Category: TV Locations

Peter and Elizabeth’s House from “White Collar”

The Grim Cheaper and I have yet to watch the final season of White Collar, despite the fact that it aired almost a full two years ago. We became hooked on the USA series back in 2011 after I attended a screening/Q&A with the cast – so hooked that we were devastated when its cancellation was announced and could never bring ourselves to watch the final six episodes. Saying goodbye to loveable con man Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer) and equally loveable FBI agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay) would just be too sad. We were absolutely floored, though, when, while walking to the subway after stalking Jules’ house from The Intern, we happened to find ourselves standing in front of one of White Collar’s most famous locales! As fate would have it, the clapboard residence where Peter lives with his wife, Elizabeth (Tiffani Thiessen), and their dog, Satchmo, on the series is right around the corner from Jules’ pad. While both dwellings were included on my NYC To-Stalk List, because I am so very bad with direction, I had no idea they were located in such close proximity to each other.

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Peter and Elizabeth’s relationship is #goals – and my favorite aspect of White Collar. Their charming townhouse runs a close second, though.

Said to be located at 4232 DeKalb Avenue on the series, the home can actually be found at 106 Cambridge Place in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn.

Built in the 1860s, the 20-foot-wide, wood-frame triplex boasts five bedrooms, two and a half baths, original moldings, parquet flooring, custom built-ins, a one-bedroom ground floor apartment, a large back garden, and a whopping eight fireplaces – three of them wood-burning! I’d be ecstatic just to have one! You can check out some photographs of home’s gorgeous interior here.

In 2015, the pad was put up for sale for $2.89 million, but does not appear to have sold. It hit the market once again shortly thereafter in early 2016 as a rental priced at $7,500 a month and does appear to have had a taker.

The exterior of Peter and Elizabeth’s residence popped up regularly on White Collar.

I find it ironic that, though stated to be at 4232 DeKalb Avenue, the actual address number of 106 was clearly visible in all of the establishing shots.

The real life interior was also utilized in the pilot, as you can see in the screen captures and photographs (via Corcoran) below. The areas that appeared in the episode include the master bedroom;

dining room;

and living room.

Once White Collar got picked up, a set semi-based on that interior was built at Silvercup Studios East, where the series was lensed, for all subsequent filming.

I am absolutely in love with the décor of both the actual house and the set.

Is kitchen envy a thing? If so, I have it.

Though the real estate listing states that Peter and Elizabeth’s house has been used in numerous other productions, unfortunately I was unable to dig up any specifics.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Peter and Elizabeth Burke’s house from White Collar is located at 106 Cambridge Place in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood. Jules’ house from The Intern is located right around the corner at 383 Grand Avenue.

June 15, 2016
“The Brady Bunch” MegaPost

My friend, fellow stalker Michael, is proving to be a true Brady Bunch virtuoso! Here he is yet again gifting us with yet another fabulous post about the 1969 sitcom – this one a round-up of nine different locales featured on the series! Take it away, Michael!

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I know, I know. Yet another Brady guest post foisted upon you. I swear, I do know how to find non-Brady locations. However, I had compiled a bunch of Brady Bunch establishing shot sites that I hadn’t seen posted anywhere online, and asked Lindsay if she’d be up for a catch-all post to at least get these addresses out there, and save anyone interested from duplicating research efforts. Note, as is frequently the case, while these establishing shots were filmed on location, the scenes with the actors were filmed on a Paramount soundstage.

Davey Jones’ Royal Towers Hotel

Wilshire Regent

I thought I’d start with a location I happened upon by accident. This winter, I was in Los Angeles riding down Wilshire Boulevard when I looked ahead and saw a building that I thought had been used in a Brady Bunch episode. I snapped a couple quick pics and found their match when I got home.

In the third-season episode, “Getting Davy Jones,” Marcia (in drag) and Greg sneak into Davy Jones’ hotel room in an effort to coax him into performing at the Fillmore Junior High prom.

The establishing shot of of the fictional Royal Towers Hotel was in reality the Wilshire Regent, a luxury co-op built in 1963. The section of Wilshire Blvd where it stands, known as the Wilshire Corridor, is now filled with high-rises, but the Wilshire Regent was one of the first apartment towers built in the area. And lucky for us, the exterior of the building looks remarkably unchanged.

Stalk It: Wilshire Regent, aka Davy Jones’ Hotel, aka Royal Towers Hotel is located at 10501 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles.

Mr. Dimsdale’s Recording Studio / Mercola Building

Fred Hayman Building

In keeping with the musical theme, the next location comes from an establishing shot in the third-season episode, “Dough Re Mi.” The Brady Kids, ready to share their musical stylings with the world, get in hock against their collective allowances to rent studio time from Johnny Dimsdale’s father so they can record a demo of Greg’s latest, “We Can Make the World a Whole Lot Brighter.” However, Peter’s cracking voice jeopardizes the venture and their “$150 non-refundable dollars.”

One would think with a name slapped on the facade, it’d be a cinch to track down this location. Nevertheless, to this day, I haven’t found any other references to the Mercola Building (if anyone out there has, let me know!). As it turns out, I ended up running across this location by accident.

Last year, I walked through Beverly Hills on my way to meet up with a friend for coffee, and as I meandered down Canon Drive I couldn’t help but notice the bright yellow Fred Hayman Building. But, no sooner did I start to reflect on the difference between Giorgio yellow and Bijan yellow (iconic Beverly Hills boutiques known for their use of the color), then my attention was caught by another structure in the area and I forgot all about the Fred Hayman Building.

Researching that neighborhood when I got home, I found myself on Google Street View. Randomly turning my virtual self around, I saw the Fred Hayman Building again and realized it was a Brady location I’d looked for in the past.

Other than a paint job, the structure still looks remarkably similar to its appearance on The Brady Bunch. What looks to be a parking lot on the right of Brady clip is now home to Spago Beverly Hills, and the exterior of the shorter annex building has been remodeled numerous times, most recently housing a restaurant.

Stalk It: Fred Hayman Building, aka Mr. Dimsale’s Recording Studio, aka Mercola Building is located at 190 (& 184) North Canon Drive in Beverly Hills.

Daily Chronicle Newspaper Building

Marfay Building

In the first-season episode, “Father of The Year,” Marcia sneaks out of the house to mail an essay submitting Mike for the local newspaper’s father of the year competition. Later in the episode, an office building is used to establish a scene set in the publisher’s office.

I stumbled across this building while looking through the massive archive of architectural photographer Julius Schulman that The Getty Research Institute has posted online.

© J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2004.R.10 Job 593)

As soon as I saw the photo, I knew that it had been seen on The Brady Bunch. It took me a while longer to home in on the specific episode. A quick web search found that the structure—known as the Marfay Building—was built in 1949 by Welton Becket and Walter Wurdeman. You may know Becket’s and Wurdeman’s work from many classic mid-century buildings throughout Los Angeles—Pan-Pacific Auditorium, Capitol Records Building, Cinerama Dome, and the Century City master plan just to name a few.

The building’s facade was drastically overhauled in 1987, still you’ll notice the structure next door has maintained its integrity from the days of Brady.

Stalk It: Marfay Building, aka Daily Chronicle Newspaper Building is located at 5657 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles.

Encino Medical Tower Dentist Office

Sometimes I luck out and an establishing shot does the work for me. Such is the case in the fourth-season episode titled “Love and the Older Man.” The Brady’s regular dentist has a new associate, Dr. Stanley Vogel, and Marcia is gaga, so much so that she fantasizes of a future replete with a dental chair in her living room. “Imagine me, Mrs. Marcia Dentist,” she dreamily exclaims.

The Encino Medical Tower looks much the same as it did in the 1970s, however some of the charmingly retro arches have unfortunately been remodeled.

Stalk It: Encino Medical Tower is located at 16260 Ventura Boulevard in Encino.

Gilbert’s Books

Another Brady location that didn’t camouflage its real-world name can be seen in the first-season episode, “The Hero.” It also happens to be another episode where we find Marcia envisioning her future. This time she writes in her diary, “My dream of dreams is to be Mrs. Desi Arnaz Jr.” Unfortunately, Cindy accidently donates said diary to charity resulting in a mortified Marcia. The family forms a search party to scour LA’s used bookstores in an attempt to track down the journal; Mike and Cindy stop at Gilbert’s Book Shop.

The Hollywood Boulevard-located bookstore is sadly no more, the building has been razed, and the W Hollywood occupies its former footprint (and then some). Fortunately, the Taft Building—the first high rise office building in LA, built in 1923—a sliver of which is visible in the Brady clip to the right of Gilbert’s, is still holding its own.

Stalk It: Gilbert’s Book Shop was located at 6278 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.

Valley Drug

In the second-season episode, “The Not-So-Ugly Duckling,” when Jan’s crush, Clark Tyson, is more interested in Marcia, she decides that her freckles are “making her a social outcast,” and heads to the drug store to look for a quick fix. The establishing shot again makes no attempt to hide its name; Valley Drug in bold script is emblazoned above the doorway.

A quick web search provided a present-day Valley Drug & Compounding in Encino. Although the Encino business’ logo matched the Brady clip, the structure did not.

After digging through newspaper archives, phone books, and verifying addresses against old Los Angeles building permits I was able to confirm that the drug store shown in the establishing shot was located on the corner of Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Magnolia Blvd.

Pharmacist, Sidney Simmons purchased Valley Drug at 5161 Laurel Canyon Boulevard in 1955 and in the early 1990s relocated the business down the road to 4800 Laurel Canyon Boulevard. In 1998, he sold the store to the Rite Aid chain and opened up the specialty pharmacy in Encino. An archived building permit shows the original drug store and its distinct chamfered corner entrance.

Sadly, the structure is long gone and the land now provides additional parking for a Jon’s Marketplace. At least a present-day Jan wouldn’t have to go far to find a lemon for her at-home freckle treatment.

Stalk It: Valley Drug was located at 5161 Laurel Canyon Boulevard in North Hollywood.

Television Studio (and Ballet Studio)
Metromedia Square

Shown in a number of episodes, now-razed television and film studio, Metromedia Square was a popular Brady-establishing-shot location. The Hollywood-constructed lot was originally known as Nassour Studios and built in the 1940s. The Times-Mirror Company purchased the facility in the 1950s and Metromedia took over the studio in the late 1960s. In the 1980s Metromedia started leasing the lot to News Corporation and the name was again changed to Fox Television Center. Finally, Metromedia sold the land in 2000 and the studio was torn down and Helen Bernstein High School was built on the property.

Establishing shots of Metromedia Square were used in a number of fifth-season Brady episodes, but the site is first seen in the forth-season episode “Amateur Nite.” Mike and Carol’s anniversary is coming up and the kids decide to buy them a silver platter. Unbelievably, Jan isn’t as familiar as most teens in the byzantine methods by which engraving is priced and can’t cover the cost of the customized platter. The kids naturally turn to song in an effort to pay their debts. Dubbing themselves “The Silver Platters,” they perform (in matching jumpsuits) on a local television show competition.

The exterior is next see in the episode “You Can’t Win ‘Em All.” Cindy becomes a prima donna when her test scores qualify her to help represent Clinton Grammar School on a local television station’s quiz show. Cindy’s inflated ego has no bounds, even turning down Alice’s cooking with a terse, “A star can’t go on television all fat and broken out.” When at the television studio, Cindy freezes with stage fright the moment the red light on the camera glows.

The exterior is shown again in “Adios, Johnny Bravo.” The Brady Kids—no longer strangers to the television studio—are taping a performance and Greg is pulled aside by a couple of quick-talking record producers hoping to mold him into the newest pop sensation because he literally “fit the suit.”

The last we see of Metromedia Square is in the episode “Try, Try Again,” where it’s inconsistently used to establish a scene set in the girls’ ballet class.

Although, I knew the establishing shots were of Metromedia Square, I wanted to figure out where exactly the shots were filmed. Strangely, I couldn’t find many photos of the lot, so I started with a contemporary aerial photo [below in color] and one photographed when the studio was still in existence [below in black & white]. I was also lucky to come across a few maps of the lot in my go-to resource, the LA building permit archives.

From those, I was able to home in on the area that was shown in the Brady clips. The direction in which the roads intersected proved to be a helpful guide, and the corner of an “Audience Parking” sign in the Brady clip confirmed that I’d zeroed in on the correct part of the lot. The orange arrows on the aerial photos and map above mark the location of the camera and the approximate angle used for the establishing shots. I was also surprised to find that the corner of a building at Fernwood Avenue and North Van Ness Avenue, formerly across the street from Metromedia Square, is still there. It’s the KTLA building at Sunset Bronson Studios and still looks the same as it did in the Brady clip. Interestingly, the current Sunset Bronson Studios was the original Warner Bros. lot, purchased by the young studio in 1920, and the current KTLA building originally housed Leon Schlesinger Productions (of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies fame). Warner Bros. purchased Schlesinger’s interest in the animation company in 1944, and in 1953 they sold the entire lot to Paramount; KTLA moved into the old Schlesinger building thereafter. You can see a vintage photo of Schlesinger’s building with its distinctive quoining here. At least a little sliver of history from the Brady clip still remains.

As you can see, Metromedia Square is no more and its buildings seen in the Brady clips have been replaced with the school’s basketball courts.

Stalk It: Metromedia Square Audience Parking was located on North Van Ness Avenue at Fernwood Avenue in Hollywood.

Drive-In Theatre

Gilmore Drive-In

The Gilmore Drive-In is another establishing shot location that was used in more than one Brady episode. In the forth-season episode “Greg Gets Grounded,” as a punishment for driving on the freeway while reading the back of a new record album, Greg’s family-car privileges are taken away for a week. After irking Carol and Mike with another misdeed, he narrowly avoids further punishment on a technicality by claiming that he followed their “exact words.” Predictably, Mike and Carol later hold Greg to his “exact words” and force him to cancel a date and bring Bobby and Peter to a frog jumping competition (naturally). After the competition, the young masters Brady absentmindedly leave their frogs in Greg’s car. Unfortunately for Greg, in a rush to pick up his date for a drive-in movie, Croaker and Spunker’s presence goes unnoticed until it’s too late.

And in the fifth-season episode “Peter and the Wolf,” Greg has a date with Sandra, but unless he can find a date for her cousin Linda, she’ll have to cancel. Enter Linda’s new date, a faux mustachioed Peter, alias Phil Packer, “Some swinging guy from another high school.” Need I write more? Obviously, nothing but comedy gold can come from a setup like that.

The establishing shot as it’s seen in the episode is rather dark (as evening is wont to do), but with a quick digital adjustment, a few clues to the drive-in’s location were unveiled. The detailing on the screen tower along with the larger panel to its right seemed unique to the Gilmore Drive-In in Los Angeles. My suspicions were confirmed when the lightened image also revealed the Park La Brea Apartments in the distance.

In the 1880s, Arthur Fremont Gilmore bought hundreds of acres of farmland around what is now Fairfax Avenue. In the early 1900s he struck oil on the property and transitioned from farming to the oil business. In 1918, his son Earl Bell Gilmore took over the family business and by the 1940s had sold the majority of their original acreage. He however kept a few dozen acres which housed Gilmore Stadium, Gilmore Field, the Farmers Market, and of course the Gilmore Drive-In.

Built in 1948, the theatre reportedly had a 650-vehicle capacity and was designed by architects William Glenn Balch and Louis L. Bryan. The asymmetric panel that helped me identify the theatre, upon further research, turned out to be an enlarged light shield built in 1955. By the 1970s the theatre had fallen into disrepair and demolition permits were issued in 1979. Today, The Grove shopping center, specifically Nordstrom, sits in the screen’s former location, leaving the Farmers Market as the only remaining original Gilmore-related enterprise in the area. The former site of the Gilmore Drive-In is outlined in orange below, with an arrow pointing in the direction of the former location of the screen.

CBS purchased Gilmore Stadium in 1950 and built CBS Television City on the land. Later in the decade, CBS expanded their studio onto the former site of Gilmore Field. Their website has some great aerial photos of the area, and many include the drive-in. Cinematreasures.org also has a nice selection of photos of the road-facing side of theatre’s screen tower.

Stalk It: The Gilmore Drive-In was located at 6201 West 3rd Street in Los Angeles.

Rose Bowl Stadium

In the fifth-season episode “Mail Order Hero,” Bobby’s in a pickle when after claiming to know Joe Namath, the football player is in town and Bobby’s friends call his bluff. In an effort to help her brother, Cindy puts pen to paper and speciously writes a letter to Namath on Bobby’s behalf, beginning with, “I’m writing to you because I’m very very sick.”

Inspired by the letter, the football player stops by the Brady residence, Bobby plays sick, Cindy plays nursemaid, and Mike and Carol, out of the loop from Cindy’s letter, shock Namath with their lack of concern over their dying son—“Well when you have six kids, something like this is bound to happen to one of them.”

A scene set at the stadium office with Namath is established with a shot of the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena. The entrance area to the 1922-built stadium has recently undergone some renovations, but the structure itself still matches the Brady shot.

The angle from which the establishing shot was filmed obscured the Rose Bowl logo with some tress, but if you look carefully, you can still make out the corners of the signage.

Stalk It: The Rose Bowl Stadium is located at 1001 Rose Bowl Drive in Pasadena.

And there you have it, nine locations for the price of one. If you’ve made it to the end, congratulations and thanks for sticking with me! As always, many thanks to Lindsay for generously offering up her forum for another very-Brady post. (Editor’s note – a big THANK YOU to you, Michael, for yet another scintillating and fastidiously-researched article! )

June 6, 2016
The Willmore from “Rosewood”

The Grim Cheaper and I became obsessed with a myriad of new shows this year, namely Blindspot, Quantico (though I think that one may have already jumped the shark), The Family, Limitless, The Grinder (those last three have, sadly, all been cancelled), and Rosewood. Oh, how we love Rosewood. The police procedural perfectly mixes comedy with drama, the writing is witty and smart, and Morris Chestnut, who plays the endlessly positive and charming titular character Dr. Beaumont “Rosie” Rosewood, Jr. is perfection, as is Jaina Lee Ortiz, who portrays his fiery cynical counterpart, Det. Annalise Villa. My favorite aspect of the show, though, is that, while set in Miami, it is lensed largely in Los Angeles. (Beaumont’s Magic City Lab is one of the few non-L.A. locales featured on the series – it can be found at 2043 North Miami Avenue in Miami). One location that I recently became obsessed with identifying was the gorgeous Italian Renaissance-style building used in the episode titled “Aortic Atresia and Art Installations.” And I have the GC to thank for tracking it down.

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In “Aortic Atresia and Art Installations” (try saying that one three times fast!), Rosie and Villa are led to the Willmore Hotel, said to be located at 315 Collins Avenue in Miami, via a clue left for them by a cryptic serial killer they have been chasing. Not only was the name “Willmore” shown prominently in the killer’s clue . . .

. . . but it was also visible above the front doors when Villa and Rosie arrived on the scene. For whatever reason, though, I was quick to assume that the name and signage were fakes. Thank goodness for the GC because when I paused the episode to ask him where he thought the building might be located, he said, “Looks like Long Beach. I’m guessing the name is real, too.” Though I doubted the latter, I figured his Long Beach hunch was correct, so I did a quick Google search on my phone for “Willmore” and “Long Beach” and was shocked to see that he was right! Not only is the Willmore a real place, but it is indeed located in the LBC! Nicely done, GC! I am not ashamed to admit that he completely outwitted me on this one!

Both the interior and the exterior of the Willmore were featured on Rosewood and, though shown only briefly, I was captivated by the place’s beauty. The interior, which you can see some photographs of here, reminds me quite a bit of the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown L.A.

The Willmore was originally built in 1927 by the Stillwell Hotel Corporation. At the time, it was operated as an upscale apartment hotel and was known as the “Stillwell.”

The 11-story structure was designed by Fisher, Lake and Traver, the same architecture firm who gave us the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

Shortly after its inception, the property’s name was changed to the Willmore in honor of William Erwin Willmore, one of Long Beach’s first developers.

Today, the building, which was deemed a City of Long Beach Historic Landmark in 1986, is made up of individually-owned condominiums, like this loft-style unit which came on the market in February 2015. Love the half-exposed brick!

Rosewood is not the only production to have made use of the site. First Congregational Church, Long Beach, the main location featured in License to Wed, is situated across the street from the Willmore and, as such, the building was seen several times in the background of the 2007 romcom.

The Willmore’s parking lot, located on the western side of the property, was also used as the church parking lot in a scene.

The building was also where Henry (Paul Rudd) lived in Over Her Dead Body. Ironically, way back in 2010, a fellow stalker named Virginie sent me the addresses of a couple of filming locations from the 2008 comedy, one of which was the Willmore. I had never seen the movie and, aside from adding the sites to my To-Stalk List, did not do any further research on them, which is why I did not recognize the Willmore when it popped up on Rosewood. It was not until I started gathering my Long Beach addresses together shortly before heading down there for a stalking expedition last week that I realized the connection. Thank you, Virginie!

The interior of Henry’s apartment was not a real Willmore unit, but a set.

A portion of the Willmore’s bottom level houses a popular Italian restaurant named La Traviota.

It was there that Henry and Ashley (Lake Bell) dined – and discussed cats – in Over Her Dead Body.

Thanks to the book Emergency!: Behind the Scene (which was written by fellow stalker Richard Yokley), I learned that the Season 2 episode of Emergency! titled “Peace Pipe” was lensed at the Willmore. Richard was even nice enough to provide the screen capture below. Thank you, Richard!

And, according to Location Filming in Long Beach, Ally McBeal and Profiler also did some filming at the Willmore, but I am unsure of which episodes in particular were shot there.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Willmore, from the”Aortic Atresia and Art Installations” episode of Rosewood, is located at 315 West 3rd Street in Long Beach.

June 1, 2016
Stuyvesant Square Park from “Sex and the City”

At the risk of this blog becoming solely Sex and the City-based, here I am yet again with yet another locale from the hit HBO series. For those of you non-SATC fans out there, don’t worry, I will be chronicling NYC sites from other productions soon. I will also be interspersing New York spots with ones in L.A., as well, to break up any sort of location monotony. For today, though, it’s all about SATC and SJP. I bring you Stuyvesant Square Park, a spot I have long wanted to stalk thanks to its appearance in the Season 5 episode of Sex and the City titled “Plus One Is the Loneliest Number.”

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In the episode, which originally aired in 2002, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) meets a cute author named Jack Berger (Ron Livingston) while at her publisher’s office on the eve of the release of her first book. Her publisher suggests that Berger take Carrie under his wing and share with her the ins and outs of the book world. So the two head out to a park to chat, McDonald’s sack lunches in hand. I loved absolutely everything about the scene – Carrie and Berger’s chemistry and easy banter, the picturesque park surroundings, the McDonald’s meals (I’d take McDonald’s over a fancy restaurant any day!), and (especially) Carrie’s dress, shoes and hair. So I, of course, became obsessed with tracking down where filming took place.

The endeavor turned out to be pretty easy thanks to a sign reading “Stuyvesant Square” that was visible in the background of the scene.

In the episode, Carrie and Berger were sitting in the southwest corner of Stuyvesant Square Park, near the intersection of East 15th Street and Rutherford Place, in the general vicinity of the area pictured below.

After finishing their lunches, the two then exit the park through the gate located at East 16th Street and Rutherford Place . . .

. . . and proceed to walk south down Rutherford. It is there that Berger drops the bomb on Carrie that he has a live-in girlfriend.

Stuyvesant Square Park, also known simply as Stuyvesant Square, turned out to be quite the picturesque stalk! The serene site, which is bisected by 2nd Avenue, is comprised of shaded benches, sparkling fountains and meandering pathways, surrounded by a bevy of handsome and historic New York buildings. All that greenery and brick make for some glorious scenery!

The park has quite an interesting history. The tract was originally part of an 120-acre farm owned by Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch Director-General of the New Netherland colony. In 1836, Peter’s great-great-grandson, Peter Gerard Stuyvesant, sold a 4-acre parcel of the farm to the City of New York for $5 with the intention that it be used as a public park.

The land sat untouched for several years, though, causing Stuyvesant to file a lawsuit against the city to force development in 1839. It still took quite a while, until 1847 in fact, for landscaping of the site to begin and Stuyvesant Square Park finally opened to the public in 1850.

In 1847, during the development process, a large cast iron fence was installed around the perimeter of the park. Amazingly, it still stands today and has the distinction of being New York’s oldest cast iron fence.

In the 1930s, Stuyvesant Square Park was renovated by landscape architect Gilmore David Clark. Though it was rehabbed once again in 1982 and is currently undergoing some restorations, the space looks much the same today as it did when Clark completed work on it in 1937.

Sex and the City is hardly the only production to have made use of the park’s beauty.

April Wheeler (Kate Winslet) – wearing an amazing white dress – walks by Stuyvesant Square Park after picking up travel documents in the 2008 drama Revolutionary Road. The brief segment was shot on Rutherford Place, just north of East 15th Street.

It was at the park that Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) met with Patrick Scully (Jeff Binder) in the Season 5 episode of Damages titled “But You Don’t Do That Anymore,” which aired in 2012. (I cannot get over how different the park looks during the winter when there are no leaves on the trees!)

A large portion of White Collar’s Season 5 storyline centered around a priceless stained glass window located at a church across the street from Stuyvesant Square Park. As such, the park popped in a couple of episodes, most notably in 2013’s “No Good Deed,” in which Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer) and Mozzie (Willie Garson) masqueraded as repairmen in order to steal the window.

Stuyvesant Square Park was also where John Reese (Jim Caviezel) took a cell phone call from Lionel Fusco (Kevin Chapman) and discussed the fact that all hell was breaking loose in the city in the Season 4 episode of Person of Interest titled “The Cold War,” which aired in 2014.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Stuyvesant Square Park, from the “Plus One Is the Loneliest Number” episode of Sex and the City, is located at 2nd Avenue and East 15th Street in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of New York.

May 25, 2016
The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Torrance – South Bay from “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

I do not think O.J. Simpson is guilty. I know how incendiary that statement is and, up until a couple of years ago, had I heard it come out of someone else’s mouth I would have found the sentiment absurd. But in November 2012 I read O.J. Is Innocent and I Can Prove It, written by esteemed private investigator William C. Dear, and became convinced that the former footballer was actually innocent of the murders of Ronald Goldman and Nicole Simpson. Now before you jump down my throat telling me how batsh*t crazy I sound, I urge you to read the book yourself. It’s incredibly well-researched, thought-provoking, and detailed. Moreover, Dear’s theory just makes sense. All the pieces fit together – without involving drug deals gone bad, frame jobs, or Cuban neckties. My fascination with the Simpson case did not start with O.J. Is Innocent. Not only did I live through the trial, but I have read countless books (A Problem of Evidence is another favorite) and articles (Dominick Dunne’s Vanity Fair columns are by far the best) about the events of June 12th, 1994. One aspect of the case I never gave much thought to, though, was the extreme hardship that the jury was under. So I was especially enthralled by the “A Jury in Jail” episode of The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. I quickly became fascinated by the chosen twelve’s (and their alternates’) experiences – and also a wee bit obsessed with tracking down the hotel featured on the show and the hotel where the actual jury was put up in real life. It did not take me long to find both and I ran right out to stalk them back in early April.

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While watching “A Jury in Jail,” I noticed that two large fish tanks were visible in the lobby of the hotel where the jury was sequestered. Knowing aquariums are not a typical hotel feature, I figured they would be my key in identifying the locale. So I did a Google search for “Los Angeles,” “hotel,” “lobby,” and “fish tanks,” but unfortunately the results yielded nada. A few weeks prior, I had noticed that the IMDB page about the miniseries’ filming locations mentioned that some scenes were lensed in Torrance, so I did a second Google search, this time inputting “Torrance,” “hotel,” “lobby,” and “fish tanks.” The first result to come back was a TripAdvisor page about the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Torrance – South Bay. So I headed on over to the property’s website and, sure enough, it was the right spot!

It is not hard to see why producers chose to feature the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Torrance – South Bay as the jurors’ upscale “downtown L.A.” digs. The sprawling property does have a very tony feel to it and, though not outdated by any means, bears a very ’90s vibe.

In real life, the DoubleTree features a fitness center, a large outdoor pool flanked by several waterfalls and ponds, a hot tub, two eateries (Andre’s Restaurant and the Tea Tree Café), 16,000 square feet of meeting space, a business center, and complimentary Wi-Fi and parking. Bonus – the hotel is located just steps away from Del Amo Fashion Center, an oft-filmed mall with an incredible half-abandoned section that I will be blogging about soon.

Several areas of the DoubleTree were used in The People v. O.J. Simpson, including the exterior;

the front entrance;

the lobby;

the Crystal Ballroom – which was both where the jury received their sequester instructions . . .

. . . and argued over what TV shows to watch;

one of the rooms (though we did not check out any of the DoubleTree rooms while we were there, as you can see below, the room shown in the episode matches an image taken from the hotel’s website);

and Andre’s Restaurant . . .

. . . which appeared in several scenes.

Had to do it!

The hotel where the jury stayed in real life was also a fairly easy find. When I first started doing research on the subject, I came across a fascinating October 1995 Los Angeles Times article about the final evening of the juror’s 265-night sequester which stated that the group was put up at the Hotel Inter-Continental in downtown Los Angeles. Though the Inter-Continental is no longer in existence, a quick Google search told me that the property is now the Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza located at 251 South Olive Street.

The 17-story, 453-room hotel was originally built in 1992, so when the jurors checked in on January 11th, 1995, it was practically brand new. The site has undergone two renovations since being taken over by the Omni brand in 2000, the most recent of which was a $15-million facelift completed in 2011.

The Four Diamond Omni Los Angeles Hotel boasts a heated outdoor pool, a fitness center, two restaurants, and a spa – none of which the jury was allowed to make use of.

The focal point of the spacious two-story lobby is a massive 3,000-pound glass-enclosed sculpture named “Yellow Fin” that was designed by David Stromeyer.

The Omni is situated adjacent to California Plaza, an outdoor gathering space popular with downtown workers that features restaurants, cafes, fountains, and walkways.

The hotel is also a filming location. It was seen briefly in the 2000 action flick Gone in 60 Seconds as the spot where Kip Raines (Giovanni Ribisi) and Tumbler (Scott Caan) stole a car by pretending to be a rock star and his driver, respectively.

And playing itself, it was the hotel where Brig. Gen. Bill Marks (Bruce Davison) was staying in the 2002 thriller High Crimes. (Please pardon the craptastic screen captures below, which I got off of YouTube.)

During their sequester, the 12 Simpson jurors and 12 alternates (by the end of the trial, only two of those alternates remained) stayed in standard rooms on the fifth floor of the Inter-Continental. As depicted in The People v. O.J. Simpson, televisions were removed from the jurors’ rooms, as were telephones and all reading materials. Security was so tight and the jurors kept so far removed from civilization, in fact, that the entire fifth floor remained off-limits to other guests. Hotel elevators were set to bypass the fifth floor entirely and jurors were forced to make use of a guarded service elevator. On the final night of the sequester (after their verdict had been returned, but not yet announced), the group threw a party in the Inter-Continental’s 17th-floor presidential suite, complete with champagne and salmon canapés, to celebrate the fact that they were finally going home. Honestly, after seeing everything they went through, it comes as no surprise that deliberations lasted only a scant 4 hours. The jurors wanted to get out of dodge as quickly as possible. And who can blame them? Sure, they had a job to do, one that needed to be taken extremely seriously, but what Johnny Cochran and Marcia Clark did to them was virtually criminal (and yes, as was depicted in the series, I believe Marcia’s hands were just as dirty as Johnny’s when it came to putting the jury through ridiculous ongoing time-consuming nonsense). The O.J. Simpson case was a sad situation all around and in the end it served to do only one thing – make a mockery of the U.S. justice system.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Torrance – South Bay, aka the hotel where the jurors were sequestered in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, is located at 21333 Hawthorne Boulevard in Torrance. You can visit the property’s official website here. Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza, aka the former Hotel Inter-Continental where the Simpson jurors were sequestered in real life, is located at 251 South Olive Street in downtown L.A. You can visit the property’s official website here.

May 23, 2016
Famous Original Ray’s Pizza from “Sex and the City”

The Grim Cheaper and I used to visit New York at least once a year. Prior to this recent trip, though, we had not been to Manhattan since October 2009! Being separated from my favorite city for almost seven years was quite a hard pill to swallow. During that time, I accumulated a ridiculously large list of must-see Manhattan filming locations that were chronicled in various files in my office and on my computer. Because our recent trip was booked very last minute, I did not have much time to plan my itinerary, which was especially frustrating to someone as hyper-organized as I tend to be. Adding to the haphazardness of my planning was the fact that some of my files seemed to be missing. One locale that I vividly remembered tracking down was a pizza parlor that appeared on Sex and the City. I couldn’t find a mention of it anywhere in my notes, though, nor could I for the life of me remember the name of the place, what episode it had appeared in, or even what the scene involving it entailed. So I went back to the drawing board and began the hunt for it all over again.

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I cannot tell you how many Google searches I did using the terms “Sex and the City,” “episode” and “pizza” to try to stir my memory. After what seemed like days of scouring the internet, I finally came across a mention of a scene in Season 2’s “The Caste System” in which Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) grabbed a slice of pizza with then boyfriend Steve Brady (David Eigenberg). So I popped in my SATC Season 2 DVD and, sure enough, it was the right episode! I was even further floored to discover that a logo reading “Famous Original Ray’s Pizza” was visible on a cup in the scene. From there, despite the fact that there are several “Famous Original Ray’s Pizza” locations dotted throughout the city, finding the right one was a snap.

In “The Caste System,” Steve treats Miranda to two large slices of pie at Ray’s, which they then eat while sitting on a bench outside. I had been mesmerized by the size of the pizzas upon originally watching the episode way back when, which is why I had wanted to track down the restaurant so badly the first time around. Walk-up pizzerias aren’t commonplace in California, nor are humongous slices that require two hands to eat, so I was dying to not only stalk the place, but to sample a slice of my own.

I mean, look at the size of those slices!

My wish finally came true during our third day in the city while hanging out with my friend/fellow stalker Owen, of the When Write Is Wrong blog. And the experience was everything I’d hoped it would be. Ray’s serves up some fabulous two-hands-required slices of pizza!

I was most thrilled, though, to see that despite the passage of 17 years (Seriously, 17 years! How is that possible?), the restaurant still looks very much the same today as it did when “The Caste System” was filmed in 1999.

Both the interior . . .

. . . and the exterior were featured in the episode.

Ray’s has quite the interesting – and confusing – history. At one point in time, there were countless iterations of Ray’s Pizzas dotted throughout the city. So many, in fact, that their presence was a running joke among Manhattanites – and even figured into a Seinfeld storyline. In Season 9’s “The Maid,” Kramer (Michael Richards) gets lost in downtown New York and calls Jerry (who played himself) for help. Kramer tells Jerry that he is standing in front of a Ray’s Pizza. The rest of the conversation goes like this – Jerry: “Is it Famous Ray’s?” Kramer: “No, it’s Original Ray’s.” Jerry: “Famous Original Ray’s?” Kramer (on the verge of hysteria) : “It’s just Original, Jerry!” You can watch the segment by clicking below.

The very first Ray’s – or should I say “original”? – which was dubbed “Ray’s Pizza,” was opened in 1959 by a Sicilian named Ralph Cuomo at 27 Prince Street in Little Italy. When asked why he didn’t name his restaurant “Ralph’s Pizzeria” while being interviewed for a 1991 The New York Times article, he told reporter John Tierney, “Ralph’s might have sounded, I don’t know, maybe too feminine. Besides, nobody ever called me Ralph. My family took the Italian word for Ralph — Raffaele — and shortened it to Rayfie or just Ray. All my life I was addressed that way.” A few years later, Cuomo opened a second Ray’s Pizza at 1073 First Avenue, which he subsequently sold in 1964 to another Sicilian named Rosolino Mangano. Rosolino quickly turned that single pizzeria into a virtual industry, establishing several additional eateries under the name “Famous Original Ray’s Pizza” in a short period of time.

The story doesn’t end there, though. In 1981, Mangano sold one of his outposts to New York native Gary Esposito. Gary went on to open five additional pizzerias under the name “Original Ray’s.” It was around that time period that copycat parlors, all using some variation of the “Famous Original Ray’s” name, began popping up across New York like a virus. To stop the insanity and to keep the integrity of his own chain intact, Gary tracked down the true original Ray (or should I say Ralph?), Cuomo, who sold him the rights to the Ray’s name. Esposito and Cuomo wound up joining forces by establishing a new company together in order to franchise additional Ray’s outposts. After some legal hassling, Mangano also joined the team and became vigilant about shutting down all non-licensed Ray’s sites. His efforts were largely successful and today there are eight licensed Famous Original Ray’s Pizza branches dotted across New York.

The Ray’s Pizza epidemic was also mentioned in the 2003 comedy Elf. Upon learning that Buddy (Will Ferrell) is to heading to New York City to find his father, Santa (Edward Asner) advises him on all things Big Apple. One of his tips is, “There are, like, thirty Ray’s Pizzas. They all claim to be the original, but the real one’s on 11th.” That’s actually incorrect, though. The 11th Avenue spot, formerly known as “Original Ray’s,” was an unaffiliated parlor opened by brothers Mario and Lamberto DiRienzo in 1973. That site was shuttered in 2011, thanks in large part to lawsuits filed by Mangano. Though it later re-opened under the name Famous Roio’s, the eatery closed its doors for good in 2013. The space that formerly housed it is now the site of a Chinese food restaurant. You can read a more in-depth history of the Ray’s Pizza battles here.

Famous Original Ray’s Pizza was also featured in the Season 6 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit titled “Identity” as the spot where Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) interrogated two teens about the death of one of their fellow gang members.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Famous Original Ray’s Pizza, from “The Caste System” episode of Sex and the City, is located at 204 West 9th Avenue in Chelsea. You can visit the pizzeria’s official website here.

May 18, 2016
Two Boots To Go West Pizza from “Sex and the City”

There’s nothing quite like a slice of New York pizza! Just watching characters eat a piece on TV or in a movie is enough to make me drool. So I, of course, had long been dying to stalk the Big Apple pizzeria that appeared in the Season 6 episode of Sex and the City titled “Great Sexpectations.”

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In the episode, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) head to a pizza place for a second dinner after not being fulfilled by their meal at Raw, the hip new “vegan non-dairy” restaurant where “nothing is cooked over 118 degrees.” It is there that Miranda tells Carrie about her love for her new “boyfriend,” TiVo. As she explains, “While I’m eating this slice of pizza, my boyfriend is home taping my favorite TV show. With TiVo, when there’s something I don’t enjoy, I just speed right through it. And he surprises me with things that he thinks I might like, which is how I got hooked on Jules and Mimi.”

I loved absolutely every aspect of the scene – from the opening close-up of the girls’ fabulous shoes to the way the camera panned upwards to their faces to the fact that they were standing at a tall table eating their slices, instead of sitting down. The whole thing just looked so appealing and screamed “New York” to me and every time I watched it, I thought, “Yes, I want to do that!”

Unfortunately, there was not a whole lot for me to go on in tracking this location down. Though some signage was visible in the background of the scene, it was not clear enough for me to make out any words or names. Then, a couple of years ago, I came across a mention of On Location Tours’ Sex and the City Hotspots Tour which stated that Two Boots To Go West Pizza in Greenwich Village was the spot where Carrie and Miranda enjoyed their non-raw meal. So I immediately added the site to my New York Must-Stalk List and, as fate would have it, happened to randomly walk right by it on my way to another must-see locale while I was in NYC last month.

The first Two Boots eatery was originally established by Doris Kornish, Phil Hartman (not that Phil Hartman), and John Touhey at 37 Avenue A in the East Village in 1987. The restaurant, named for the shoe-like shapes of both Italy and Louisiana, served Cajun/Italian fare, including a popular cornmeal crust pizza. Demand for the unique slices was so great that a second takeout location named Two Boots To Go was opened nearby in 1989. Additional branches continued to follow, including Two Boots To Go West at 201 West 11th Street in the West Village in 1995. There are now 15 Two Boots outposts dotted throughout Manhattan, as well as in Brooklyn, Connecticut, Baltimore, New Jersey, Nashville, and Los Angeles.

Sadly, we had just eaten lunch a few minutes prior to happening upon Two Boots To Go West (at a different SATC pizza place, which I will be blogging about soon), so we were not able to sample the slices, which is a shame because the pizza looked – and smelled – uh-ma-zing! I am so heading right on over to one of Two Boots’ L.A. branches the next time I am in town.

I did manage to pop in and snap a few quick pics while I was there, though.

Seeing the restaurant in person threw me a bit as it did not look as I had imagined it to. On Sex and the City, only one side of the eatery was shown and the shots were all fairly tight, so I envisioned it to be tiny. In real life, Two Boots To Go West is actually quite large.

I was so thrown by the layout, in fact, that not only did I think for a time that I might be at the wrong Two Boots outpost, but I also failed to to snap photos of the exact spot where Carrie and Miranda dined.

For “Great Sexpectations,” one of the eatery’s tall tables was brought to the center of the restaurant, directly in front of the pizza counter, and that is where Miranda and Carrie stood. In actuality, there are no tables in that spot, as that is where the line is typically situated. You can check out an image taken from the same angle that was shown on Sex and the City here.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Two Boots To Go West Pizza, from the “Great Sexpectations” episode of Sex and the City, is located at 201 West 11th Street in New York’s West Village. You can visit the eatery’s official website here.

May 13, 2016
The Filming Locations of “Breaking Bad”

I am not a Breaking Bad fan. I know, I know – I am in the minority on this one. The Grim Cheaper and I started to watch the series, which ran on AMC from 2008 through 2013, and absolutely LOVED the first two episodes. They were hilarious. Then the show seemed to take a somber turn, focusing more on Walter White’s (Bryan Cranston) illness than the dark comedy that was at the center of the inaugural episodes. So we stopped watching, against the advice of so many of our friends. But I was thrilled to recently receive an email from my friend Becky who grew up in New Mexico, where Breaking Bad was lensed, asking if I wanted her to write up a post on the locations featured in the series. My answer was a resounding yes! Thank you so much, Becky! So without further ado . . .

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Hi there! I’m so excited to write this blog post for Lindsay – as a longtime reader of her blog, I never thought I would be lucky enough to write a post for it! Although I live in California now, I am originally from New Mexico and went to college in Albuquerque.

When New Mexico started advertising film tax credits as a way to boost the economy, I was both amused and excited… hoping that it might mean I would get to see my beloved home state more often on TV and in movies. Sadly, most movies and shows filmed there use New Mexico as a backdrop for other cities and states – rarely featuring New Mexico as a character itself. When Breaking Bad aired, I was thrilled! Finally, a show based in Albuquerque! And it was fantastic television to boot!

During one of my visits home, I convinced my mom and sister to join me for a hunt of some of our favorite Breaking Bad filming locations. The good thing about living in a city for five years for undergrad and grad school is that you really get to know it – I knew almost every location without having to look it up (we filled in the blanks with the help of Foursquare)! I hope the rest of my fellow Breaking Bad fans enjoy this – happy stalking!

While Albuquerque as a whole is a major character, one cannot dismiss the importance that the White residence played in Breaking Bad. This house, given the fictional address of 308 Negra Arroyo Lane, is a real home used in every single season of filming. So many pivotal scenes took place at this home – it’s hard to pick a favorite. The screenshots above show the house through the years, including seasons 1, 3, and 5 respectively. Surprisingly, only the front and backyard ever make an appearance on the show. Despite looking incredibly realistic, the interior shots were not filmed on location – they were shot offsite on a soundstage. The owners have taken great pains to make sure people are aware of this – they’ve had quite a few classless looky-loos who have disrespected the property trying to get a sneak peek.

The White Residence

3828 Piermont Drive NE, Albuquerque, NM

When looking for the White home, I knew it was located in the Northeast Heights. Still, I was surprised that it was in a neighborhood that I know quite well. It’s actually only a few short blocks away from my cousin, and less than 5 minutes slightly southwest of Saul Goodman’s office. Thousands of fans have taken the trek to visit the iconic property, much to the annoyance of the owners and the neighbors. If you do decide to visit, be respectful of the private residence itself and the surrounding neighborhood. Don’t block traffic or driveways, and definitely don’t trespass, loiter, or vandalize the property (don’t throw pizza on the roof! Seriously – this happens A LOT apparently).

Saul Goodman’s Office

9800 Montgomery Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM

Since it was only a few minutes away, we stopped at Saul Goodman’s office next. Saul’s character was a riot, and appears to be based on a lawyer I remembered from my college days. (Yeah… not going to name him. But if you’re from Albuquerque, you probably know who I’m talking about!) Hilariously enough, I did not recognize this location when I watched the show despite it being right next door to one of my favorite bars in college. Haha! Note that this doesn’t appear to be the same location as they are using for the Better Call Saul prequel – fans of that show should visit 160 Juan Tabo Boulevard NE instead.

A1A Carwash

9516 Snow Heights Circle, Albuquerque, NM

Our next stop was just a little further south from Goodman’s… Everyone’s favorite front for Heisenberg’s empire: the A1A Carwash (Have an A-1 Day!) Standing in for the A1A Carwash, the Octopus Carwash chain was an Albuquerque staple for over 45 years. Sadly, the family owning the chain sold to Mister Car Wash shortly after our visit. Mister Car Wash did a good job of maintaining the overall aesthetic, but they recently sold to a private equity firm leaving the future of this location rather uncertain. So… stalk it while you can!

One of the most difficult characters for me to watch on the show had to be Wendy. Her depiction of the drug addicts and prostitutes I witness on Central Avenue (not far from my University) made my stomach turn – it hit too close to home. (Note: Julia Minesci deserved an award for playing Wendy. I’m always impressed when character actors can hold their own against heavy weights like Aaron Paul and Dean Norris.) Probably the best scene that depicted the sadness of Wendy’s plight had to be a montage you can watch here.

Wendy appeared to live at the Crossroads Motel during her three-season appearance on the show (screenshot above from the show). The motel is often referred to as the Crystal Palace throughout its run on Breaking Bad, referring to its popularity with junkies in the Albuquerque area. While some fan sites thought this was a shuttered motel used only for the filming, I knew it used to operate when I was in school. I was curious to see if it was still operating, so it became our next stop on the tour.

Crossroads Motel

1001 Central Avenue NE, Albuquerque, NM

The Crossroads Motel is still operating, albeit a bit empty the day we stopped by. And contrary to college rumors and its appearance on the show, I’ve read that the motel is a fine budget motel, centrally located and less than $50/night (but check with them directly). They get a fair number of tourists stopping by to take photos – while we didn’t have any issues, I’d still recommend stopping by the office to say hello. I’ve read online that some of the employees are a little wary of unknown people stopping by to take photos, but are pretty accommodating if you go into the office and ask first.

Houses were always a secondary character on Breaking Bad, which was something I really loved about the show. When Jesse Pinkman started apartment hunting in the second season of the show, I recognized the neighborhood immediately. HOME! Or at least my version of it. I knew this had to be in the University area – so many of my friends lived in duplexes similar to the one on the show during school, there was simply no way it could be located elsewhere! The screenshots from the series above show it from different angles – the style so familiar and easily placed in my mind.

Jane’s Apartment

325 Terrace Street SE, Albuquerque, NM

It came as no surprise at all when I looked up the Jane/Jesse duplex to find it just south of campus on Terrace Street. The building was built in the early 1900s, and is part of a group of buildings rented out by UNMRentals.com. The buildings have studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments, along with at least one three-bedroom, standalone house. Surprisingly, the Jane/Jesse building is on the corner of a fairly busy street… it would have been interesting to have seen them film here. From what I can tell, the actual interiors of these apartments were used on the show. I’m not sure what the going rent is for these buildings in particular, but similar one-bedroom apartments in this neighborhood range around $550 – 700/month. Not bad, especially when compared to similar homes in California! Be mindful that these are private residences on a fairly busy street, and the surrounding streets are one-way only – use caution and visit at your own risk.

Civic Plaza

1 Civic Plaza NW, Albuquerque, NM

Continuing west on Central Avenue, our next stop was the location of Walt & Jesse’s infamous showdown in episode 512, “Rabid Dog.” I instantly recognized this location the moment it aired – Civic Plaza is a common gathering place in downtown Albuquerque, hosting festivals, concerts, and more. That said, I did chuckle a bit when the episode aired – I don’t think I’ve ever seen vendors hanging out on the Plaza when an event wasn’t also going on. Still, filming at this location had to be a beast – it’s centrally located in downtown Albuquerque, with most of the city’s major government buildings and hotels located within a two-block radius. I wasn’t wrong – you can see a bit of what went into filming this via the AMC behind-the-scenes clip located here.

Without the trademark blue benches and nonexistent phone booths actually located in the plaza, my sister and I worried a bit that we wouldn’t be able to pinpoint the exact locations where filming took place. We were wrong! The surrounding buildings gave us great insight as to where to capture our reenactments, as demonstrated with both the Albuquerque Police Department behind Walt and the DoubleTree hotel behind Jesse in the scenes above (a big THANK YOU to my sister for recreating the poses for my own enjoyment… and now yours, too!).

The next location on our tour is one of my favorite hot dog stands in the world – the Dog House! Seriously – I probably ate a thousand of their chili dogs while I was in college, and I’m neither a chili or a hot dog fan. This is seriously spicy (and delicious) stuff! Definitely Yelp worthy – you can read the reviews here and decide for yourself! Anyway, I was SUPER stoked to see it featured early on in the series. It was the first location I saw and immediately exclaimed, “I’ve been there!” It actually appeared several times throughout the series – appearing in Seasons 1, 2, and 5.

The Dog House

1216 Central Avenue, Albuquerque, NM

Somewhat unsurprisingly, my family has not enjoyed the yummy-deliciousness that is the Dog House in Old Town Albuquerque. When I told my sister we’d be going there, she actually didn’t remember the iconic location upon first mention. Of course, she had also only seen the location on the show as it was filmed at night with all of its neon glory. Once we got there, however, she instantly recognized it as a favorite of Jesse’s on the show. You, too, can enjoy Jesse’s favorite hot dog joint next time you’re in Albuquerque – get the chili dog and a chocolate shake… you can thank me later ; )

The last location for our do-it-yourself Breaking Bad tour was the Pinkman residence, at first owned by Jesse’s parents and later owned by Jesse himself. This beautiful home was given the fictional address of 9809 Margo Street, but a quick Google search will show you that Margo Street doesn’t exist – the closest to it would be Margo Road in the somewhat rural South Valley. In reality, the Pinkman residence is located in the beautiful Huning Castle neighborhood, close to Old Town and the Albuquerque Country Club near the heart of the city (and not far from the Dog House mentioned above).

The Pinkman Residence

322 16th Street SW, Albuquerque, NM

This is one of my favorite locations in Albuquerque for a variety of reasons. I like the older, established neighborhood because it’s one of the few in Albuquerque to still have grass lawns and trees. It’s near both Old Town and Downtown, which in turn are close to many of my favorite restaurants, stores, and museums. And I love the style of the homes around here – it’s not a cookie cutter ‘hood at all! As with the duplex, the Pinkman residence is a real private residence. The actual interiors were used in Season 1, but the show was forced to rebuild the interiors on a soundstage after the home was sold in Season 2. Please be courteous when visiting – this is a quiet neighborhood.

While you are in the area, feel free to visit some of my favorite spots! The Albuquerque Zoo , Aquarium, and Biopark are nearby, as is wonderful Old Town. Heck, while you’re in Albuquerque… stay for a while! There’s a lot to love about my favorite city, and more to do there than you would think. Casinos, hiking, dining, museums – it’s a cultural mecca that I wish more people would take advantage of.

With Better Call Saul now filming in Albuquerque, along with several other films/movies, I think it’s high time I go back for another stalking adventure, don’t you? If I do, I’ll make sure to update my personal blog and probably Lindsay’s too! You can follow my blog (Temporary Rest Stop) online for more of my traveling adventures, and you can follow me on Instagram, too! Hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks Lindsay!

Editor’s Note – Thank you so much, Becky! I thoroughly enjoyed the post and am wanting to re-visit New Mexico now more than ever! Such a beautiful place.

May 6, 2016
Old Town Bar from “Sex and the City”

My recent trip to New York was nothing short of epic and I somehow managed to stalk a good 100 locales while there. I cannot wait to blog about all of them! The spot I was most excited about visiting was one that had been perched at the top of my NYC To Stalk list for years, but that I had never actually made it to during any of my previous Big Apple vacays. I am talking about Old Town Bar, a historic Union Square-area watering hole that appeared in an early episode of fave show Sex and the City. Fate took hold during this trip, though, as one evening the Grim Cheaper, my friend Owen, from the When Write Is Wrong website, and I happened to randomly find ourselves just a few blocks from the tavern, which also goes by the name “Old Town Bar & Restaurant,” right around dinnertime, so we popped in for a bite to eat. The establishment turned out to be everything I hoped it would be – and more.

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Old Town Bar is the quintessential historic Manhattan watering hole. As author Jef Klein says in his book The History and Stories of the Best Bars of New York, “A setting that calls to mind a Scott Joplin tune, the Old Town Bar & Restaurant is absolutely vintage, Gilded Age New York.”

The eatery was originally established in 1892 (yes, 1892!) as Viemeister’s, a German restaurant/bar.

At the time of its inception, the property’s lower level housed a tavern that was only accessible to men, while the second floor (pictured below) was comprised of a dining room that was open to men, women and children.

During the Prohibition years, the establishment operated as a speakeasy known as Craig’s Restaurant. According to The History and Stories of the Best Bars of New York, some of the vintage booths still boasts seats that lift, “a “holdover from those days when customers needed a place to hide booze in a hurry.”

When Prohibition ended in 1933, the site was purchased by a man named Claus Lohden and rebranded “Old Town Bar.” Lohden and his children ran the place through 1985, at which time it was taken over by longtime employee Larry Meagher, who started working there in the ‘70s. By that point, the tavern had fallen into a bit of disrepair, so Larry began to restore it. Amazingly, and thanks in large part to his efforts, much of the original 1892 décor remains intact, including the 55-foot mahogany and marble bar, the 16-foot high tin ceilings (which according to The History and Stories of the Best Bars of New York were “last painted white on Election Day 1952” and are “stained a dark brown, thanks to years of cigar and cigarette smoke”), chandeliers (once gas-powered that have since been converted to electric), intricate black and white tile flooring, and a 258-square-foot bevel edge plate mirror. Even the property’s dumbwaiters are historic – according to the Old Town Bar website, they are “New York’s oldest active restaurant conveyers.” The urinals are also noteworthy. They hail from 1910 and are the last Hinsdale urinals still in operation on the East Coast. A 100th birthday party was infamously held in their honor in 2010. Yes, Old Town Bar is a place that appreciates and celebrates its history.

Today, the site is run by Larry Meagher’s five children, who work painstakingly to ensure that the watering hole’s history is kept alive. (And yes, I’m really annoyed at the a**hat in the second picture below who ruined my photo.)

Old Town Bar has long been popular with the literary set and has counted such luminaries as Pulitzer Prize winner Frank McCourt, poet Seamus Heaney, journalist Jim Dwyer, Payback author Thomas Kelly, novelist Nick Hornby, writer Nuala O’Faolain, dramatist Brian Friel, poet Billy Collins, screenwriter Budd Schulberg, and columnist Christopher Hitchens as patrons. Artist Andy Warhol was also known to frequent the site.

It’s not hard to see the appeal of the place – not only is the ambiance fabulous and oh-so “old New York,” but the food is excellent! Any restaurant that features chicken strips on the regular menu (not just the kids’) is my kind of spot!

Thanks to its old world aesthetic, location managers have long flocked to Old Town Bar. The sheer amount of productions it has appeared in is amazing! In fact, I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started writing this post.

It is there that Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) – in an epic, slow-motion, heart-pounding moment – runs into Mr. Big (Chris Noth) for the first time since their break-up in the Season 2 episode of Sex and the City titled “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” Even though the circumstances couldn’t be better for Carrie – she looks fabulous and has the “New Yankee” Joe (Mark Devine) on her arm – seeing Big causes her to break down.

I learned about Old Town Bar’s appearance in the episode thanks to the book Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell, in which co-executive producer John Melfi is quoted as saying, “On Sex and the City, we try to have a location make sense for the scenes. We’ll go to a historic location like the Old Town Bar, where Carrie went on a date with the Yankee, and we’ll be careful not to damage the mirrors or the booths because it’s a staple of New York and we want people to know that that’s a real bar. We’re really proud to be able to shoot in these places.”

Old Town Bar was also featured prominently in the opening credits of The David Letterman Show from 1982 to 1993. In the segment, the camera panned the front of the watering hole and then ventured inside and scanned the interior. Sorry for the craptastic screen captures below – the only clip of the credits available on YouTube is of low quality.

You can watch that clip by clicking below.

In the 1990 drama State of Grace, Frankie Flannery (Ed Harris) attempts to offload five cases of Bushmills to a unwilling bar owner at the watering hole.

That same year, Old Town Bar popped up in the drama Q & A as the spot where Asst. Dist. Atty. Aloysius ‘Al’ Francis Reilly (Timothy Hutton) met with Leo Bloomenfeld (Lee Richardson) for a corned beef lunch.

Old Town Bar was used in establishing shots of Riff’s Bar, Jamie Stemple Buchman (Helen Hunt) and Paul Buchman’s (Paul Reiser) regular hangout – where Ursula Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) haphazardly waited tables – on the ‘90s television series Mad About You.

Interior scenes that took place at Riff’s were obviously not filmed on site, but on a set located at The Culver Studios, where the series was lensed.

I was thrilled to spot a letter hanging on the wall at Old Town Bar from one of the Mad About You associate producers that detailed the first appearance of the property on the series.

The music video for House of Pain’s 1992 hit “Jump Around” was largely filmed at Old Town Bar.

You can watch that video by clicking below.

Portions of Madonna’s 1993 “Bad Girl” music video were also lensed at Old Town Bar.

You can watch the “Bad Girl” video by clicking below.

According to the Old Town Bar website, the watering hole also made an appearance in the 1994 comedy Bullets Over Broadway. I believe the scene shot on the premises is pictured below.

Though some elements don’t seem to correlate with the set-up of the actual bar, the paned glass panel pictured behind John Cusack and Dianne Wiest in the screen captures match what was shown on Sex and the City, as does the posted “MEN” sign and the coat hooks positioned next to it.

In 1997’s The Devil’s Own, Rory Devaney (Brad Pitt) meets up with Billy Burke (Treat Williams) at Old Town Bar.

The establishment masks as Rex’s, the restaurant where Alice (Chloe Sevigny), Charlotte (Kate Beckinsale), Des (Chris Eigeman) and Jimmy (Mackenzie Austin) go on a group date and discuss feminism, in 1998’s The Last Days of Disco.

In the 2000 drama Boiler Room, Chris Varick (Vin Diesel) and his co-workers get into a fight with some J.P. Morgan brokers at Old Town Bar.

In 2008, the exterior of the site popped up in a brief establishing shot in the drama Life in Flight, though interiors were filmed elsewhere.

Old Town Bar appeared twice in the Season 1 episode of Bored to Death titled “The Case of the Stolen Sperm,” which aired in 2009 – first in the scene in which Jonathan Ames (Jason Schwartzman) and George Christopher (Ted Danson) ran into reviewers Richard Antrem (Oliver Platt) and Louis Greene (John Hodgman), and later in the scene in which Richard challenged George to a boxing match.

Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) and Ben Donovan (David Call) celebrated Valentine’s Day at Old Town Bar in the Season 4 episode of Gossip Girl titled “It-Girl Happened One Night,” which aired in 2011.

In the Season 1 episode of Person of Interest titled “Matsya Nyaya,” which aired in 2012, John Reese (James Caviezel) and Joss Carter (Taraji P. Henson) had a heart-to-heart about trust – and saved one of their numbers – at Old Town Bar.

And the tavern was where Joey (Jamie Bell) proposed to Angie (Genesis Rodriguez) at the end of the 2012 thriller Man on a Ledge.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: Old Town Bar, from the “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” episode of Sex and the City, is located at 45 East 18th Street, near Union Square, in New York. You can visit the watering hole’s official website here.

May 2, 2016
The Filming Locations of “Dawson’s Creek”
Many, many moons ago, I began to compile what I call my “Stalking Bucket List” – a catalog of far-off filming locations that I would like to visit at some point during my lifetime. At the very top of that list is Wilmington, North Carolina, which masqueraded as the fictional “Capeside, Massachusetts” on one of my favorite television series of all time, Dawson’s Creek. Though the coming-of-age teen drama went off the air over a decade ago, I am still just as obsessed with it now as I was then. And while I have yet to make it to Wilmington, a fellow stalker/longtime reader named Toni Frazer has visited the coastal city several times over the years and was nice enough to write up her adventures to share on IAMNOTASTALKER. Thank you, Toni! Take it away!

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In high school, I used to escape to a little town in North Carolina called Wilmington.

Not literally…I lived in Australia; but every Thursday night Wilmington was shown as the location of Dawson’s Creek’s small Cape Cod town: Capeside, Massachusetts.

Wilmington (and its surrounds) has been used as a backdrop for many productions, most notably another teenaged focused show One Tree Hill and films like Domestic Disturbance, I Know What You Did Last Summer and A Walk to Remember.

Growing up, it was the ONE location I wanted to visit when I mentally planned my first overseas trip to the United States. When it finally happened in 2008, Wilmington was at the top of the list. I had to see it. I had to stand in front of Dawson’s house. I had to ‘enter’ Capeside (and by then, Tree Hill as well due to the current popularity of One Tree Hill which I loved just as much!)

I fell in love with Wilmington from that very first trip; and over the past decade I have managed to visit 3 times, seeing different locations every time I have done so (and returning to those I love, too). Things have changed over this time. Locations once there are no longer. Things don’t look how they did back on that first trip. But that’s ok. I just love being in this town any chance I get, whether I can see locations or not. It feels like home to me.

Here are 10 of my favourite locations over the 3 visits I have taken. I would include all of them, but there’s always time for other posts. I’ve placed these locations within the region of Wilmington they belong to so you can see which locations are where when you head there!

Maybe your favourite location made the cut?

Downtown Wilmington

Dawson Leery’s House – 6424 Head Road, Wilmington

On my very first trip to Wilmington in 2008, I trekked (as in walked for ages!) to Dawson’s house (pictured above) and it blew me away with how amazing the experience turned out. The house is not located right in the centre of town, so it isn’t easy to get there. It was closest to the mall more than anything, so I managed to get to that and then walked to the house as I was too scared to hire a car being only 22 and everything was the on the opposite side anyway. (These days, I love driving over there!)

Head Road residences fork off the street as you go along it, so you need to follow the fork to the right where Dawson’s and Jen’s houses are located. Mailboxes are near the road so it isn’t hard to find the right spot and the two houses are also located at the beginning of the road which helps.

Being a private residence, I arrived at the house and knocked on the door to ask if it was ok to take photos. But no one answered. Only planning on spending less than 10 minutes there, I had to risk the chance of trespassing because I had traveled too far to go back, and there is no actual fence on the property, so you literally can walk between the two houses and out to the creek from the driveway, just like in the show.

I will preface this by saying, I didn’t enter into Jen’s house (pictured below) whilst there, as it does have a fence and I am not sure the owner loves all the attention. But at least you can take a photo of it in any case.

Making my move, I walked to the back of the Leery house (which is actually the front on the show); and took some snaps. I saw Dawson’s famous window – the one Joey climbed into – and felt goose bumps immediately. Walking on the lawn and taking in the whole house as I stood on the dock that had also been used in the show many times (including that infamous crying face Dawson does when Joey chooses Pacey over him in Season 3); well, I cannot describe how it felt standing here. When you have watched the show as much as I have, every scene that played out there I could remember in that instant: the weddings, baby showers, elicit affairs being discovered…it was like walking through memory lane. Except, they weren’t my memories.

Everything looked exactly as it did on the show: the outdoor furniture, the creek, the house…which was all I wanted in seeing this spot. So many times, when tracking down a location, the owners have changed the façade or even re-modeled or painted the residence. Luckily for me, it was as if I was standing on a preserved set (which I was)…and seeing it all made it that much more amazing! I couldn’t believe I was actually standing right there!

I walked out onto the dock and took a few more photos, sitting on the edge just like Joey and Dawson did many a time. The creek is just beautiful! Anyone who has a house along there is just lucky. What a view!

As I went to leave, ecstatic with my experience, the owners did pull up and I found they were an older aged couple who had lived there for many years. The female owner invited me inside for a cold drink (as it was a very hot day), and I couldn’t pass up the chance to see what the real inside of the house looked like (plus I was thirsty).

The Leery house was beautiful and getting a tour from the owner was more than I ever could have wished for. Seeing the real interior was awesome. It was so different from the Leery’s interior, but similar too. Many marriage proposals happen out there on the dock, which the owner was telling me about; and as a lover of the show I can see why this would be the place to do it if you’re dating a real Dawson’s Creek fan. (Future husband -whoever you are…take note!) She told me about the filming that took place on their lawn and about meeting Goldie Hawn’s son, Oliver, who joined the show in Season 5 as Eddie – and how lovely he was.

Finally, we went out onto the covered-in porch area that was featured many times on the show. It was EXACTLY as it was back then, down to ‘The Leery’s’ house sign on the wall near the door. After filming of the series ended, the owners kept the furniture and outdoor setting the show provided and left it as it was – which explains why everything looked so familiar…and again was information that I would never have known! Standing on the porch remembering all the different scenes that took place there was amazing. There was a replica porch built (which was featured when Dawson took Joey onto the set of his show in the later years), which means not everything was filmed at the actual house for every scene.

I left the house by exiting from the porch just as I had seen the many characters do and I truly felt like I was in an episode of the show. It was just amazing standing there and a real dream come true. Being able to see this house in such detail only 5 years after the show ended is a moment I will never forget. Whether the house still has all these features, I don’t care. I got to see it all for myself and it’s all I need. I don’t think I will re-visit this location because nothing will beat that first visit, and I don’t want to ruin the memories that I have if it has changed. Maybe one day I will change my mind. But I doubt it.

*Please do respect the privacy of the owners. Whether or not the owners still feel comfortable having people visit their house, I do not know. My experience was definitely an exception to any I have read.

Capeside High School – University Of North Carolina at Wilmington, 601 South College Road, Wilmington

The one mistake Dawson’s Creek made in their locations was to use a university campus for their high school setting. Why? Because when the college years came along…they had to go to Duke to get the feel for college life. But, it did mean that high school life in Capeside was a dream. And walking around the UNCW Campus in Wilmington is a dream.

I have visited the campus on many occasions and standing on the courtyard lawn is just stunning for a location, whether it is associated with a television show or not.

Alderman Hall is the only building that was featured on the show, and when I was last there in 2012, the park bench that is situated at the entrance of Alderman Hall (on the right) had a plaque on it about the show, which I thought was very sweet for them to acknowledge.

The interior was not used obviously, but many scenes took place on the campus whether it was Joey and Dawson’s massive fight at the dance after Jack and Joey’s kiss is discovered; or Pacey talking to Kristy Livingston for the first time thanks to Andie (even if he had to fake a “heart stripe”), or the high school graduation on the great lawn. So much happened right there, it is a Dawson’s Creek-lover’s delight.

Alderman Hall is located right off the roundabout on Wagoner Drive, so it is quite easy to find once you enter the campus. If you look at Alderman Hall on Google Maps, it actually has a tag saying ‘Capeside High School’ on it, which is pretty funny too.

Historic Wilmington

Market Street/Water Street/ Cape Fear Riverwalk

Market Street and Water Street are well-known locations from Dawson’s Creek. Numerous scenes were filmed there and along the adjoining Riverwalk. When I first arrived in Wilmington, I literally felt déjà vu unlike any other moment in my life.

I mean, I walked along the roads and recognized places that I had never seen in person before. I actually felt like I was walking in a dream. That I was in a place that felt like home – because it was. I knew it so well. It was extremely surreal.

Market Street runs vertical towards the Cape Fear Riverwalk, whilst Water Street runs along the Cape Fear River and intersects with Market Street. The minute you visit these streets, you will recognize them immediately.

Locations which are found here include:
- In Season 1, the bus shelter where Joey and Dawson buy tickets so that they can head to the prison to see her dad, and the street where Pacey almost gets run over by Jen’s NYC boyfriend, Billy.
- The art gallery that Joey and Jack visited in Season 2 and where Pacey picked up Andie and Jack for the Prom, which is actually the Alton Lennon Federal Building.
- The many walk-and-talk scenes, whether it was Season 1 when Dawson and Joey shopped for an anniversary gift for Mitch and Gail, Season 2 when Dawson attempted to shoplift with Jen, or when Dawson, Mitch and Tamara Jacobs met on the street. This was right where it all happened.
- Scenes from Season 3’s boat race regatta when Pacey and Dawson dueled it out for Joey were also filmed here. Honestly, it is endless.
No matter where you walk around here, you will feel like you’re in Capeside. That is a fact.

Two cool locations that also need to be checked out here are two of the restaurants that were featured on the show: Leery’s Fresh Fish and Pacey’s Restaurant in the last ever episode.

Leery’s Fresh Fish has changed owners over the years and is currently the Kabob & Grill Downtown, which specializes in Indian cuisine. The interior still looks exactly the same as it did during the filming of the show, and fans are proudly invited inside for a meal so they can enjoy seeing it!

The location of this restaurant is 5 South Water Street, Wilmington.

Pacey’s restaurant is on the Riverwalk, at a place called Elijah’s. It is one of the popular restaurants in the historic area of Wilmington, with gorgeous views of the Cape Fear River alongside it.

The location of this restaurant is 2 Ann Street, Wilmington.

“The Rialto” Movie Theatre – Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts, 310 Chestnut Street, Wilmington

Thalian Hall opened in 1858 and is one of the United States’ oldest theatres. It is a stunning place, whether you like the show or just history itself and is well worth the visit. Upon my first visit to Wilmington in 2008, I knew I had to see this location no matter what. Not only was it a huge part of my favourite episode (the pilot), but it was also used in other key moments in the series as well, which made me want to see it that much more.

Thalian Hall was the location of the Capeside cinema named “The Rialto.” The 3 scenes here that were featured on the show were more than memorable.

In Season 1’s pilot episode, Dawson takes the gang to the movies so that he can have a semi-quasi-date with Jen. Dragging Pacey and Joey along to take the pressure off, he instead finds Pacey is too interested in flirting with his new English teacher, Ms. Jacobs, and Joey is too love struck for Dawson to be spectator to his advances towards Jen. It ends in disaster and verbal and physical punches are thrown in more ways than one in the lobby.

In Season 2, however, Dawson and Joey have their first date at the Rialto. Things don’t go well, though, with Jen crashing their date and that lone yellow flower left on Joey’s seat is one of the show’s saddest moments. An honorable mention must also go to Grams who tells Jen that she came to the cinema for the Rialto’s final night (before its makeover) to be with her recently passed love.

Finally, in Season 3, Joey is the one crashing dates, as she tries to save Andie from her sleazy boss after he takes her here on a date.

The main stage and lobby of Thalian Hall were used in these episodes which means lovers of the show can truly reminisce about these particular scenes.

Sitting in Thalian Hall is a must for all fans of the show. They do hold events there and also offer tours Monday-Friday for $10 per person.

Hell’s Kitchen – 118 Princess Street, Wilmington

During the college years of Dawson’s Creek, Joey worked in a bar. This bar, much to the delight of fans, remains open and is still a bar today…and still named Hell’s Kitchen.

Hell’s Kitchen is just how it was in the show, which makes eating a meal or having a drink here that much more enjoyable. You can pretend you’ve got Eddie behind the bar, Joey waiting tables…it’s a real-life set right here. How amazing that we still get to enjoy it?

Joey’s Wall – Southern Side of City Limits Saloon, 28 South Front Street, Wilmington (across from The Reel Café)

Unfortunately, this is one location that is no longer around. Back in 2008, it was though. So luckily for me, I was able to see it for myself and stand in front of it just like Joey did in the show. Standing there was a dream come true. Of all the locations I have seen from the show, this was the most thrilling to see, because of what it represented: true love.

Although there were no words painted on it, and no one asking me to stay…a girl can still dream right?

The area itself was used as a vacant lot for many years following its use on the show. But, over the proceeding years, they did begin to build on it; last I saw it was a seating area for a restaurant. It looks nice, but alas; no wall. If you make the trek to this location, use your imagination and you’ll still see it.

Editor’s Note – Sadly, an outdoor seating area is now situated in front of Joey’s wall. You can check out comparison Google Street View images of the wall from 2008 and 2012 below.

The good news is that, despite the seating area, the top portion of the wall is still visible. This is especially good news for me because out of all the locations featured on Dawson’s Creek over the years, Joey’s wall is the one I want to see the most.

Wrightsville Beach Area

Airlie Gardens – “The Ruins,” 300 Airlie Road, Wilmington

Ever since the first season of Dawson’s Creek, with episode 3’s “The Kiss”, I dreamt of seeing this location.

The Airlie Gardens were used many times throughout the show’s run. The most notable episode was when Dawson took Jen to “The Ruins”, a private residence, to film the closing scene of his horror film. But instead, he ended up accidently filming Pacey and his English teacher, Ms. Jacobs, doing the deed.

It all worked out for Dawson though, as he finally got his first kiss.

Other scenes that were filmed here include when Dawson and Joey went to The Ruins to make out after getting a sex-ed talk from Mitch and Gail. Airlie Gardens have also been featured in other productions , too.

The location of The Ruins can be found in Airlie Gardens’ Pergola Garden. Staff will be happy to assist and direct you to this area with a map of the grounds. It really is a stunning place, even if the show hadn’t filmed here, I’d still want to see it.

Airlie Gardens is open every day from March 21st-December 31st; and Tuesday-Sunday from January to mid-March. Tickets are $9.

Dockside Restaurant – “The Icehouse,” 1308 Airlie Road, Wilmington

There were 2 locations used as The Icehouse, the restaurant Joey’s sister, Bessie, owned. One was located in Historic Wilmington on the Cape Fear River, but the show was no longer able to shoot there after Season 2, which is most probably why producers decided to write a storyline in which The Icehouse burned down in the episode titled “Parental Discretion Advised.”

Starting in early Season 2, the Dockside Restaurant was used as The Icehouse. Scene filmed there include when Abby and Jen met Vincent, their older seafaring man, and the time Devon, the actress playing ‘Joey’ in Dawson’s film, mirrors her as she waits on her table and ultimately freaks her out.

You can definitely tell scenes in which Dockside was used because the restaurant actually sits on the water in the marina, unlike the other location that faced the Cape Fear River. But best of all, you can eat at Dockside and enjoy being on the set of Dawson’s Creek. People actually park their boats to eat here too. Pretty cool huh?

The Roadside Bend – Airlie Road, Wilmington

Airlie Road also has 3 key scenes from the show that are a must for any fan to remember.

Coming onto Airlie Road from Eastwood Road, just past Dockside Restaurant, there is a clear bend in the street up ahead. For all of the Pacey and Joey lovers out there, right before this bend is the very location of the kiss that changed the show.

The second scene worth remembering was when Joey was pulled over by Deputy Doug for going too slow, all because he wants to inform her that Pacey is leaving for the summer.

The third scene that was filmed here involved the death of Mitch Leery in Season 5. This was the spot where his car accident occurred. In later episodes, this was the place Pacey took Dawson to deal with his father’s death to help him move on.

This is the one location any true fan must see. I actually had goose bumps standing here and remembering those scenes.

Southport – The Marina, Yacht Basin Drive and West Brunswick Street

Southport is a famous place. Home to I Know What You Did Last Summer and Nicholas Sparks’ Safe Haven to name just a few. Dawson’s Creek really made use of Southport as a location over the years.

The key location here was the Marina that sits right on Yacht Basin Drive and West Brunswick Street. The most famous episode took place in this spot, Season 3’s “The Longest Day” – you know, the episode that repeats over and over as Pacey and Joey’s affair is finally discovered by Dawson?

In the episode, Pacey finishes his boat and the gang celebrates by christening it at the dock. As the episode repeats over and over, the marina is featured numerous times.

This location plays a large part in other Season 3 episodes, as well. One of the first scenes of the season starts right here, as Joey works at her job at Logan’s Marina…which Dawson ends up crashing Mitch’s boat into after an afternoon with Eve.

And it is at the marina that Joey finally professes her love for Pacey with her “I think I’m in love with you” speech in the Season 3 finale, which ends with the two sailing off into the sunset. Funnily enough, the real location that sits on the marina is called Potter’s Seafood. Go figure.

Standing here is a true moment and one I was so happy to find. You will also notice that West Brunswick Street was also used in quite a few scenes – in Season 1 when Billy comes to town and speaks to Dawson about Jen and in Season 3’s “The Longest Day” when Joey confides to Jen about her relationship with Pacey.

There are many locations in Southport that were also used in the credits over the years, from the swings they all sit on, to Pacey standing on his anchor. Many other scenes from the series were shot there, as well, primarily from Seasons 1, 2 and 3, which I could discuss all day.

Southport is well worth a stop.

BONUS LOCATIONS: Pacey’s Boat – Screen Gems Studio – 1223 North 23rd Street, Wilmington/Dawson’s Windows – The Children’s Museum of Wilmington – 116 Orange Street, Wilmington

Two ‘locations’ I have been lucky enough to see were Pacey’s boat and the windows from Dawson’s bedroom; yes the windows Joey climbed through herself!

These were both seen in 2008 & 2011, so whether they are still something one can see now is another story.

Firstly, Pacey’s boat, aka the ‘True Love,’ was at Screen Gems Studios, where the Dawson’s Creek set could be found. They used to do studio tours, however during the visits I took, I was only able to see things from One Tree Hill, but that was still pretty awesome.

The ‘True Love’ was sitting in the backlot, though, and since it had been 8 years since the show ended, most people walked past it without even knowing what it was. The tour guide did explain that the boat had been auctioned and never picked up when we asked if it was Pacey’s boat. How is this even possible?? They no longer offer tours at Screen Gems, but when they did, tours were offered every weekend at 12pm for $10, should they resume it.

As for Dawson’s windows, they were and still are located at The Children’s Museum of Wilmington. At one point, Joey’s dorm room from Seasons 5 and 6 was also there, but I never saw it. The windows are a little weird, though, as they are closed shut and fixed into the wall. So it is a little odd to see a wall with huge windows, but for a fan and knowing what these windows represent? Well, it is just priceless!

These locations are really just the beginning. There is so much to see and experience in Wilmington from the show and other productions, too; it really is a TV show lover’s paradise.

If you’d like to see more filming locations from these shows and others, check out my website Enchanted Serendipity. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.

Editor’s Note – Big THANK YOU to Toni for this fabulous Dawson’s Creek write-up. Reading it only has me wanting to visit Wilmington more than I already did!
April 29, 2016