club encounter, told by Bernard’s daughter, here.
The Racquet Club went through a succession of different owners in its later years and, though its popularity had waned, it continued to be successful for the most part. In 1977, the site was purchased by M. Larry Lawrence, the same real estate developer who in 1973 restored San Diego’s Hotel Del Coronado (another Marilyn Monroe locale) and turned it into a premiere destination. Lawrence did not have the same luck with his Palm Springs acquisition. In 1986, he decided to open the property to the public. The club’s heyday had long since passed, but its loss of exclusivity delivered the final blow. The bungalows were eventually auctioned off to individual buyers. The public areas were then sold in 1999 to developer Bernard Rosenson who planned to turn the premises into a gay and lesbian retirement community. Rosenson spent three years and millions of dollars restoring the historic club, but his idea never took off and the site was shuttered in 2003. At some point thereafter, it went into foreclosure and was taken over by the bank.
New owners purchased the club from the bank in 2011 and, while there were talks of restoring it, it has been left untouched ever since, sitting vacant and dilapidated with no sign as to what its future holds. I sincerely hope someone steps in soon to rehabilitate the historic property. I, for one, would love to sip a Bloody Mary in the very room where the drink was created and jump off the very diving board on which Marilyn Monroe was discovered.
For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.
Until next time, Happy Stalking!
Stalk It: The Racquet Club of Palm Springs is located at 2743 North Indian Canyon Drive in Palm Springs.
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New “Los Angeles” Magazine Post – About Magic Mountain’s Colossus
Be sure to check out my latest Scene It Before post – about Colossus roller coaster from Step by Step – on LAMag.com. My columns typically get published in the late morning/early afternoon hours.
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Malibu Café at Calamigos Ranch
The Grim Cheaper and I recently headed out to the ‘Bu to grab a bite to eat at the Malibu Café at Calamigos Ranch and walked away with not only a new favorite restaurant, but an addition to my Must-Stalk List. Mike, from MovieShotsLA, had told me about Calamigos Ranch years ago because of its appearance in a couple of Beverly Hills, 90210 episodes. And though it took me a while to stalk the place, it was definitely worth the wait.
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Calamigos Ranch was founded in 1947 by Navy veteran J. Grant Gerson and his wife, Helen, on a 15-acre plot of land nestled at the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains. Gerson originally called the property Calamigos Star C Ranch (“Calamigos” is an Indian word meaning “come as my brother, come as my friend”) and operated a year-round Old West-themed children’s camp there for over three decades.
As more residences started popping up near what was once his rural property, Gerson decided to purchase several plots of adjoining land. Today, Calamigos Ranch, which is still run by the Gerson family, is comprised of a whopping 120 acres and is utilized mainly as a special events venue.
The ranch is an extremely popular wedding location (there were three taking place on the premises the day we were there!). In fact, my favorite actor, Matt Lanter, married one of my favorite bloggers Angela Lanter at Calamigos on June 14th, 2013. You can see pictures of their nuptials here.
As we walked through the ranch’s massive grounds making our way to Malibu Café, I was stunned at how gorgeous the property is and became just a wee bit obsessed with the twinkle-light-draped trees pictured below.
Calamigos Ranch has a very rustic feel to it and I mean that in the best possible way.
Even the designated smoking area is picturesque!
Malibu Café, which sits at the center of the property, is a more recent addition to the ranch.
And while food is served there (excellent food, might I add) and the dining areas are uniquely stunning . . .
. . . to classify the place simply as a restaurant would be doing it a disservice.
Malibu Café is more of a gathering space, with games for both adults and kids . . . .
. . . tucked away spots reserved for quiet reflection . . .
. . . and meandering waterways.
There is even a boat launch onsite that offers pedal boat rentals!
Um, sign me up!
The café’s unexpected décor had me practically foaming at the mouth! It’s exactly the way I would want to decorate my house if I owned one.
Thanks to its natural beauty and ruggedness, Calamigos Ranch has been utilized for filming countless times over the years, far more times than I could ever catalog here, but I’ll do my best. Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestley) and Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth) attended a Task Force retreat held at Calamigos in the Season 4 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “Change Partners,”
The room where Brandon and Kelly square-danced can be viewed here.
In the two-part Season 4 finale of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “Mr. Walsh Goes to Washington,” Calamigos Ranch was the site of CU’s 28th Annual Mardi Gras fair.
I believe that the wedding of Suzanne Steele (Kerrie Keane) and Kevin Weaver (David Hayward), which took place in the episode, was also filmed at Calamigos.
The ranch was the site of Waynestock in 1993’s Wayne’s World 2.
According to the Seeing Stars website, the television series Bunheads films almost exclusively at Calamigos.
One of the ranch’s many cabins was transformed into a spa for the Season 2 episode of Rizzoli & Isles titled “Living Proof.”
The property’s wooded area was also where a young pregnant woman tried to escape an attacker in the episode.
Calamigos was the site of Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) and Dr. Ben Warren’s (Jason George) wedding in the Season 9 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy titled “Run, Baby, Run” and “Things We Said Today.”
The episodes were filmed in the ranch’s Main Dining Room.
I snapped a few photos of the space’s interior through the front windows.
In the third episode of Season 9 of The Bachelorette, Desiree Hartsock hosted a Western-themed group date at Calamigos Ranch.
The group date took place in the area pictured below, which is located on Pitsch Canyon Road.
Juan Pablo Galavis won the date’s challenge and was rewarded with a private screening of The Lone Ranger in the Calamigos barn.
Juan Pablo returned to the ranch a few months later during his stint as The Bachelor. In the second episode of his season, he treated Claire Crawley to a one-on-one snow date at Calamigos. The property was not at all recognizable in the episode due to the fact that producers set up a winter wonderland in one of the open areas for the date, complete with Christmas trees, snow, a hot tub and a hill for sledding.
I cannot more highly recommend a visit to Malibu Café. The place is one of Los Angeles’ hidden treasures.
For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.
Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for telling me about this location!
Until next time, Happy Stalking!
Stalk It: Malibu Café at Calamigos Ranch is located at 327 Latigo Canyon Road in Malibu. You can visit the ranch’s official website here and the café’s official website here. If you plan on dining at the restaurant, reservations are highly recommended as the place is jam-packed pretty much all day, every day.
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Citigroup Center from “Opportunity Knocks”
One of my favorite movies from my teen years is Opportunity Knocks. I first saw the 1990 comedy in the theatre with my uncle and cracked up all the way through. I have watched it countless times since and its hilarity has not waned in the slightest. I knew that the flick was lensed largely in Chicago and recently asked It’sFilmedThere’s Chas (a native of nearby Indiana) to track down its locations. One that he had some trouble with was the building that housed the office of Milt Malkin (Robert Loggia). I thought it looked like an L.A.-area property and, as it turns out, I was right. While the vast majority of the movie was shot in the Windy City, the exterior of Mitch’s office can actually be found in downtown Los Angeles. (Although, this blurb from Shot On This Site, which I came across while researching for today’s post, has me wondering if more scenes – most likely interiors – were shot in L.A.) In real life, Milt’s office was located in the Citigroup Center at 444 South Flower Street.
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The 625-foot, 48-story Citigroup Center was designed by the A.C. Martin & Partners architecture firm and was completed in either 1979 or 1981, depending on which website or book you are reading.
The structure, which originally served as the Los Angeles headquarters for Wells Fargo Bank, was first named the Wells Fargo Bank building. When WFB acquired Crocker Bank in 1986, the company’s headquarters were moved to Crocker Center. The property then became known as the 444 Plaza Building (or the 444 Flower Building) until the early 2000s when Citigroup Inc. moved in and changed the name to Citigroup Center.
Citigroup Center played the headquarters of the Malkin Blower Company in Opportunity Knocks. The building was only shown in one brief establishing shot, in the scene in which Milt first brought Eddie (Dana Carvey) to visit his office.
The sculpture visible in the scene is named “Shoshone” and was built by artist Mark DiSuvero in 1982.
The 45-foot tall piece, which is painted in two different shades of red, was constructed out of 13 steel I-beams and weighs 25 tons.
The CRA/LA website states that the abstract sculpture “is aligned to frame the Bonaventure Hotel like an easel.”
Citigroup Center was not used for the interior of the Malkin Blower Company in Opportunity Knocks.
Interior filming took place at a building located somewhere in downtown Chicago, as is evidenced by the Chase Tower . . .
. . . and Crain Communications Building visible outside of Milt’s window.
Citigroup Center has been immortalized onscreen countless times over the years. In the 1980s television series L.A. Law, the offices of the McKenzie-Brackman law firm were housed in the building.
In 1986’s 52 Pick-Up, Citigroup Center was where Barbara Mitchell (Ann-Margret) worked.
Citigroup Center was the site of the bank heist at the end of 1995’s Heat. Only the exterior of the building was used, though. The bank’s interior can be found a few blocks east at 350 South Grand Avenue. (Michael Heizer’s geometrically-shaped North, South, East, West art installation is visible in the scene.)
In 1999’s Fight Club, one of the Fight Club members tried to start a scuffle in the forecourt of Citigroup Center’s street-level entrance.
Citigroup Center was also featured in Gotcha! and To Live and Die in L.A, but, unfortunately, I could not find copies of either movie with which to make screen captures for this post. And while several websites state the building appeared in Baby Boom, I scanned through the 1987 comedy and did not see it pop up anywhere.
For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.
Big THANK YOU to Chas, from the It’sFilmedThere website, for finding this location!
Until next time, Happy Stalking!
Stalk It: Citigroup Center, aka Mitch’s office from Opportunity Knocks, is located at 444 South Flower Street in downtown Los Angeles.
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New “L.A.” Mag Post – About Baco Mercat from “The Other Woman”
Don’t forget to read my newest Los Angeles magazine post – about Baco Mercat from The Other Woman. My columns typically get published in the late morning/early afternoon hours.
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SecondHand Wonderland
My BFF Mike, from MovieShotsLA, recently opened a vintage/collectables shop named SecondHand Wonderland in Simi Valley. The boutique’s motto is “Not your average thrift store,” which couldn’t more perfectly encapsulate the place. Mike has accumulated a massive amount of entertainment memorabilia, movie props, sports collectables, magazines and vintage toys over the years, all of which has been sitting in storage for eons and is, therefore, in pristine condition. I was practically drooling upon stepping inside. So while today’s post is a bit of a departure from my usual musings, I thought the shop would be interesting to my fellow stalkers. And yes, Mike does take mail orders (via Facebook and Instagram).
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SecondHand Wonderland is a virtual treasure trove of items from yesteryear. I literally could have played in there all day!
I was, of course, especially drawn to the corner containing movie props.
On display are items from countless movies like End of Watch, Stark Raving Mad, Parkland, Iron Man, Rush, Begin Again, and Memento. (Don’t go looking for any Beverly Hills, 90210 memorabilia, though – those pieces he could never part with.
) Just a few of the Begin Again props available for sale include one of the microphones used by Gretta (Keira Knightley);
and the music award won by Dave (Adam Levine).
I couldn’t resist walking away with the backpack that belonged to Violet (Hailee Steinfeld) in the movie.
There are also numerous movie costumes for sale. I was most excited to see the clothing worn by Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson) in A Walk Among the Tombstones, which hits theatres this September. One of the items up for grabs is Matt’s army green trench coach.
The particular coat that Mike has was used in a scene involving water. I absolutely loved seeing that information mentioned on the costuming tag attached to the jacket.
A second coat worn by Liam in the movie is also for sale;
as is a set of two identical blue scarves;
and his character’s pinky ring.
Seeing all of the pieces in person was thrilling beyond belief, but the highlight for me was viewing the tags that accompany each article of clothing. Behind-the-scenes details like that captivate me!
Autographs your thing? SecondHand Wonderland has plenty! For sale are several signed movie posters, including the Parkland poster pictured below.
For sports nuts, there is also quite a bit of sports memorabilia for sale;
including two seats from Dodger Stadium.
SecondHand Wonderland also carries furnishings, housewares, camera and computer equipment, artwork, Hot Wheels, magazines (practically every TV Guide published in the last twenty years), comic books, baseball cards and vintage records. The shop is like a museum and worth a visit even if you’re not looking to buy. I had a blast visiting and cannot wait to go back!
For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.
Until next time, Happy Stalking!
Stalk It: SecondHand Wonderland is located at 2355-3 Tapo Street in Simi Valley. You can follow the store – and place online orders – on Facebook here and Instagram here.
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The “Clueless” Mall
As evidenced by yesterday’s post, I have been on a major Clueless filming locations kick as of late. One spot about which much conflicting information has been reported online is the mall (or malls) that appeared in the 1995 flick. Some sites stipulate Westside Pavilion in Rancho Park was used, some surmise the Beverly Center in Beverly Grove made a cameo and still others claim that filming took place at Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks. So I set out to end the confusion once and for all.
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Not surprisingly, Clueless featured several mall scenes. In the first, which took place towards the beginning of the movie, Cher (Alicia Silverstone) headed to the mall with BFF Dionne (Stacey Dash) to “find sanctuary” after receiving a less-than-stellar report card. The establishing shot shown in that particular scene was of the Westside Pavilion located at 10800 West Pico Boulevard in Rancho Park. The locale was only used for that single exterior image, though.
Inside the mall, the girls are shown at Contempo Casuals lamenting the crusty demeanor of their debate teacher, Mr. Hall (Wallace Shawn).
That same Contempo Casuals was also featured in the scene in which Dionne called Cher to inform her that they were going to have to make an appearance at the “Val party.” Most websites state that the C.C. used in Clueless was the one formerly located on the sixth floor of the Beverly Center. Some recent research leads me to believe that information is incorrect, though. But more on that in a bit.
Later in the movie, Cher and Christian (Justin Walker) witness some “Barneys” trying to throw Tai (Brittany Murphy) off a railing while out shopping for a leather jacket.
I originally thought the interior of Westside Pavilion had been used in that scene, but, as you can see below, it does not match the mall shown in Clueless.
So I headed out to Westfield Fashion Square recently and was thrilled to discover that it was the right spot! The escalator that Cher and Christian rode in the scene is located in the eastern portion of the mall (on the Macy’s side of the center), directly outside of Williams-Sonoma and Zara.
While the tile flooring has been altered and the stores have since transitioned, the area still looks much the same as it did in Clueless, which had me grinning (ridiculously so) from ear to ear.
Tai’s “near-death experience” took place just across from the escalator, outside of what is now Foot Locker.
I was totally buggin’ when I realized that the benches visible in the movie were no longer there (or perhaps never were). I so wanted to stand in front of one and say, “Car-pe Di-em!”
Once I realized that Tai’s near-death experience had been filmed at Fashion Square, I got to thinking that the Contempo Casuals scenes were most likely shot there, as well. It did not make sense to me that producers would go to the trouble of shooting the C.C. scenes elsewhere, especially considering that they were both extremely brief. So I did some research and learned that there was indeed a Contempo Casuals located at Fashion Square in the mid-nineties, as you can see here and here. I scanned through the C.C. scenes again and just about fell off my chair when I spotted the number 22 posted on the store’s window. And while I could find no such numbers in any pictures of the Beverly Center via a Google image search, I did spot a number in the same style and color on the front of Victoria’s Secret in one of the photographs I had taken at Fashion Square a few years prior (pictured below). Then I came across this listing and just about died of excitement upon discovering that the company currently located in storefront 22 of the Westfield Fashion Square is none other than Wet Seal, the very same brand that took over Contempo Casuals in 1995! You can see a photo of the storefront in its current state here. Based on all of that, I am 99.9% certain that the only mall interior that appeared in Clueless was Westfield Fashion Square.
Clueless is hardly the first production to make use of Westfield Fashion Square. As I blogged back in 2012, the mall was where Michael Scott (Steve Carrel) took Dunder Mifflin’s fairer sex in the Season 3 episode of The Office titled “Women’s Appreciation.”
In the Season 5 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “Christmas Comes This Time Each Year,” Westfield Fashion Square was both where Andrea Zuckerman-Vasquez (Gabrielle Carteris) and Jesse Vasquez (Mark Damon-Espinoza) tried to get their baby to pose for a photo with Santa . . .
. . . and where Donna Martin (Tori Spelling) shopped with LuAnn Pruit (Caroline McWilliams).
In the Season 4 episode of Malcolm in the Middle titled “If Boys Were Girls,” the Nolastname family headed to Westfield Fashion Square to do some shopping.
Jane Kaczmarek returned there (to the mall’s southeastern parking lot) a couple of years later to film one of my favorite television scenes ever – the demolition derby scene from Season 6’s “Hal’s Christmas Gift.”
You can watch that scene by clicking below.
In the Season 1 episode of Desperate Housewives titled “Move On,” Fashion Square was where Gaby took a low-budget modeling job.
And it was at Fashion Square that Tina Cohen-Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz) fell into a fountain in the Season 3 episode of Glee titled “Props.”
For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.
Until next time, Happy Stalking!
Stalk It: Westside Pavilion, located at 10800 West Pico Boulevard in West L.A., was used for exterior shots of the mall in Clueless. Interior mall scenes were shot at Westfield Fashion Square at 14006 Riverside Drive in Sherman Oaks. The escalator that Cher and Christian rode in the movie is located on the eastern side of Fashion Square, in front of Williams-Sonoma and Zara, and Tai was almost pushed off the railing located in front of Foot Locker.
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The “Clueless” Guide to Occidental College
While it is well-known among location aficionados that Occidental College masked as Bronson Alcott High School in Clueless, an in-depth guide to the exact areas of the campus that appeared in the flick has never been published. So, with some help from Mike, from MovieShotsLA, Owen, from the When Write Is Wrong blog, and a reader named Rebecca who grew up in Eagle Rock and knows Oxy like the back of her hand, I set out to do just that.
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A map of the Occidental College campus is pictured below. I will be using the same numbering key provided on the map to identify the areas and buildings featured in Clueless. So without further ado, I present to you the Clueless guide to Occidental College (in order of appearance)!
1. Bronson Alcott High School Exterior – The south side of Occidental’s Johnson Student Center and Freeman College Union (#15) masqueraded as the front of Cher (Alicia Silverstone) and the gang’s Beverly Hills-area high school.
The building, which was designed by Myron Hunt, is shown repeatedly throughout Clueless and should also be recognizable to Beverly Hills, 90210 fans as the exterior of the Condor’s Nest at CU.
2. Walkway – The esplanade that Cher and her friends are often seen strolling along (and where the movie’s infamous “As if!” moment took place) is Oxy’s Central Quadrangle (#126).
The Quadrangle, which is situated directly south of the Johnson Student Center, served as the hangout of Bronson Alcott’s various cliques, including the TV station group, the Persian Mafia and the Crew.
The eastern portion of the Quad, in front of Occidental’s Johnson Hall/Alumni Auditorium (#2), is where Cher offered her father’s “sucky Italian roast” to Mr. Hall (Wallace Shawn) . . .
. . . and where he later shared it with Miss Geist (Twink Caplan).
3. Athletic Field – It is on Oxy’s Patterson Field (#101) that Cher convinces her P.E. teacher, Ms. Stoeger (Julie Brown – yes, that Julie Brown), to raise her grade from a C to an B.
The field has changed a bit since filming took place, but it still very recognizable.
4. Mr. Hall’s Pathway – The walkway leading to the south side of Occidental’s Booth Music and Speech Center (#14), which looks quite a bit different today, is where Cher observed Mr. Hall and came to the conclusion that he was in need of a “good, healthy boink fest.”
5. The Teachers’ Lounge – According to an Oxy employee that Owen contacted, the faculty lounge where Cher tried to decide which teacher to set Mr. Hall up with (and coveted a Snickers bar) was one of the Johnson Student Center and Freeman College Union (#15) dining rooms. Unfortunately, the interior of the student center was largely gutted and remodeled in 1998 and then again in 2013 and the vast majority of it looks completely different today. I am not sure if the dining room that appeared in Clueless was renovated or if it currently remains in its onscreen state. Here’s hoping!
6. The Main Office – This location was the saddest discovery of all. According to Rebecca, Bronson Alcott’s main office was the former Student Activities Office at the Johnson Student Center and Freeman College Union (#15), which prior to the 1998 remodel was known as the Freeman Student Union. The space was gutted during the initial renovation and no longer exists. You can see photographs of what the interior of the structure currently looks like here.
7. Cafeteria Exterior – The eastern side of the Johnson Student Center and Freeman College Union (#15) served as the outside of the Bronson Alcott cafeteria.
That portion of the building looks a bit different today than it did in Clueless due to the fact that stairs and a wheelchair ramp have since been added to the exterior, I am guessing to comply with ADA regulations.
The cafeteria doors look the same for the most part . . .
. . . aside from said staircase and ramp addition.
Had to do it!
8. Parking Lot – Mr. Hall and Miss Geist shared their first kiss in the Admission and Visitor Parking (#43), in between the Admissions Office – Collins House (#19) and Newcomb Hall (#18). Miss Geist is parked in front of Newcomb Hall in the scene.
And Cher and Dionne are standing in the middle of the parking lot, with the Admission Office – Collins House visible behind them.
Again, had to do it!
9. Tennis Courts – Oxy’s McKinnon Family Tennis Center (#107) is where Dionne (Stacey Dash) refuses to participate in a P.E. lesson because her tennis instructor “would prefer if I didn’t expose myself to any training that might derail his teachings.”
The courts are also where Cher and Dionne first meet Tai (Brittany Murphy) and decide to befriend her despite the fact that their “stock” might “plummet.”
10. Cafeteria Interior – The exact location of the interior of the Bronson Alcott cafeteria, where Tai and Travis Birkenstock (Breckin Meyer) first locked eyes, is a spot that I am unsure of. Thanks to the carved columns, paned windows and brown doors visible in the background of the scene, I can say with certainty that it is (or was) somewhere on the Occidental campus. My guess is that it was once located inside of the Johnson Student Center and Freeman College Union (#15), but was dismantled during the 1998 remodel.
11. The Grassy Knoll – The spot where Travis and his fellow Loadies (who “no respectable girl actually dates”) hang out is along the western side of the Samuelson Campus Pavilion/Tiger Cooler (#16).
12. The Fountain Photo Shoot – Cher’s impromptu photo shoot with the gang took place in the courtyard of the Booth Music and Speech Center (#14).
Again, had to do it!
13. Josh’s Girlfriend’s Dorm – Occidental was not solely used to stand in for Bronson Alcott High School in Clueless – a campus building also masqueraded as the dorm where Josh’s (Paul Rudd) girlfriend, Heather (Susan Mohun), lived. The structure featured in that scene was Oxy’s Weingart Center for the Liberal Arts (#17).
In reality, the building is not a dorm, but instead houses an art gallery, art studio and classrooms.
14. Girls’ Locker Room – The locker room where Tai laments the fact that her feelings are not reciprocated by Elton (Jeremy Sisto) can be found inside of the Rush Gymnasium (#8). You can see a real life photograph of the locker room that was used in the movie here.
15. Art Museum – Oxy’s Arthur G. Coons Administrative Center (#1) masked as the art museum featured in the montage scene in which Cher decides that she wants to make over her soul. (The outfit Cher wore in that scene is one of my favorites from the entire movie.)
In real life, the building, which sits at the center of the Occidental campus, houses administrative offices.
It was the structure’s glass lobby that stood in for the museum in Clueless. In reality, there are no sculptures on display in that area.
16. Cher’s Pismo Beach Disaster Relief Booth – Cher and Dionne encouraged fellow students to sign up for the Pismo Beach Disaster Relief Team on the lawn located at the southeast corner of the Johnson Student Center and Freeman College Union (#15).
17. Pismo Beach Food Collection Drive – Last, but not least is another location I am unsure of. Toward the end of Clueless, Travis donated some unusual kitchenware to the Pismo Beach Food Collection Drive which took place in some sort of conference/meeting room. Thanks to its paned windows and the foliage and architecture visible in the background, I am certain that the room is (or, again, was) located on the Occidental campus. Unfortunately, I have been unable to pinpoint exactly where, though. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know!
And that’s all, folks! I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed putting it together!
For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.
Big THANK YOU to fellow stalkers Mike, from MovieShotsLA, Owen, of the When Write Is Wrong blog, and Rebecca for helping me with this post.
Until next time, Happy Stalking!
Stalk It: Occidental College, aka Bronson Alcott High School from Clueless, is located at 1600 Campus Road in Eagle Rock. You can visit the school’s official website here.
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The “Whatever It Takes” Houses
I am all about teen comedies, even admittedly bad ones. Drive Me Crazy is one of my favorite movies ever, I loved all of the Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen destination flicks, and Get Over It cracks me up every time I watch, even though I’ve seen it repeatedly. So I was shocked when I received an email from a fellow stalker named David who was writing to let me know that he had found the two main houses from Whatever It Takes, a 2000 teen comedy that I had never previously heard of. I ran right out to stalk the two properties, which are located next door to each other in South Pasadena, while I was in L.A. this past week and then watched the movie with the Grim Cheaper shortly thereafter. I have to say that I was not very impressed. There are bad teen comedies and then there are bad teen comedies. This was a bad one. Regardless, I figured the two houses were charming enough to be blog-worthy.
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Whatever It Takes is a Cyrano de Bergerac adaptation centered around two longtime best friends, Ryan (Shane West) and Maggie (Marla Sokoloff), who live next door to each other. Ryan is in love with the most popular girl in school, Ashley (Jodi Lyn O’Keefe). He eventually manages to strike up a friendship with Ashley’s cousin Chris (James Franco), who has a crush on Maggie. The two make a deal with each other – Chris will help Ryan out with Ashley, if Ryan helps Chris out with Maggie. Such a unique plotline.
I’ll give y’all one guess as to the outcome of the story.
David managed to track down Ryan and Maggie’s houses thanks to a 2016 address number that was visible above Ryan’s front door in a scene.
Oddly, while the two dwellings are shown together in wide establishing shots numerous times throughout Whatever It Takes, they are never shown individually – not a full-view of them, anyway.
Both properties are extremely charming in person. In real life, Ryan’s house was built in 1924 and boasts four bedrooms, two baths, 1,844 square feet and a 0.17-acre plot of land.
Maggie’s English-style residence was originally constructed in 1932 and features five bedrooms, four baths, 3,096 square feet and a 0.17-acre plot of land. The pad sold this past March for a whopping $1,830,000. You can check out some interior photographs of it here.
Only the exterior of the two homes appeared in Whatever It Takes. Maggie and Ryan’s bedrooms were just sets constructed on a soundstage, as were their two facing balconies, where countless scenes took place.
For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.
Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker David for telling me about this location!
Until next time, Happy Stalking!
Stalk It: Ryan’s house from Whatever It Takes is located at 2016 Le Droit Drive in South Pasadena. Maggie’s house is right next door at 2012 Le Droit Drive.
