Be sure to check out my latest article for Discover Los Angeles about famous scenes shot at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel.
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New “L.A.” Mag Post – About the “Fuller House” House
My latest Scene It Before post, about the mystery of the Fuller House house, is up on LAmag.com. You can read it here!
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The Lost Horizon Apartment Complex from “Major Crimes”
I have long been a fan of the television series Major Crimes (as well as its parent show The Closer) and though I love pretty much every single episode that airs, I do have a definitive favorite – Season 2’s “There’s No Place Like Home.” For those who have not seen the episode (and you really should!), it centers around a group of retirees who live together in an apartment complex known as Lost Horizon. The complex was so integral to the storyline that it almost served as a character, so I, of course, was dying to stalk it. While I made an attempt at tracking it down back when the episode first aired in 2013, there was virtually nothing to go on (no street signs visible in the background, no evident address numbers, etc.), which caused me to grow frustrated rather quickly and give up. Then in November, I got inspired to begin the search once again after tracking down the Econo Inn & Suites from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (another locale I had long been on the hunt for) and, thanks to a helpful crew member, was successful this time around.
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In “There’s No Place Like Home,” the LAPD Major Crimes squad investigates the murder of the landlord of the Lost Horizon apartment complex, or as the residents like to call it “Shangri-La.” The complex’s tenants are a close group of former crew members of a long-running 1970s television series named Prognosis: Homicide. As the story goes, the Prognosis: Homicide location manager, a man named Norman, purchased the Shangri-La so that the friends could live out their golden years together. Sadly, Norman passed away soon after the former co-workers moved in, leaving the building to his hateful nephew, Ed, who immediately began allowing the complex to deteriorate. In a case of life imitating art, Ed winds up dead and the friends find themselves at the center of a murder investigation. In addition to the engaging, rather tongue-in-cheek storyline, the episode flourished thanks to a stellar guest cast that included such show biz legends as Tim Conway, Paul Dooley, Ron Glass, Doris Roberts, and Marion Ross. You can read an article that series creator James Duff wrote about the filming of it here.
In the episode, it is said that Lost Horizon is located at 1066 North Hastings Boulevard in Los Angeles, but it can actually be found at 2400 South Shenandoah Street in Mid-City.
The complex turned out to be nothing like I had expected. It is actually part of a little 3-acre compound that sits completely hidden from the street. One could easily drive right past it without realizing it was there.
The compound, known as Casa Rocha, is made up of several tiny bungalows, homes, and an apartment building, all of which can be reached via a small roadway off of Shenandoah Street.
Provenza (G.W. Bailey) and the gang were shown walking down that roadway in Major Crimes.
An aerial view of the complex, in which the areas that lie within it are denoted with a pink overlay, is pictured below. The entrance roadway is also marked. As you can see, the property is situated in a sort of upside-down L-shape.
I became very disappointed upon arriving when I realized that the area of the complex that appeared in Major Crimes (the apartment building portion of the property) was located at the very end of the roadway, in the eastern corner of the compound, and did not appear to be at all accessible. A nice resident happened to see us taking photographs out on the sidewalk, though, and was kind enough to invite us onto the premises for a closer look. I so love it when that happens!
I just about came out of my skin with excitement when I spotted the “Lost Horizon” signage that had appeared in Major Crimes posted at the apartment complex’s entrance.
I am guessing that the signage was not original to the property, but something brought in for the filming of “There’s No Place Like Home” and that the residents ended up liking it and asked for it to be left in place. (Being that the building has such a tropical feel, I find it only fitting that sun beams are visible in my photographs above and below.)
The complex was made to appear run down for the beginning scenes of “There’s No Place Like Home.”
By the end of the episode, though, the Prognosis: Homicide group has fixed the place up and bought it back to its pre-Ed former glory.
The ending scenes provide a much more realistic view of what the complex actually looks like.
The compound’s rear parking area also appeared in “There’s No Place Like Home.”
I am 99.9% certain that Ed’s apartment was just a set, though.
As I later learned, Casa Rocha is actually a historic property. The land where it now stands was originally part of the Rancho Rincon de los Bueyes Mexican land grant that was allocated to Bernardo Higuera and Camilo Lopez on December 7th, 1824. In 1865, a man named Antonio Jose Rocha constructed an adobe home named Casa de la Rocha on the property. Amazingly, that residence still stands to this day and is Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #13. It is pictured below. You can read a more in-depth history on the house here and on the Rancho Rincon de los Bueyes land grant 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: Casa Rocha, aka the Shangri-La/Lost Horizon apartment complex from the Season 2 episode of Major Crimes titled “There’s No Place Like Home,” is located at 2400 South Shenandoah Street in Mid-City.
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New Discover Los Angeles Post – Iconic Film Locations at Warner Bros. Studio
Be sure to check out my latest article for Discover Los Angeles about ten iconic film locations to see while on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood. You can read it here.
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Beeman Park from “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”
I often get asked if I think that someday down the road I might run out of places that I am passionate about stalking. That is like asking if I will ever tire of shopping! The answer is a definitive no! As long as movies and TV shows continue to be made, this girl will continue a’stalking, passionately so! Heck, even if Hollywood did cease churning out new films and television series, my To-Stalk List would remain full. I am constantly discovering new-to-me productions that warrant stalking, not to mention the fact that there are countless locations from films and shows I have long been a fan of that I have yet to visit. Case in point – Studio City’s Beeman Park which was featured in the 1985 romcom Girls Just Want to Have Fun, one of my all-time favorite flicks. Fellow stalker Chas, of the It’s Filmed There site, tracked down the locale a few years back, but, for whatever reason, I failed to stalk it until recently. When I finally did make it out there, though, I could not have been more thrilled and was immediately brought right back to the first time I watched the movie over 30 years ago!
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Beeman Park, which is also known as Studio City Recreation Center, is a very cute little spot that I had never heard of until Chas discovered it, which is actually quite surprising being that it has appeared onscreen numerous times.
The 4.5-acre park features four baseball diamonds, a jogging path with fitness stations, two basketball courts, a picnic area, a playground, four tennis courts, barbeque pits, and an auditorium.
Studio City Recreation Center is a very peaceful space. While we were walking around, we saw couples jogging, adults reading, kids engaging in pick-up basketball games, and fathers and sons playing catch on the various baseball diamonds. Though there were plenty of people on the premises, it was still quite quiet and tranquil – the perfect spot to spend a shady afternoon.
Beeman Park is also quaintly picturesque and it is not hard to see how it has wound up onscreen so many times over the years.
In Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Studio City Recreation Center masks as the unnamed downtown Chicago park where the Dance TV auditions are held. Though it is only featured in one scene, it is a rather prominent scene and several areas of the park are shown.
Those areas are denoted in the aerial view below.
In the beginning of the scene, Jeff Malene (Lee Montgomery) and Drew Boreman (Jonathan Silverman) drive onto the property via an access way on the park’s eastern side located at approximately 4457 Beeman Avenue. The house visible in the background of the segment is located at 4456 Beeman. The residence’s exterior has been altered in recent years, but you can see what it looked like previously via the Google Street View image pictured below, which was taken in July 2007.
A current photograph of the house is pictured below.
Though the access way that Drew and Jeff drove through is still intact, it is no longer accessible to cars.
After entering the property, Drew and Jeff park on a patch of grass located in the southern portion of Studio City Recreation Center, just south of the baseball diamonds. The same area is pictured in the photograph below, albeit from a different angle. It is there that Drew accidentally hits on a young Maggie Malene (Shannen Doherty) and calls her a punk, which, FYI, is not as cool new wave, but is a lot better than preteen!
The building that was visible behind Drew and Jeff in the scene is still there today, although it currently looks a bit different than it did when Girls Just Want to Have Fun was shot.
The colorful (and definitely ‘80s-style) stage where the actual auditions took place was set up on top of the park’s southwestern-most baseball diamond, in the area pictured below.
And come on, fans of the movie – you can’t look at the screen capture below and not have the lyrics to “Dancin’ in the Street” come pouring into your head, am I right? “Callin’ out around the world, are you ready for a brand new beat? Summer’s here and the time is right, for dancin’ in the street. They’re dancin’ in Chicago (dancin’ in the street), and down in New Orleans (dancin’ in the street), in New York City (dancin’ in the street). All we need is music – music, sweet, sweet, sweet music. There’ll be music everywhere – everywhere! They’ll be swingin’, swayin’ and records playin’ and dancin’ in the street!” I digress, but man, just one glimpse of that scene and all the lyrics come flooding right back!
I have always been obsessed with the Bob Fosse-style arm movements that Janey Glenn (Sarah Jessica Parker) employed during her audition, so I, of course, had to re-create them while I was there. (If I only had a stage!) I mean, it’s no wonder that Jeff fell in love with her in that moment.
You can watch a portion of the Girls Just Want to Have Fun audition scene by clicking below.
Studio City Recreation Center was also where Perry Cox (John C. McGinley) and Jordan Sullivan’s (Christa Miller) divorce ceremony was held in the Season 4 episode of Scrubs titled “My New Game,” which aired in 2004.
Beeman Park was the site of a couple of Laire (aka “Live Action Interactive Role-playing Explorers”) events in the 2008 comedy Role Models.
In the movie, it was made to appear as if “The Burger Hole” was located across the street from the park, but, in actuality, the restaurant, which is a Shakers in real life, can be found about 15 miles away at 601 Fair Oaks Avenue in South Pasadena.
Studio City Recreation Center was also where the Annual Pawnee Easter Egg Hunt was held in the Season 1 episode of Parks and Recreation titled “Canvassing,” which aired in 2009.
For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.
Big THANK YOU to Chas, from the It’s Filmed There website, for finding this location!
Until next time, Happy Stalking!
Stalk It: Beeman Park, aka Studio City Recreation Center from Girls Just Want to Have Fun, is located at 12621 Rye Street in Studio City. From what I have been able to piece together, the stage was set up diagonally in the eastern portion of the park, in the spot denoted with a pink rectangle below, the parking area was in the southern part of the park, in the spot denoted with a blue rectangle below, and the place where Jeff and Drew drove into the park (which is no longer accessible to cars) is located directly across the street from the house at 4456 Beeman Avenue, and is marked with the purple arrow below.
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“The Goldbergs” House
A couple of years ago, my good friend Lavonna got obsessed with the ABC series The Goldbergs and asked me to do some research on its locales. She was most interested in learning the location of the Goldberg family’s Anywhere, U.S.A.-style home and I found the address – 3071 Earlmar Drive in Cheviot Hills – rather quickly thanks to Robert of Movie Locations and More, who has a page dedicated to the show on his site. Oddly though, when I went to view the residence on Google Street View, I noticed that it looked rather different in reality than it did in the screen captures Robert had posted. Needless to say, I became intrigued and wound up uncovering some rather interesting behind-the-scenes information as to why. So although the pad has been covered on a few other websites, I figured it was most-definitely still worthy of a blog post.
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For those not in the know, The Goldbergs is a thirty minute television comedy based upon the real life childhood of producer Adam F. Goldberg. Much of the storyline comes directly from videos that a young Adam took of his family while growing up in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania during the 1980s. Though set on the East Coast, all filming takes place in Southern California. On the series, the Goldbergs – parents Murray (Jeff Garlin) and Beverly (Wendi McLendon-Covey) and their children, Adam (Sean Giambrone), Barry (Troy Gentile) and Erica (Hayley Orrantia) – live in a traditional two-story clapboard home. As you can see in the Street View image, which was taken in May 2011, as compared to the screen capture below, at the time the Goldberg residence looked much different in person than it did when the series began production in 2013. Namely, it lacked dormer windows.
Seeing the Street View imagery confused me to no end. I was not sure sure if the windows were an actual alteration made to the residence or something that production brought in for shooting purposes. Being that dormer windows are not an architectural element that can be added to a property without doing some major renovations, my guess was the latter. So I decided to do some digging and learned that the residence is only one story in real life, which meant that the dormers were not actual windows, but some sort of decoration – and therefore likely just an alteration done for the series.
I didn’t give the whole thing much thought after that. Then late last year, Lavonna got back onto a Goldbergs kick and asked me to start watching, as well. The Grim Cheaper and I viewed a few episodes shortly thereafter (it’s a great show, by the way) and as soon as I spotted those dormer windows, I got to thinking about their origins once again. So I logged into Google Street View and was surprised to see that the dormers were present in recent images of the house. My interest piqued more than ever, I did an internet search for “dormer windows” and “3071 Earlmar Drive” and was shocked to discover a series of exchanges on WikiLeaks that had been released during the Sony Hack of November 2014 and pertained to my query. Thanks to the 170,000 pieces of correspondence exposed by the so-called Guardians of Peace, not only did we learn that producer Scott Rudin thinks Angelina Jolie is a “minimally talented spoiled brat,” but also the story behind those darn dormer windows.
It breaks down like this – when the Earlmar Drive house was chosen for the series, it was proposed that four dormer windows be temporarily added to the roof of the structure. The installation caused a lot of back-and-forth between the production team and the homeowners due to the fact that when filming of The Goldbergs eventually concluded, the roof would have to be repaired to the tune of about $18,000. The owners apparently wound up liking the look of the windows, though – or just felt it would be easier to keep them intact – and it was later requested that they be left up permanently. This caused some more back-and-forth discussion between the production team because the roof analysis done prior to the windows being installed was based on them only being in place temporarily. As you all well know, this stalker loves herself some behind-the-scenes information, so I was practically salivating upon reading through the emails. (It is interesting to note that the homeowners did not want their name, address or photographs to be used in any aired footage. Little did they know that documents containing their name and address would be leaked to the masses via the Guardians of Peace shortly thereafter.)
Per a 2007 real estate listing, in real life, The Goldbergs house boasts 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2,419 square feet of living space, a remodeled kitchen with granite countertops, a vaulted and beamed living room ceiling, and a 0.20-acre plot of land.
According to Redfin, the dwelling, which was originally built in 1952, last sold in October 2007 for just under $1.5 million.
You can check out some interior photographs of the home here. Only the exterior of the property is used on the series, though. The inside of the Goldbergs’ house is actually just a set built on a soundstage at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City. Interestingly, that set was modeled after the dwelling that was featured as the Goldberg residence in the show’s pilot episode.
As is often the case with television shows, The Goldbergs pilot was filmed at a different home than the one used in all subsequent episodes. Thanks to the Seeing Stars website, I learned that the pilot residence (which is pictured below) is located at 4545 Del Moreno Drive in Woodland Hills.
While I could not find any photographs of the interior of the home that was utilized in the pilot, it is obvious from the way the episode was shot that filming did make use of the residence’s actual interior.
For the most part, the set is a pretty close re-creation of the actual home, though set designers did make some changes, which you can see in the collages that appear above and below.
Adam F. Goldberg’s real life childhood home, which is located at 405 Newbold Road in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, is actually much more extravagant than the residence chosen for the show. The 8-bedroom, 6-bath, 6,708-square-foot Tudor-style estate, which was originally built in 1925 and sits on 0.85 acres, is absolutely massive in size and, per Zillow, features a Mahogany library, a kitchen with “multiple Sub-Zero fridges” (because one is just never enough!), a Jacuzzi room (yep, a Jacuzzi “room” – you can see a photograph of it here), a whopping 3 fireplaces, a master bedroom with his-and-her changing rooms, a billiards parlor/game room, an in-ground swimming pool and a tennis court (though when it was put on the market in 2011, the land containing the pool and tennis court were being listed separately).
For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.
Big THANK YOU to Robert, from the Movie Locations and More website, for finding this location!
Until next time, Happy Stalking!
Stalk It: The Goldberg family home from The Goldbergs is located at 3071 Earlmar Drive in Cheviot Hills.
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Non-Warner Bros. Studio Locations of “Pretty Little Liars”
I have covered Pretty Little Liars locations ad nauseam on my blog, as well as on the other sites that I write for. As I’ve mentioned in all of the posts, the series is lensed pretty much in its entirety at Warner Bros. Studio in Burbank (you can check out an extensive guide to the WB locations used on the show here and here) and it is a rare occasion that filming of any kind takes place off the lot. Over the years, I have compiled a list of the few non-studio locales utilized on the series and thought it would be fun to chronicle them in a single post. So here you have it, all of the PLL locations that cannot be found at the WB (excluding the Vancouver sites from the pilot episode, which I covered here, here, here, here and here).
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1. Dr. Ackard’s Office – In the Season 1 episode titled “Reality Bites Me,” Hanna Marin (Ashley Benson) begins assisting at the dental office of Dr. Ackard (Paula Cale) as a way to work off the damage she caused by crashing Dr. Ackard’s son’s car. The site that masked as the dental office on the series is actually one of my favorite buildings in all of Los Angeles, one that I have mentioned many times on this blog – the John Ferraro Building, aka the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power located at 111 North Hope Street in downtown L.A. The structure, which I chronicled in a 2010 post, is only used in establishing shots on Pretty Little Liars. The interior of Dr. Ackard’s actual office – as well as the neighboring office of Jenna Marshall’s (Tammin Sursok) psychologist, which Hanna broke into – is a set built inside of a soundstage at Warner Bros. Studio.
2. Rosewood Greens Country Club – In that same episode, Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario) and her father play a “friendly” game of doubles tennis against one of Spencer’s dad’s clients at Rosewood Greens Country Club, said to be located in Rosewood, Pennsylvania, where the series is set. Filming of the club scenes actually took place at the Toluca Lake Country Club, which is located pretty much right next door to Warner Bros. Studio at 6711 Forest Lawn Drive in Burbank. Sadly, the property is closed to the public, so as of yet, I have not been able to stalk it.
3. Ian’s Burial – Ian Thomas (Ryan Merriman) is laid to rest at Rosewood’s local cemetery in the Season 2 episode titled “The Devil You Know.” The burial scene was actually lensed, though, at the oft-filmed Mountain View Cemetery located at 2400 North Fair Oaks Avenue in Altadena. Countless productions have been filmed at Mountain View and while I covered the place in an October 2010 post, come October I will be doing a redux as I have since discovered numerous other credits that I need to add to its extensive filming resume.
4. A Is Unmasked – In Pretty Little Liars Season 2 finale, which was titled “UnmAsked,” the Liars learn the true identity of A and confront her while on a dark and twisty Rosewood road. Thanks to a helpful crew member, I learned that the scene was shot on Mount Hollywood Drive inside of Griffith Park. Unfortunately though, due to the lack of light and the fact that very little of the surrounding area was shown, I have yet to pinpoint the exact spot where the climactic sequence took place.
In that same episode, Jenna secretly rendezvoused with A at a turnout also located on Mount Hollywood Drive.
5. Fitzgerald Theatre – In Pretty Little Liars’ Season 5 premiere, titled “EscApe from New York,” Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse) and the girls hide out from A at the Fitzgerald Theatre in New York City. In reality, filming took place about 2,800 miles outside of Manhattan at downtown Los Angeles’ Orpheum Theatre, which is located at 842 South Broadway. I covered this locale in a post for L.A. magazine here. Sadly, I have only ever stalked the exterior of the Orpheum, but am hoping to catch a glimpse of its interior at some point by either seeing a show there or by embarking upon a Los Angeles Conservancy Broadway Historic Theatre and Commercial District Walking Tour.
6. The Rosewood Courthouse – In the Season 5 episodes titled “The Melody Lingers On” and “I’m a Good Girl, I Am,” a standing court set at Riverfront Stages, located at 13100 Telfair Avenue in Sylmar, stood in for the Rosewood courtroom where Alison’s trial for the murder of Mona Vanderwaal (Janel Parrish) was held. You can check out some photographs of that courtroom set here. I can’t currently find much information about the facility online, so I am guessing that it might have closed recently. Its sister studio, located at 3061 Treadwell Street in Glassell Park, is still in operation, though. You can see the website for that property here.
7. Hollis College – Although several different areas of Warner Bros. Studio have been used to represent Hollis College over the years, in the Season 5 episode titled “Pretty Isn’t the Point,” production made the short trek over to Warner Bros. Ranch to shoot some campus scenes. I recently wrote about the Ranch, which is located about a mile northeast of Warner Bros. Studio at 411 North Hollywood Way in Burbank, for the Mike the Fanboy website. You can check out that post here. In “Pretty Isn’t the Point,” Spencer grabs coffee with Johnny Raymond (Will Bradley) at what is supposed to be Hollis. The scene was actually lensed, though, in front of the Ranch’s row of picturesque townhouses. Those same townhomes famously appeared each week in the background of the Friends opening credits.
On a fashion side-note – Spencer’s outfit in that scene is one of my favorites of the entire series. So simple, so classy, and oh so cute!
8. Art Gallery – Later in “Pretty Isn’t the Point,” while walking near Hollis, Spencer and Johnny discover that their graffitied artwork has been stolen and is now for sale in a local gallery. That scene was shot just a few feet away from where the two had coffee earlier in the episode, at one of the Ranch’s townhome façades.
A close-up view of that townhouse is pictured below. It is easily one of the most picturesque structures at Warner Bros. Ranch.
9. Gas Station – Later in that same episode, Toby Cavanaugh (Keegan Allen) arrests Johnny for breaking into the art gallery while at a nearby gas station. That gas station is also located at Warner Bros. Ranch, just a bit southeast of the townhome façades, and should look familiar to The Middle fans – it is used regularly as Ehlert Motors on the ABC series.
10. Aunt Carol’s House – In Season 6’s “Don’t Look Now,” Jason DiLaurentis (Drew Van Acker) and the Liars discover the gravesite of Charles DiLaurentis while visiting Jason’s aunt’s house. That clapboard residence is another Warner Bros. Ranch location and is best known as being the Walton family home from The Waltons.
11. Rosewood Community Pool – The Ranch’s large swimming pool also made an appearance as the Rosewood Community Pool, where Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell) took Sara Harvey (Dre Davis) swimming in that same episode.
12. Welby State Psychiatric Hospital – In a bonus scene that aired during the Season 6 special titled “Five Years Forward,” Alison and Jason visit Charlotte DiLaurentis (Vanessa Ray) at the Welby State Psychiatric Hospital. One of Pasadena’s most famous properties, the Tournament House at 391 South Orange Grove Boulevard, was used in the establishing shot of the institution in the episode. I wrote about the oft-filmed locale in a recent Los Angeles magazine post.
I do not believe that any actual filming took place at the Tournament House, though. I am fairly certain that all of the scene’s on-location shooting was done at Warner Bros. Studio.
One non-studio locale that I have been unable to track down is the Speed Demon Express exterior that was featured in Season 2’s “The Devil You Know.” Though an address number of 4680 or 4690 is visible above the storefront’s doors, try as I might, I have not been able to find the place. If it looks familiar to anyone, please let me know.
Interestingly, by the time that Season 2’s “If These Dolls Could Talk” was filmed, a different exterior was chosen to stand in for Speed Demon Express. That exterior is located on Warner Bros. Studio’s Midwest Business Street and, in an ironic twist, is the very same exterior that is used regularly as The Brew on the series. It was altered significantly prior to being transformed into The Brew, though, and is hardly recognizable from its appearance as Speed Demon Express. Prior to the remodel, the same façade also masked as Sophie’s Music on Gilmore Girls. You can check out what it looked like at the time on Chas’ It’s Filmed There website. Big thank you to Chas for helping me to ID this one.
If anyone can think of any other instances in which filming took place off the lot, please let me know. 🙂
And on a Pretty Little Liars side-note – my mom and I had the pleasure of meeting Troian Bellisario this past weekend and I can honestly say that she is one of the nicest celebrities I have ever encountered! A complete and total doll! I love her even more now than I did before! Troian is currently starring in a play called The Last Match in San Diego. I’ve heard that it is excellent and am hoping to head back down there to catch it in the coming weeks. If I do, I will definitely review it here.
For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
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Happy Presidents’ Day
I would like to wish all of my fellow stalkers a very happy Presidents’ Day. I hope everyone is enjoying a fun and safe three-day weekend.
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I would also like to wish a very happy birthday to my grandma today! I love you and wish we were celebrating together! xo xo xo
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The “WarGames” 7-Eleven
I am not a spontaneous person by nature. I much prefer planning things out, especially when it comes to vacations. Typically when going on a trip, I investigate any and all filming that has been done in the area we are heading to. As I mentioned in Monday’s post, though, our Big Bear Lake getaway last week was completely last minute. So much so that I was unable to do any sort of location research beforehand, which is a shame being that not only has the region seen copious amounts of filming over the years, but I even own two books which chronicle much of it, Those Magnificent Mountain Movies and More Magnificent Mountain Movies. One area locale that is well-covered online, though, is the 7-Eleven that was featured in the 1983 movie WarGames. So I made a point of stalking it while we were in town.
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The 7-Eleven only shows up once in WarGames, in the scene in which Seattle high school student David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) is arrested by the FBI for hacking into a NORAD supercomputer named WOPR and starting a game of Global Thermonuclear War again Russia.
As you can see below, very little of the 7-Eleven has been changed in the three-plus decades (!) since filming took place, which is absolutely amazing to me.
The surrounding area also remains virtually untouched.
The Foulkes Building, which is located just east of the 7-Eleven, has undergone a paint job, but otherwise looks the same as it did onscreen in 1983.
As does the McDonald’s that is located to the west.
And while payphones are no longer as ubiquitous as they once were, the one that was visible in the background of WarGames is, amazingly, still there!
After the FBI collars David, they usher him into a van and rush out of the 7-Eleven parking lot, making a right onto Eureka Drive, heading north.
I originally learned of this locale thanks to the Washington State Film Locations website, which has a page dedicated to WarGames.
On a Big Bear Lake side-note – I would be remiss if I did not mention how absolutely beautiful the area is.
It is not at all hard to see why filmmakers have returned there time and time again.
We are already planning a second trip up there in the coming weeks – and this time I am going to be prepared with a full stalking list!
I am also desperate to see Big Bear during the summer months. I can’t even imagine how beautiful the city must be when the lake is visible.
Be sure to re-read my post on Falken’s cabin from WarGames, which, thanks to an assist from fellow stalker David of The Location Scout website, I just updated with mentions of its many other onscreen appearances.
And if you happen to be in a bookstore or at a newsstand in the next few days, check out the latest issue of Closer Weekly magazine – a photograph I took of The Golden Girls house is featured in it.
For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.
Big THANK YOU to the Washington State Film Locations website for finding this location.
Until next time, Happy Stalking!
Stalk It: The 7-Eleven from WarGames is located at 41440 Big Bear Boulevard in Big Bear Lake.
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New “L.A.” Mag Post – About Robert Kardashian’s Former House
My Los Angeles magazine postings are back! For the time being, until a new full-time editor is found to replace my former editor, I will only be contributing to LAmag.com once or twice a month, for The Culture Files section of the website. Check out my latest post about Robert Kardashian’s former home, which just made an appearance as itself in the new FX miniseries The People v. O.J. Simpson.
