Movie Locations – Page 5

May 17, 2019May 16, 2019

Fog City Diner from “So I Married an Axe Murderer”

I abhor change, as longtime readers of this site well know. So I was devastated to learn that Fog City Diner, the landmark eatery in my hometown of San Francisco, had undergone a major revamp and reopened as the simpler, sleeker and far more modern “Fog City.” The shiny chrome train-like structure situated on Battery Street at The Embarcadero had been a staple of the city’s skyline for decades and a harkening back to my childhood every time I passed by. I was informed of the unseemly renovation while visiting my friend Nat, who lives in the area, in February 2015. Despite my sadness over the matter, since the restaurant’s former iteration made an appearance in the the 1993 comedy So I Married an Axe Murderer, we decided to head over there for some brunch/stalking my last day in town.

[ad]

Fog City Diner was originally established in June 1985 by restaurateurs Bill Higgins, Bill Upson and Cindy Pawlcyn, of Napa’s Mustards Grill fame. Designed by Pat Kuleto, the unique space bore the look and feel of a streamlined 1930s diner, but a very high class one, with the reimagined comfort food offerings to match. Just steps from the waterfront, the site where the eye-catching eatery was erected was originally home to a train engine repair facility. It became a coffee shop named Harbor Cafeteria, which catered to soldiers and sailors, in 1958. After going through several different restaurant incarnations, including Mildred Pierce and Battery Point, in the years that followed, it was eventually transformed into the gleaming chrome fixture that instantly became a San Francisco icon. You can check out some images of what it looked like here and here.

Sadly, in 2013 Higgins and Upson (Pawlcyn had long since dropped out) decided to give the restaurant a complete overhaul. It shuttered in March of that year and then re-opened six months later as Fog City. During the renovation, the historic and well-loved site was taken down to its studs and then rebuilt by architect Michael Guthrie. The new design, which sort of retains its diner shape, boasts a large central bar, seating for 160 patrons, an exhibition kitchen with a wood-fired oven and seven-foot grill, and views of the San Francisco Bay. Though pretty, all of the elements that made the place so unique have disappeared. Gone are the dark leather train-car-like booths, checkered tilework, handsome wood detailing, and fabulous chrome siding.

The revamped site looks like a normal, everyday restaurant, both inside and out.

When I visited Fog City for the first time as a kid, I remember being absolutely mesmerized. I truly felt as if I had entered an antique train car and was dining atop the rails. It was a magical experience – one that did not wane, even as I continued to frequent the eatery as a teen and adult. Sadly, the redesign just does not compare to the Fog City of old. You can check out what the interior formerly looked like here and here.

Thankfully, I can at least report that the food is still as good as ever.

In So I Married an Axe Murderer, Charlie Mackenzie (Mike Myers) takes Harriet Michaels (Nancy Travis) on a rather awkward double date with his friends Tony Giardino (Anthony LaPaglia) and Susan (Debi Mazar) at Fog City Diner.

The film gives audiences a fabulous glimpse of what the exterior . . .

. . . and interior of the restaurant looked like pre-remodel.

As you can see in the screen capture as compared to the photograph below, though the footprint of the structure remains the same, its aesthetic is a far cry from what it used to be.

Fog City Diner was the also site of a famous Visa commercial from 1990 (well, it was at least famous to us San Franciscans), which you can watch here.

And it was satirized as the Fog City Dumpster, a restaurant run by a group of bears, in Farley, the popular San Francisco Chronicle comic strip that ran from 1975 to 2007.

Fog City Diner was supposedly featured in an episode of Nash Bridges, as well, but I am unsure of which episode. If anyone happens to know, please fill me in!

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: Fog City, aka the former Fog City Diner from So I Married an Axe Murderer, is located at 1300 Battery Street in San Francisco. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

May 15, 2019May 14, 2019

The King Edward Hotel from “In Time”

I am a sucker for a grand staircase! My affinity likely stems from the movie Titanic, which I was obsessed with back in the day. Whatever the impetus, I am drawn to them like a moth to a flame. Case in point – while researching the Surfridge neighborhood for this 2013 post, I was led to a page on the Seeing Stars website detailing the filming locations of the 2011 sci-fi flick In Time. As soon as my eyes hit the image posted of the King Edward Hotel and its grand lobby staircase, I was transfixed. The historic downtown L.A. lodging went right to the top of my To-Stalk List and when I ventured out there shortly thereafter, fate stepped in. Though not open to the public at the time, a security guard happened to be standing by the front door and upon explaining that I was interested in seeing the space because of its In Time cameo, he welcomed me right in! Getting to pose for a photo on the staircase I had become so enamored with almost overwhelmed me with excitement. Though I sat on blogging about the hotel for years, when I learned that it sold recently and was undergoing a renovation, I decided it was high time to finally do so.

[ad]

The Beaux Arts-style King Edward Hotel, designed by architects John Parkinson and George Edwin Bergstrom, opened its doors in 1906.

Billed as an upscale “modern” lodging, at its outset the property featured a gleaming marble lobby, mosaic tile flooring, fire-proof construction, and a telephone and hot and cold water in every room. There was also a bar situated on the 6-story building’s lower level for those guests wishing to imbibe. A watering hole still sits in the same corner spot today. Currently known as King Eddy Saloon, legend has it that the space was home to a piano store that served as a gateway to a hidden basement bar during the Prohibition years.

At some point, the hotel and surrounding neighborhood began to fall upon hard times. The King Edward eventually transitioned into SRO housing and for many years sat largely vacant. It was during that time that I stopped by. Though no longer upscale by any means, the building’s elegance still managed to shine through. And its lighting was like nothing I had ever encountered! The lobby’s ethereal glow (which per the Esotouric tour company is caused by an abundance of magnesium on the windows) was absolutely magical, making the space and all who entered appear frozen in a past era. The effect is evidenced in all of the interior photos I took that day. (I promise, no filters were used on them!)

In 2018, the King Edward was purchased by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and is currently being refurbished, its 150 units transformed into affordable housing for the city’s homeless. Hopefully, the lobby will be largely left as is, not only for future Angelinos to appreciate, but so that it can continue to be utilized as a filming location.

In In Time, the King Edward portrays The Century hotel where Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) and Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried) attempt to hide from the Timekeeper.

The film does a masterful job of showcasing the site’s lobby and its gorgeous staircase.

I am unsure if the room where Will and Sylvia stay is an actual space at the King Edward, is located elsewhere, or was a set. Whatever the case, it is pretty spectacular. That ceiling!

In Time is hardly the only production to feature the King Edward. The 1972 horror/comedy Private Parts is largely set at the hotel.

Informant Ralph Macafee (Dan Hedaya) is put up at the King Edward in the Season 1 episode of Hill Street Blues titled “Fecund Hand Rose,” which aired in 1981.

Det. Sgt. Rick Hunter (Fred Dryer) meets his new partner, Det. Sgt. Dee Dee McCall (Stepfanie Kramer), outside of the King Edward in the pilot episode of Hunter, which aired in 1984.

That same year, Lee Stetson (Bruce Boxleitner) and Amanda King (Kate Jackson) check out a murder scene at the hotel in the Season 1 episode of Scarecrow and Mrs. King titled “Remembrance of Things Past.”

The exterior of the King Edward appeared in establishing shots of the hotel where Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering) and Janet Sosna (Lindsay Price) hunted for ghosts in the Season 9 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “Confession,” which aired in 1998. All actual filming took place at the Ambassador Hotel, though.

The hotel’s exterior was also used in an establishing shot of the lodging where Clay (Victor Browne) stayed in the Season 1 episode of Charmed titled “Feats of Clay,” which aired in 1999.

The King Edward masks as the supposed New York hotel where Emil Slovak (Karel Roden) and Oleg Razgul (Oleg Taktarov) stay at the beginning of the 2001 drama 15 Minutes. Only the exterior is shown, though. I am fairly certain the men’s actual room was just a set.

Officer John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz) and Officer Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie) spot a suspect outside of the King Edward in the Season 2 episode of Southland titled “Phase Three,” which aired in 2010.

In the Season 2 episode of Ray Donovan titled “Rodef,” which aired in 2014, the King Edward portrays the SRO where Mickey Donovan (Jon Voight) is staying, which gets blown up.

Joan Crawford (Jessica Lange) visits her brother, Hal LeSueur (Raymond J. Barry), at the hotel in the Season 1 episode of Feud: Bette and Joan titled “Hagsploitation,” which aired in 2017.

Det. Tony Baretta (Robert Blake) also lived at the King Edward on the television series Baretta, which ran from 1975 through 1978, but unfortunately I could not find any episodes of it available for streaming to make screen captures.

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: The King Edward Hotel, from In Time, is located at 121 East 5th Street in downtown Los Angeles.

May 10, 2019May 9, 2019

The Western Union Office from “The Sting”

History in Los Angeles hides in the most unsuspecting of places. Back in 2013, I stalked a small edifice at 118 Winston Street in downtown L.A. that portrayed a Western Union office in the 1973 caper classic The Sting. I learned of the non-descript property via The Movie Tourist Blog and was thrilled at the fact that virtually none of it had changed since its cameo more than four decades prior. I had no idea until sitting down to write this post, though, the many stories the building had to tell.

[ad]

Built in 1887, 118 Winston Street sits on the northern edge of Skid Row on a tiny five-block road that current occupants Stephen and Jodi Zeigler note “has always been a gritty little stretch of urban real estate.” The couple moved into the building in 2008 and opened These Days LA, an art gallery/boutique/publishing office, on its second floor in 2014. Los Angeles natives and aficionados both, the duo comprehensively chronicle the colorful provenance of their home/workplace in a two-part write-up on their blog, Communiqué. You can check out it out here and here. TL;DR? The CliffsNotes version is below.

Initially owned by music dealer A. G. Gardner, in its early days the building operated as a piano store on its street level and transient lodging on its second and third. Per newspapers ads I was able to dig up, the highly esteemed A. G. Gardner Piano House appears to have remained on the premises through 1907, with the Catholic Knights of America fraternal order utilizing it as a hall after that. Its function in the time that followed was a bit less – ahem – holy. At some point, the property began serving as a brothel, or “disorderly house” as periodicals of the day referred to it. Known as The Yale, the site was shut down in 1911 and its proprietor sentenced to 180 days in jail. From an upscale piano shop to a religious hall to a den of inequity – all in the space of four years. Talk about a whirlwind! If those walls could only talk. And there’s more!

In the 1930s, the Communist organizations International Labor Defense and the Young Pioneers of America moved in. Following that, 118 Winston served as several different rescue missions, including Sister Sylvia’s Soul Patrol run by Sister Sylvia Cresswell, aka the “Angel of Skid Row.’ The building was eventually condemned by the city before being transformed into a labor hall/workers’ dormitory. Then, in 1975, it was acquired by Baba Cooper who established a treatment center for Native Americans known as the United American Indian Involvement (UAII) on the premises. I am unsure of the structure’s occupants in between UAII’s departure in 1999 and the Zeiglers’ arrival nine years later. But whatever its function, 118 Winston has remained an onscreen stalwart all along the way.

The alley that runs adjacent to the building, which looks like it’s straight out of a studio backlot, is also a frequent film star with an interesting history. Named Werdin Place in real life, the stretch is more commonly known to locals as “Indian Alley” thanks to the fact that it became something of a haven for impoverished Native Americans during the ‘80s thanks to its proximity to UAII.

Once an intensely harsh, bleak and gloomy spot (as you can see in images here and here), the alley is now a virtual outdoor art gallery. Deemed “one of the most famous unofficial public spaces in the country” by On the Rez author Ian Frazier, the site is known for the vibrant murals, sketches and sculptures that line it, all of which honor its Native American legacy. The colorful works were actually initiated by Zeigler, who has since become the unofficial steward of the neighborhood. Per a 2014 Los Angeles Times article, Stephen “cleaned the streets when no one else would, wrote positive messages on the walls, and painted the street poles gold. Curiosity about his home’s past has turned him into a sort of historian-in-residence.” A man after my own heart!

The dynamic edginess of both 118 Winston and Indian Alley caught the attention of location scouts early on.

The building’s best-known appearance is in The Sting in which it portrays the downtown Chicago Western Union office that Kid Twist (Harold Gould) and J.J. Singleton (Ray Walston) pretend to paint as part of the set-up to the con on Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw). Though Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford) refers to its location as “110 South Wabash” in the movie, the site’s actual address number of 118 is clearly visible above the front doors throughout the scene.

When the flick was shot in 1973, the property was operating as A-Rent-A-Man labor hall. Amazingly, despite the countless changes in occupancy and the passage of over forty years, it still looks much as it did in The Sting. Yes, the entrance is now gated, the façade painted black and the windows altered, but all in all it is still entirely recognizable.

I am fairly certain that only the building’s exterior appeared in The Sting and that the interior of the Western Union office was just a set.

118 Winston and Indian Alley briefly appear at the beginning of the Season 2 episode of McCloud titled “Encounter with Aries,” which aired in 1971.

In the Season 1 episode of Kojak titled “Requiem for a Cop”, which aired in 1973, a policeman chases a suspect into Indian Alley and is subsequently killed.

The following year, the locale masked as St. Matthew Mission in the Season 4 episode of Columbo titled “Negative Reaction.”

I believe the building’s real life interior also appeared in the episode.

Detective Ken ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson (David Soul) gives a vagrant named Lijah (Douglas Fowley) a dollar outside of 118 Winston in the 1975 Starsky & Hutch pilot.

Later in the episode, Hutch and his partner, Det. Dave Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser), race down Indian Alley while chasing a suspect.

118 Winston also pops up in the Season 2 episode of Starsky & Hutch titled “The Psychic,” which aired in 1977. It it outside of the building that Starsky shoots at a kidnapper’s car causing it to explode.

Mike Roark (Rick Springfield) gets pulled over in Indian Alley in the Season 2 episode of The Incredible Hulk titled “The Disciple,” which aired in 1979.

In the Season 4 episode of Quincy M.E. titled “Dark Angel,” which aired in 1979, an arrest goes wrong and a suspect dies outside of 118 Winston.

Kelly Garrett (Jacklyn Smith) and Jake Barnett (Norman Alden) drive out of Indian Alley and past 118 Winston in the Season 5 episode of Charlie’s Angels titled “Taxi Angels,” which aired in 1981.

Officer John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz) and Officer Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie) give a homeless man a ticket outside of the building in the Season 2 episode of Southland titled “Phase Three,” which aired in 2010.

118 Winston served double duty in the Season 1 episode of Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. titled “Tupac Amaru Shakur,” which aired in 2018. The building’s front exterior first popped up as the nightclub owned by Eric ‘Zip’ Martin (Garland Whitt), where Keefe D (Lahmard Tate) is sent to try to get information.

Later in the episode, the third floor fire escape area masked as the East Harlem apartment where young Tupac (Christian Isaiah) lived.

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

Big THANK YOU to The Movie Tourist for finding this location!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Western Union office from The Sting is located at 118 Winston Street in downtown Los Angeles.

May 1, 2019April 29, 2019

Dale’s Party House from “St. Elmo’s Fire”

If stalking is my number one love, organizing ranks a close second. This weekend, I went full-on Monica Geller with all of my filming location spreadsheets and it. was. glorious. Not only did the process give me hours upon hours of enjoyment, but it made me realize how many sites remain sitting in my backlog waiting to be blogged about, the vast majority from my 2016 trips to New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. In the interest of purging, so to speak, I thought I’d dedicate today’s post to one of them – the Georgetown residence where Kirby Keger (Emilio Estevez) follows his crush, Dale Biberman (Andie MacDowell), to a party in the 1985 classic St. Elmo’s Fire.

[ad]

Very little of the home is actually shown in the movie, though the scene shot there is pretty darn memorable (“I’m obsessed, thank you very much!”). In fact, the view below is the only real glimpse we get of the place.

I learned about the pad (along with Third Edition bar, another St. Elmo’s Fire locale that I blogged about on Friday) thanks to my friend Owen, of the When Write Is Wrong blog, who emailed me a long list of D.C.-area stalking sites just prior to my trip. At the time, I had yet to see the film and, when I finally sat down to do so recently, I was left wondering how on earth Owen had managed to find the place when so little of it was visible – not to mention how on earth I was going to verify its cameo in a post. It was not until re-watching the segment while simultaneously poking around Street View that I was able to corroborate things thanks to the unusual property situated across the street, which can be seen behind Kirby at one point.

In real life, Dale’s party house, which is largely hidden from view thanks to the surrounding foliage, boasts 9 bedrooms, 8 full baths, 3 half baths, 6,372 square feet, 3 stories, a formal living room, a banquet-sized dining room, a breakfast room, a library, a gym, a parlor, hardwood flooring throughout, an elevator (!), a fully-finished basement with a wine cellar, a 2-bedroom staff apartment, a walled garden, terraces, a veranda, a pool, and parking for 6 cars.

The 1875 property last sold in January 2018 for a whopping $7.37 million.

Thanks to the real estate listing photos posted online – which you can see here and here (and you can take a virtual tour here) – I was able to ascertain that the interior of the home was also used in St. Elmo’s Fire. Though very little of it can actually be seen and what is seen is blurred due to Kirby’s movements, the party house’s general layout matches what is shown in the MLS images.

Certain architectural details match, as well, namely the large pocket doors leading from the living room to the dining room.

I so love that there is a piano on display in the same exact spot as in the movie!

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

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Owen, of the When Write Is Wrong blog, for telling me about this location!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The house where Kirby follows Dale to a party in St. Elmo’s Fire is located at 3053 P Street NW in Georgetown.

April 26, 2019April 25, 2019

Third Edition from “St. Elmo’s Fire”

A couple of weeks ago, Rob Lowe posted an Instagram selfie taken in Georgetown with the caption “Return to the scene of the crime. #StElmosFire,” and I was instantly reminded that I had stalked some locations from the seminal 1985 drama while back east in April 2016. I learned about the locales thanks to my buddy Owen, of the When Write Is Wrong blog, who emailed me a virtual catalog of D.C.-area filming sites prior to my trip. One of the spots listed was Georgetown’s former Third Edition restaurant (now El Centro D.F.) at 1218 Wisconsin Avenue Northwest, the exterior of which he noted had appeared in the flick. I had yet to see St. Elmo’s Fire at the time, but was familiar enough with it to know that much of the action takes place at a bar. I assumed that bar was Third Edition – and many online sources backed up that notion. When I finally sat down to view the film last week, though, I was shocked to see that Third Edition was only briefly featured and that St. Elmo’s Bar, where Billy Hicks (Lowe) and his fellow Brat Packers regularly hung out, was nothing more than a backlot façade. Reports of which backlot in particular varied and I figured, since there was so much confusion surrounding the subject, it was high time to step in and settle the matter of the St. Elmo’s Fire bar once and for all.

[ad]

Just to be clear – Owen never stated that Third Edition was the main bar from the movie – that assumption fell on me and was then verified – incorrectly – by a few sources online. The list Owen sent me prior to my trip contained numerous addresses of sites and corresponding descriptions of their onscreen roles, and his notation about Third Edition was entirely correct – while not the gang’s main hangout, its exterior did appear in St. Elmo’s Fire. Twice, in fact. The restaurant first pops up in the film’s opening montage in which shots of Georgetown are splashed across the screen. That’s it on the very left of the still below. (My corresponding photo is a bit off from the angle shown in the movie.)

Third Edition is then featured again in a later segment in which Jules (Demi Moore) picks up Billy and Alec Newbary (Judd Nelson) to go for a ride in her Jeep with the rest of the gang.

I find it amazing that despite the fact that the brick is now painted over and there has been a change of occupant, the place is still recognizable from its cameo 35 years ago! Even the menu display case, albeit a different one, is still affixed to the exterior of the restaurant in the exact same spot!

Third Edition was a Georgetown staple for more than four decades, running from 1969 through 2013. You can see what it looked like when it was still in operation here.

The three-story casual eatery/bar served comfort food and libations and was popular among locals and tourists alike. Much like St. Elmo’s Bar in the movie, it was also a haven for college students and featured multiple drink stations, a dance floor, DJs spinning music nightly, and an outdoor tiki lounge. As one Yelper reported, “It reminded me of a college fraternity party with random girls dancing on top of a platform and guys trying to dance with them,” which might as well be a description of Billy and Jules’ regular hangout.

When Third Edition moved out in January 2013, Mexican restaurant El Centro D.F. (the D.F. stands for “Distrito Federal,” meaning “federal district”) moved in. It remains in operation today.

St. Elmo’s Bar, on the other hand, was entirely movie magic. Both the interior and exterior were nothing more than studio-built sets – the former constructed inside of a soundstage at (I believe) Warner Bros. Studio, which was then The Burbank Studios, in Burbank . . .

. . . and the latter, as I came to discover, on the backlot of Universal Studios Hollywood.

An entire half-block section of Universal’s New York Street area, in fact, was made over to resemble Georgetown for the shoot and, when production wrapped, was left intact for future filmings, becoming known as “Georgetown Avenue.”

The St. Elmo’s Bar façade, as well as the rest of the block, popped up several times throughout the movie . . .

. . . and was also featured on the poster.

Image result for st. elmo's fire poster

Sadly, Georgetown Avenue was severely damaged in the fire that ravaged Universal’s backlot in November 1990. Though it was subsequently restored, it was again destroyed in the studio’s 2008 blaze and was not rebuilt. You can check out a map of where it used to be situated, in the upper left portion of New York Street, here. Because it no longer exists, and hasn’t existed in its St. Elmo’s Fire-state since the 1990 fire, figuring out if filming took place there, as several online sources claimed, proved difficult. Thanks to The Studio Tour website and its catalog of historic photos of the lot, though, as well as a 1989 episode of Quantum Leap that filmed near Georgetown Avenue, I was able to do so by pinpointing a few identifiers. As you can see in the still from the movie below, St. Elmo’s Bar sat on a small street that dead-ended at the façade of a large brick townhome. I found that same very façade pictured in this 1984 aerial of New York Street featured on The Studio Tour! Visible in the mid/lower left section of the aerial, the structure boasts three stories, a porticoed front door, and sculpted lips in between levels – all of which match what appeared in St. Elmo’s Fire. The window layout is also identical.

Next to the façade in the 1984 aerial is a stretch of brownstones. Such was the case with the movie façade, as well. You can see those brownstones and a portion of the brick townhome (it’s on the extreme left) in this 1984 photograph, also featured on The Studio Tour.

I was thrilled to discover that the brick townhouse is also partially visible in the Season 1 episode of Quantum Leap titled “Double Identity,” which was filmed at Universal in 1989.

Though shown from the opposite angle and dressed quite differently, the corner store situated across from the brownstones in St. Elmo’s Fire can be seen in Quantum Leap, as well.

When Georgetown Avenue was rebuilt after the 1990 fire, it looked significantly different, as you can see in this image which matches the angle of the screen capture below. Though the townhouse façade was re-created as well as the brownstones next to it, numerous changes were made.

Here’s another shot showing the rebuilt Georgetown Avenue along with a corresponding screen capture below. Why the street was not once again re-created after the 2008 fire, I am unsure, but I am guessing it is because not many productions are set in Georgetown. The studio likely figured it could get a lot more mileage out of a New York scape and, as such, did away with the D.C. set.

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

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Owen, of the When Write Is Wrong blog, for telling me about this location! Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: El Centro D.F., aka Third Edition from St. Elmo’s Fire, is located at 1218 Wisconsin Avenue Northwest in Georgetown. St. Elmo’s Bar from the movie was a façade that once stood on Georgetown Avenue in the New York Street portion of the Universal Studios Hollywood backlot at 100 Universal City Plaza in Universal City. Unfortunately, that area of the lot was damaged in both the 1990 and 2008 fires and no longer stands.

April 8, 2019April 5, 2019

The Queen Mary Observation Bar from “He’s Just Not That Into You”

I am beginning to discover that The Queen Mary is a lot like the Millennium Biltmore Los Angeles in that every square inch of it has appeared onscreen in multiple notable productions. Case in point – while scanning through Adaptation to make screen captures for my post on Zipper Concert Hall last week, I noticed that the 2002 drama’s opening scene took place in the ship’s Observation Bar & Art Deco Lounge. I had long been aware of the watering hole’s appearance in favorite movie He’s Just Not That Into You (which I detailed in a 2014 article for L.A. magazine), but immediately got curious about what other productions made use of it. When I got to digging, I was shocked at the number of big and small screen hits that feature the bar. So I figured it was only right to dedicate a post to it.

[ad]

When we lived in Los Angeles, The Queen Mary was one of my and the Grim Cheaper’s favorite places to staycation. Originally a Cunard-White Star Line luxury liner, the grand 1934 ship is permanently moored just south of downtown Long Beach.

She was purchased by the city after making her final voyage (the last of 1,001 Atlantic crossings) in 1967. Following a painstaking three-year renovation, The Queen Mary opened as a hotel and tourist attraction. The restored vessel is nothing short of stunning inside and out and stepping aboard immediately transports one back in time to the grand old days of ocean travel. I first visited the ship with my parents for my birthday in June 2000, at the height of my Titanic obsession, and honestly felt like I had wandered right onto one of the film’s opulent sets.

On that visit, the Observation Bar & Art Deco Lounge quickly became one of our favorite spots on the boat. Originally a first class parlor (you can see what it looked like in its early days here), the gilded space appears to have been ripped right out of the pages of an Art Deco magazine. Shockingly, during The Queen’s time as a troop ship in World War II, the ornate room was utilized as a dormitory for soldiers. I can’t even imagine bunking amid all that glitz!

For some inexplicable reason, as the ship was being renovated into a hotel, it was decided that The Queen Mary should take on an Old English theme (which explains the extremely odd grouping of fairy-tale-like storefronts that dot the parking lot). As such, all of the Observation Bar’s glam Art Deco furnishings were removed (but thankfully not thrown away) and replaced with Old English décor, giving the space a pub-like feel.

Fortunately, the watering hole was returned to its initial grandeur in the early ‘80s and, though it has gone through some additional revamps in the years since, it remains an utterly glorious space.

Today, the semi-circle-shaped site boasts massive red torchiere lamps, a carved balustrade, a Massacar ebony bar, silver and bronze detailing, maple and cedar woodwork, an original mural that hangs above the bar, 21 windows, and amazing views of Queensway Bay.

It is in the elegant space that Anna (Scarlett Johansson) sings at the end of 2009’s He’s Just Not That Into You.

Back in 1981, Dr. R. Quincy, M.E. (Jack Klugman) discovers what has been ailing his fellow cruise passengers when a woman goes into premature labor in the Observation Bar in the Season 7 episode of Quincy M.E. titled “Slow Boat to Madness: Part 2.” (Spoiler – it’s contaminated tortillas!)

The Observation Bar portrays the New York cocktail lounge where NYPD detective Mike Keegan (Tom Berenger) takes murder witness Claire Gregory (Mimi Rogers) for drinks on his last night of protecting her in the 1987 thriller Someone to Watch Over Me.

In 1989, the Observation Bar popped up a couple of times in the Season 6 episode of Murder, She Wrote titled “The Grand Old Lady.”

The site masks as the New York bar where Garland Stanford (David Warrilow) tells Barton (John Turturro) that Capital Pictures wants to put him under contract in 1991’s Barton Fink.

In the Season 6 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 titled “You Say It’s Your Birthday: Part 1,” which aired in 1996, Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth) and Valerie Malone (Tiffani Thiessen) discuss Colin Robbins’ (Jason Wiles) disappearance with FBI agent Richard Ballen (Jon Hensley) while at the Observation Bar. (Don’t mind the craptastic screen captures below. Unfortunately, the episode is not available to stream anywhere, not even on Hulu which inexplicably has all of the others from Season 6, so I had to settle for grabs from a poor-quality Dailymotion upload.)

Later in “You Say It’s Your Birthday: Part 1,” Kelly grabs breakfast with Andrea Zuckerman (Gabrielle Carteris) at the bar.

In 1999’s Being John Malkovich (such a great movie!), John Malkovich (playing himself) enters the portal to his own head and winds up seeing himself everywhere at the Observation Bar.

The 2002 film Adaptation opens with actual behind-the-scenes footage of the Being John Malkovich segment lensed at the lounge. (I apologize for the blurry screen caps below, but the scene has a lot of movement.)

Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio) also celebrates the wrap of Hell’s Angels at the Observation Lounge in the 2004 biopic The Aviator.

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: The Observation Bar & Art Deco Lounge, from He’s Just Not That Into You, is located on the bow of The Queen Mary’s Promenade Deck at 1126 Queens Highway in Long Beach. You can visit the ship’s official website here. Tickets or hotel reservations are required to venture aboard.

April 5, 2019April 3, 2019

Hotel Constance from “Café Society”

It is always such a thrill to discover that a beloved restaurant, building, bar or boutique I wasn’t aware was a filming location has actually appeared onscreen. Such was the case with Hotel Constance, one of my favorite Pasadena-area lodgings. You’ve seen me talk about the place before in My Guide to L.A. – Hotels post back in 2015 (it’s number 9 on the list). I’ve stayed there with my family on numerous occasions and have always gushed about it, but somehow was unaware it boasted any film cred. So I was ecstatic to recently come across a mention on The Woody Allen Pages website that the locale was featured in the 2016 drama Café Society. A bit more digging led to some additional onscreen appearances, so I figured it was high time I dedicate a post to the place.

[ad]

Hotel Constance originally opened to the public on December 3rd, 1926. Commissioned by and named for Pasadena entrepreneur Constance V. Perry, the seven-story Mediterranean Revival-style property was the city’s most modern lodging at the time. You can check out what it looked like in its early days here.

Perry sold the hotel, as well as the adjoining one-story commercial building situated next to it on Colorado Boulevard, in 1930 in order to dedicate her time to other business ventures. At some point, the property was transformed into a retirement home known as the Pasadena Manor, a role it held for the next several decades. (While I am unsure of exactly when the retirement-home transition took place, the earliest mention of the Manor I could find on newspapers.com was in 1970.)

Though I lived just a few blocks from the building for several years and walked past it often, it was not until it was sold to Singpoli, a Hong Kong-based real estate investment firm, in 2007 and plans to revitalize it were talked about that I first took notice. I’ll never forget walking by the boarded-up structure one sunny afternoon and becoming completely enthralled with the historic images of the place pasted in the front windows, along with the placard announcing that the property would soon be restored and turned into a hotel once again.

It was thrilling to pass by the site in the years that followed and witness the new developments regularly taking place.

Amazingly, because no major renovations had ever been done to the property prior to the 2007 sale, much of its original detailing was intact, albeit covered over with carpet, plaster and wallpaper. Preservation architect Peyton Hall, who spearheaded the restoration, told the Pasadena Star News, “The interior of the lobby has (green-painted) paneled columns, and the mirrors on them are not original. The original terra-cotta tiles were covered with vinyl tile, and we’ve uncovered them . . . and the coffered ceiling and the stairway will all remain.” You can see what the lobby looked like mid-renovation here. An image of that exact same area in its post-rehab state is pictured below.

After the $60-million revamp, the hotel opened to much fanfare as the DusitD2 Constance Pasadena on July 31st, 2014. An arm of the Thai-based Dusit International, it was the luxury hospitality company’s first U.S. lodging.

The hotel’s interior aesthetic, envisioned by Hong Kong designer Joey Ho, is ultra-modern with nods to its historic past.

Check out that coffered ceiling!

The adjacent commercial building also underwent a large-scale renovation. While most of it was razed, the original storefronts were preserved. Per an Arcadia Historical Society post, “The six retail stores attached to the hotel had prior face-lifts and were scheduled for demolition. When the surfaces were removed, however, statuettes on columns were uncovered on the original façade. These statuettes were extensively damaged when someone literally took a hammer and knocked off pieces so that they could be boarded up, with a new storefront.” Thankfully, they were repaired and incorporated into the new design, which you can see almost completed in the Google Street View imagery below.

A second tower with additional guest rooms, a fitness center, meeting space, and a rooftop pool, hot tub, sun deck and bar, was also just completed last year.

In all, the property boasts 136 rooms and suites, a Cal-Asian eatery known as Perry’s Restaurant, the swanky Blue Room cocktail lounge, and many modern appointments including in-room iPads that control lighting and on which guests can order room service or read daily newspaper publications.

At some point, Dusit International ceased operating the site and today it is known simply as Hotel Constance. My family has stayed at the lodging numerous times and I can honestly say it is one of the best hotels we have ever had the pleasure of checking into. As I recounted in My Guide to L.A. post, during one of our visits, while the bellman was walking us to our room, my dad mentioned to my mom that he had forgotten to pick up a special cereal he likes on the way into town. The bellman overheard and, incredibly, said he would be happy to go pick it up for us – at no charge! I’ve never known a hotel to offer that kind of service, but at the Constance, they do. Sure enough, not 15 minutes later, my dad had his special cereal in hand! It truly is a remarkable place.

In Café Society, Hotel Constance portrays the supposed Wilshire Boulevard office of talent agent Phil Stern (Steve Carell), who Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) visits in the hopes of getting a job. For the shoot, filmmakers made use of the building’s Mentor Avenue side.

Only the exterior of the hotel appears in the film. Per The Woody Allen Pages, interiors were lensed at the Brooklyn Public Library located at 10 Grand Army Plaza near Prospect Park.

In the Season 2 episode of Jane the Virgin titled “Chapter Thirty-Six,” which aired in 2016, Rafael Solano (Justin Baldoni) briefly meets with Avery Van Allen (Shvona Lavette Chung) at Hotel Constance’s Blue Room Lounge.

In 2017, the Lounge portrayed the InterContinental Miami hotel restaurant where Charlie Murphy, Cedric the Entertainer, George Lopez, D.L. Hughley and Eddie Griffin grabbed breakfast in the Season 1 episode of The Comedy Get Down titled “Black Wives Matter.”

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: Hotel Constance, from Café Society, is located at 928 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. You can visit the property’s official website here.

April 3, 2019April 2, 2019

The Derby from “Book Club”

They say that laughter is the best medicine. For me, it’s laughter coupled with stalking. While recovering from a minor surgery last October, I hunkered down in bed for a couple of days watching movies. The flick that brought the most healing was easily Book Club thanks to both its humor and the fact that it was lensed in Los Angeles. As such, I paused the 2018 romcom countless times throughout my viewing in order to research its locations, much to the Grim Cheaper’s chagrin. A few I was thrilled to recognize from the outset, including Hummingbird Nest Ranch, which I blogged about in March, and The Derby, one of Arcadia’s most historic and popular restaurants where Sharon Meyers (Candice Bergen) goes on a blind date with a man she meets though a dating app in the film. Though I dedicated a post to the eatery back in 2013, I figured it was worthy of a re-do.

[ad]

The Derby was originally opened as Proctor’s Tavern, a small steakhouse established by Arcadia Rotary Club charter member Hudson M. Proctor on Foothill Boulevard near Santa Anita Park in 1922.

It was moved to its current home, a sprawling brick building at 233 East Huntington Drive, in October 1931.

The restaurant did not become The Derby until December 1938 when it was purchased by Bill Peterson and his business partner, famed jockey George “The Iceman” Woolf, who rode such stallions as Seabiscuit and Azucar to victory.

Woolf filled the intimate, dimly-lit interior with memorabilia and bric-a-brac from his illustrious racing career, most of which is still on display today.

The Derby was hit by tragedy on January 4th, 1946 when George was killed during a race at the tender age of 35, shocking the equestrian community, the city of Arcadia, and the restaurant’s longtime patrons. Though his widow, Genevieve, continued to run the place for several years, she wound up selling it to Dominic and Lorene Sturniolo in 1951.

The Sturniolo family enjoyed a 50+-year tenure at The Derby until they, too, sold to the restaurant’s current owners, Dustin Nicolarsen and Michael Thomas, in 2007.

Today, the place is still going strong, almost one hundred years after its inception! In fact, it is one of my and the GC’s favorite Pasadena-area spots. Though it is on the pricey side, its happy hour can’t be beat!

In Book Club, The Derby is where Sharon meets up with her Bumble date, “bald tax attorney” George (Richard Dreyfuss).

In the scene, the two sit in the restaurant’s main dining room, which in the Proctor’s Tavern days was known as the “Spanish Room.”

After their date, Sharon and George head outside to The Derby’s parking lot where things get a bit – ahem – amorous.

The Derby was also the site of Derek’s (Adam Scott) birthday party in the 2008 comedy Step Brothers.

Though Seabiscuit did not do any filming on the premises, costume designer Judianna Makovsky spent time at the restaurant researching Woolf’s former racing uniforms. As she told the Los Angeles Times in a 2003 article, the experience was “completely invaluable.” Dominic and Lorene Sturniolo’s son, Charles, who was running the eatery at the time “even let us come over and dig through boxes and scrapbooks. In racing museums, they save the shirts and hats but not what’s underneath. Nobody had the britches or shoes. People just didn’t save it. We were thrilled to find The Derby. It brought to mind that George Woolf was a real man, not just a character in a story.”

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: The Derby, from Book Club, is located at 233 East Huntington Drive in Arcadia. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

March 29, 2019March 27, 2019

Imperial Western Beer Company from “Blast from the Past”

I absolutely hate losing things – it is one of my biggest pet peeves, especially when the items can’t be replaced. Such was the case with a group of photos I took of Union Station’s former Fred Harvey Restaurant back in June 2009. Upon learning about the site and its appearance as the dance club in fave movie Blast from the Past, I toured it as a possible wedding venue and it promptly became one of my top contenders. Closed since 1967, the historic and strikingly unique venue is a virtual time capsule of 1930’s glamour. Though the Grim Cheaper and I ultimately got married elsewhere, Fred Harvey Restaurant left a mark on my heart and I vowed to do a post on it. Somehow, I forgot and it was not until discovering that the space had been renovated and finally reopened (after 51 years!) as the Imperial Western Beer Company last October that I was reminded. When I sat down to pen my post, though, I could not find my photos anywhere. I still can’t. Though I am deeply saddened not to have those images, the misplacement gave me a great excuse to get back out there to see the restaurant in its revamped state.

[ad]

Part of the Fred Harvey Company chain of hotels and eateries, the downtown L.A. Fred Harvey Restaurant, which I’ve also seen referred to as the “Fred Harvey Room” and “Harvey House,” initially opened along with Union Station in 1939.

The popular conglomerate, established in 1876, catered to commuters and travelers by offering quick, tasty meals in upscale locations dotted near train stations all over the U.S. The company was also noted for only employing women who became known as “Harvey Girls.” Per a 2009 Los Angeles Times article (which unfortunately is not online), founder Fred Harvey hired the fairer sex because they were less inclined “to get likkered up and go on tears.”

Union Station’s Fred Harvey outpost was designed by architect Mary Colter in the Art Deco and Spanish Colonial Revival styles.

With a colorful tiled entrance,

a large central lunch counter,

rounded leather booths,

a three-story vaulted ceiling,

a grand staircase . . .

. . . leading up to a mezzanine,

and dazzling patterned flooring,

the space really was a sight to behold – and still is.

Fred Harvey proved so popular that in 1941 the need to expand arose and a bar area was added in what was formerly an adjacent breezeway.

Colter was pegged to design the 2,300-square-foot addition and did so to spectacular fashion in the Streamline Moderne style.

During its glory years, the restaurant served more than 800 meals an hour and more than 100,000 hungry patrons each day, per L.A. Weekly.

As train travel waned following World War II, Fred Harvey patronage died off and the place was eventually shuttered in 1967. It would stay that way for the next five decades, opening only for special events and filming.

Though recent years saw a definite want for a new eatery to open in the space, bringing the site up to code proved cost prohibitive. So it remained vacant. You can see what it looked like during that time here.

Finally, in 2014, restauranteur Cedd Moses of 213 Hospitality (the company also owns frequent film stars Casey’s Irish Pub, and Cole’s French Dip) stepped in with a grand vision to restore the place to its original glory and re-open it as a brewery/gastropub. And thus, Imperial Western Beer Company – named in honor of the Imperial, a Southern Pacific liner that initially ran between Los Angeles and Yuma in the 1930s – was born.

The restoration process took four years to complete and, though the menu was modernized and the property brought up to code, aside from turning the lunch counter into a bar, the furnishings and décor were left pretty much intact.

The 1941 bar addition also got a revamp . . .

. . . and is now known as “The Streamliner.”

Of the finished product, Moses told L.A. Weekly, “To me it’s a love letter to our city. We felt responsible to bring this back in a great way and hopefully do the space justice. My only regret is that my father wasn’t here to see it.” Sadly, Cedd’s dad, artist Ed Moses, who hung out at Fred Harvey Restaurant back in the day and even once dated a Harvey Girl, passed away shortly before the eatery opened.

Considering the property’s immaculately preserved state and years of vacancy, it is no surprise that it wound up in scads of productions.

In the 1999 romcom Blast from the Past, Fred Harvey Restaurant portrayed Club 40’s, where Adam (Brendan Fraser) dazzled Eve (Alicia Silverstone) with his swing-dancing prowess.

The exterior, which was heavily dressed with window coverings, neon lights, palm trees and awnings, made a brief appearance in the scene.

The Streamliner popped up briefly, as well.

In 1998, The Brian Setzer Orchestra fittingly shot their video for the swing classic “Jump, Jive an’ Wail” at Fred Harvey Restaurant. You can watch it here.

Fiona Apple’s 2000 “Paper Bag” video, which was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, made spectacular use of the space . . .

. . . and gives us a great glimpse of what the lunch counter looked like prior to being transformed into a bar.

In the 2003 comedy Anger Management, Fred Harvey Restaurant portrays Mort’s, said to be on 86th Street in New York, where Dave Buznik (Adam Sandler) stages a fake date to make his ex-girlfriend jealous. The exterior of the eatery . . .

. . . as well as the interior . . .

. . . and The Streamliner all make appearances.

In the 2005 thriller The Island, the site masks as the Yucca Amtrak station where Tom Lincoln (Ewan McGregor) and Sarah Jordan (Scarlett Johansson) attempt to catch a train to L.A. . . .

. . . before James McCord (Steve Buscemi) is shot off the mezzanine . . .

. . . and into the bar below.

Fred Harvey Restaurant plays La Noche Cubana nightclub, where Abby (Katherine Heigl) and Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler) grab drinks and dance towards the end of the 2009 romcom The Ugly Truth (another one of my favorites).

And in the 2011 drama Atlas Shrugged: Part I, Paul Larkin (Patrick Fischler), Orren Boyle (Jon Polito), Wesley Mouch (Michael Lerner), and James Taggart (Matthew Marsden) discuss taking down Hank Rearden (Grant Bowler) while at Fred Harvey Restaurant.

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: Imperial Western Beer Company, from Blast from the Past, is located on the southern side of Union Station at 800 North Alameda Street in downtown Los Angeles. You can visit the gastropub’s official website here. The restaurant is open weekdays starting at 4 p.m. and weekends beginning at 12 p.m.

March 22, 2019March 22, 2019

The Urban Outfitters from “National Treasure”

Today’s stalking venture is not only six years in the making, but a cross-country endeavor! Way back in January 2013, as the Grim Cheaper and I were preparing to move from Pasadena to Palm Springs, I caught National Treasure on TV and immediately recognized the exterior of the Urban Outfitters in the flick as that of 139 West Colorado Boulevard, just a few blocks from where we lived at the time. Seeking a reprieve from packing, I ran down there to see if the interior of the store had been used, as well. Because it was an impromptu stalk, I did not bring screen captures or a clip of the scene to aid in the identification process, but what I saw when I arrived seemed to match what appeared in the film. Being that I was in the middle of a move, the search went straight to the back of my mind as soon as I got home and did not get picked up again until I visited Philadelphia in September 2016. During our stay in the City of Brotherly Love, I furiously researched locales from the 2004 adventure flick, largely shot in the area, and was shocked to come across a mention on Curbed LA that the Urban Outfitters from the movie was actually at 1627 Walnut Street near Rittenhouse Square. Doubting my original find from three years prior, I dragged the GC right on over there, but it was obvious upon entering that it was not the spot where Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage), Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) and Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) shopped for casual clothes mid-flick. The Philly store, which you can see photos of here and here, has a very different feel to it than what was shown onscreen. Somehow, upon returning home, I completely forgot about the locale yet again, though. It was not until last month, when a fellow stalker named Wylen published a comment on my site letting me know that the Pasadena Urban Outfitters had appeared in an episode of My So-Called Life, that I was reminded of it. So I headed right back out there, screen captures in hand this time, and am thrilled to finally be able to confirm that the Colorado Boulevard store is, indeed, the one from National Treasure.

[ad]

The Pasadena outpost of Urban Outfitters is housed inside a stately two-story brick structure in the heart of Old Town that is largely referred to as the “Wood & Jones building” in honor of its former longtime tenant, Wood & Jones printing company, established in 1907. Founders Bert Wood and Fred Jones pinpointed Pasadena as the ideal place to headquarter their business after learning that the city had the highest per capita income in the country at the time. The duo first set up shop in a space on Union Street before moving to Colorado Boulevard in 1909.

Early images of the printery, featured in a 2010 interview Huell Howser did with Wood’s granddaughter, Hanna, for KCET, are pictured below. And you can check out a photo of the outside of the building taken in 1936 here. It is amazing how little of the exterior has been altered over the years.

When Jones passed away in the 1940s, the Wood family took over full operation of the business and continued to run it through 1994, at which time it was sold to longtime employee J.J. Gish. Per the book Historic Pasadena, the Woods held on to the Old Town building, though, and continue to own it to this day – its lineage honored by the company signage that remains present on its façade.

Wood & Jones vacated the building later that same year (it is still in operation just a few miles away at 2040 East Walnut Street, though it is now known as “Typecraft”) and Urban Outfitters moved in shortly thereafter.

It has been going strong ever since.

Though the exterior of the store is shown briefly in National Treasure . . .

. . . it is on the second level that all of the action happens.

The stairs leading to the second level, which are visible at the beginning and end of the scene, actually served as my smoking gun, so to say, when it came to identifying the location. Their general layout, railing, and the elevator door situated on the landing match that of the Pasadena store perfectly.

For the shoot, a cashier counter was set up in the southwest corner of the second floor, in the area pictured in my photograph below.

Unfortunately, I did not get great pictures of that exact spot as I thought filming had taken place a little east of where it actually did, but you can see it more clearly in the Yelp image from user Ghalya M. below.

A display wall now cuts through the area where filming occurred, separating women’s clothing from lingerie and greatly limiting the view of the large steel girder that could be seen behind the prop cashier counter in the scene. (That girder is denoted with pink arrows in the images below.)

The wall beams visible in the far background behind the group are also now covered over with display paneling, but are still partially evident.

It is not very hard to see how the Pasadena Urban Outfitters came to be used in the film. With all of the exposed brick and ductwork, it definitely has a Philadelphia feel, much more so, ironically, than its Rittenhouse Square counterpart, which boasts a subdued, sleek, modern aesthetic.

Per the Clothes On Film website, the Urban Outfitters segment was not an original plot element. Author Lord Christopher Laverty explains, “Despite serving a worthwhile purpose in character development, the scene in which Abigail and Gates bond at an Urban Outfitters was actually a late addition to the script. As the costumes had already been selected, [costume designer] Judianna Makovsky had to think of a store where the two protagonists could feasibly buy these clothes. Urban Outfitters was within shooting distance [editor’s note – Jon Voight’s house from the film is nearby in South Pasadena] and so seemed like the logical choice.” Interestingly, Abigail’s jacket was actually an Abercrombie & Fitch score, her sweater was designer, and her boots were from Barneys New York Co-Op, while Ben’s jacket was a Levi’s find.

I am 99.9% certain that the dressing room where Ben and Abigail changed out of their formal wear was a set, for two reasons. A, the space just looks like a set (due to privacy reasons, rarely are double-swinging doors utilized in dressing rooms and even more rarely are they as low as the ones featured in National Treasure) and B, the dressing room at the Pasadena Urban Outfitters does not look anything like what is pictured below.

Which is a shame as I so would have loved to re-create the moment below.

As fellow stalker Wylen informed me, back in 1994, when the building still housed Wood & Jones, it served as the print shop owned by Patty Chase’s (Bess Armstrong) father, Chuck (Paul Dooley), in the Season 1 episode of My So-Called Life titled “Father Figures.” Wylen’s dad actually worked on the premises at the time, which is how he knew of the filming. In his comment, he stated, “I think in the episode they even named Patty’s dad’s company Wood & Jones, possibly because they may have had an establishing shot of the actual building, but that didn’t end up in the episode.” Wylen is correct – the shop is referred to as “Wood & Jones” in “Father Figures.” He is also likely right about the establishing shot. What I did not realize until sitting down to write this post, though, is that, per IMDB, Chuck’s last name is actually “Wood ” – obviously to match the shop’s moniker. How fascinating that the real life signage of a building (one that never ended up being shown) not only informed the name of a company on the series, but also that of a character! Wylen went on to say, “I remember Wood & Jones closed up shop the same year and my family helped move things out and a bunch of stuff that was in the background we ended up taking. When I saw the episode my mom and I kept saying, ‘Hey, we have that!’” So incredibly cool to not only have an artifact from My So-Called Life, but a piece of Pasadena history.

As I mentioned earlier, in 2010 Huell Howser filmed a brief segment for KCET in front of Urban Outfitters. You can watch it here.

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

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Wylen for informing me of this location’s My So-Called Life connection!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Urban Outfitters from National Treasure is located at 139 West Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. You can visit the store’s official website here.