Altadena – IAMNOTASTALKER

June 29, 2020June 28, 2020

The Chapel of the Gardens from “Hollywood”

Altadena’s Mountain View Mausoleum may not be Southern California’s most well-known mausoleum, but it’s certainly one of its prettiest. A true hidden gem, the place remained off my radar the entire time I lived in nearby Pasadena. I only learned about it in May 2019, years after I moved to Palm Springs, thanks to its appearance in a Season 4 episode of Lucifer. When I finally stalked the stunning site, the Grim Cheaper and I spent hours exploring its every nook and cranny, wandering the vast lower-level chambers, and admiring each inch of stained glass. So when its onsite bethel, The Chapel of the Gardens, popped up in the final episode of the new Netflix series Hollywood, I recognized it immediately. Though I blogged about Mountain View last October, I figure a write-up on the chapel itself is now due. (Warning: if you have yet to watch Hollywood – and really, what’s stopping you? – avoid this post as it is rife with spoilers.)

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I covered Mountain View Mausoleum’s history in my October column, but I’ll give you a brief recap here. The gorgeous sanctuary was designed by architects Clarence L. Jay and Cecil E. Bryan in 1925.

The sprawling Neo-Mediterranean-style site boasts countless deep corridors, a myriad of stained glass windows fabricated by Judson Studios, murals hand-painted by artist Martin Syvertsen, and a small blush-colored chapel known as The Chapel of the Gardens.

Though small, the space is serene, warm, and inviting.

Its mid-century feel notwithstanding, I am fairly certain the chapel is original to the mausoleum’s 1925 design.

Producer Ryan Murphy has long been familiar with Mountain View Mausoleum, having featured it in both 2015’s American Horror Story: Hotel and 2018’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. That, coupled with its decidedly 1950s aesthetic, must have made its use in Hollywood a no-brainer.

The Chapel of the Gardens only appears once on Hollywood, in the final episode titled “A Hollywood Ending.” It is there that the funeral for Tinseltown executive Dick Samuels (Joe Mantello) takes place. Though the name of the chapel is shown in the scene . . .

. . . I would have recognized it regardless. I’d know those pink walls anywhere!

Thanks to its retro look, the production team did not have to change much for the shoot.

The Chapel of the Gardens was not the only area of Mountain View utilized in the scene. Following the funeral, Henry Willson (Jim Parsons) approaches Ace Studios head Avis Amberg (Patti LuPone) and asks her to greenlight his film in the vestibule outside the mausoleum’s offices.

That room can be found at the eastern end of the Great Gallery.

The décor was swapped out for the filming in order to “retro”-fit the space, so to speak, and make it appear a bit more fancy.

Despite the changes, it is still very recognizable from its cameo.

Considering Mountain View Mausoleum’s popularity as a filming location (you can read about its many onscreen appearances here), I’d think The Chapel of the Gardens would have been used in additional productions, but I have been unable to unearth any.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Chapel of the Gardens, where Dick Samuels’ funeral was held in the “A Hollywood Ending” episode of Hollywood, is located inside Mountain View Mausoleum at 2300 North Marengo Avenue in Altadena. Both the chapel and mausoleum are open to the public daily.

April 17, 2020April 18, 2020

Fair Oaks Burger from “Little Fires Everywhere”

I have never been a burger girl (I know, I know), but I’ve long been familiar with Altadena staple Fair Oaks Burger. The veteran eatery sits at the northern end of Fair Oaks Avenue and, though I never popped in for a bite, I passed by it countless times throughout the 15+ years I lived in the area. So I was thrilled when a reader informed me the place would be making an appearance in the new Hulu series Little Fires Everywhere and promptly ran out to stalk it while in L.A. in January prior to my dad’s surgery. I have been anxiously awaiting its appearance ever since and was happy to finally see it pop up in last week’s episode titled “Picture Perfect.” Though its cameo was brief, I figured the locale was still worthy of a post.

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While it seems like Fair Oaks Burger has been around forever, from what I’ve been able to gather, the restaurant was actually founded in 1984.

The burger stand was the brainchild of the Lee family. Though it always operated under the Fair Oaks Burger name, the Lees leased the restaurant out to a different party in 1998 before ultimately returning to take over the reins again in 2008.

Today, the eatery is run by Jung Ja Lee and her daughter, Christy.

As the name suggests, Fair Oaks Burger serves up standard American fare like hamburgers and onion rings, but there are also a plethora of Mexican and Chinese offerings on the diverse menu.

Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed when I showed up to stalk it, so not only was I unable to sample any of the dishes (which I’ve heard are stellar!) . . .

. . . but I was only able to take interior photos through the front windows.

It is in the drive-thru of Fair Oaks Burger that Lexie Richardson (Jade Pettyjohn) and Brian Harlins (Stevonte Hart) get into a heated discussion concerning race in the “Picture Perfect” episode of Little Fires Everywhere. The burger stand looks much the same in person as it did onscreen, minus the snowy detritus, of course.

Though I learned about the restaurant’s appearance on the show long before it started airing, it wouldn’t have been hard to ID the place had I not. As you can see below, the name “Fair Oaks Burger” was visible on the uniform of the cashier in the scene.

Fair Oaks Burger actually has a slew of appearances on its resume! The restaurant poses as Haddonfield Char-Broiled Burger, where Dr. Samuel Loomis (Malcolm McDowell) first meets with Sheriff Lee Brackett (Brad Dourif), in the 2007 Halloween remake.

It pops up as Big Joey’s, where John (James Brolin) and Joan (Dianne Wiest) painstakingly attempt to grab a milkshake, in the Season 1 episode of Life in Pieces titled “Burn Vasectomy Milkshake Pong,” which aired in 2015.

Javon Beard (Sam Adegoke) also takes his girlfriend for a date at the restaurant, which masks as a fried chicken joint, in 2017’s Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland. Only the interior of the space was utilized, though.

The establishing shot shown is of Southwest Diner at 761 Nevada Highway in Boulder City, Nevada, which I learned from fellow stalker Walter.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Fair Oaks Burger, from the “Picture Perfect” episode of Little Fires Everywhere, is located at 2560 North Fair Oaks Avenue in Altadena. You can visit the eatery’s official website here.

March 20, 2020March 28, 2020

The Buhrman House from “Truth Be Told”

I am a firm believer in love at first sight. I definitely had hearts in my eyes upon catching a glimpse of the stunning Victorian where the Buhrman family lived on Truth Be Told. The towering Queen Anne, pitched atop a leafy hill, was striking, to say the least, and I promptly set out to find it. Though set in San Francisco and its environs, little of the new Apple TV+ series was actually lensed there – most filming took place in L.A. But I figured the Buhrman pad had to be one of the show’s few NorCal locales. I couldn’t imagine such a unique property being in Los Angeles and not coming across it in all my years of stalking. So I began my hunt in the Bay Area, but after countless fruitless hours decided to switch to L.A. on the off chance it might be there. Lo and behold, I discovered the place listed on several online location databases, including Malibu Locations which showed it as having an address number of “2150” and being in Altadena, shockingly enough! How I had never seen it during my almost two decades of living in nearby Pasadena was beyond me! I headed right over to Google, searched for “2150,” “Victorian,” and “Altadena,” was led to 2150 Mendocino Lane and all became clear. As you can see above, no part of the Buhrman’s fabulous Victorian can actually be seen from the street, though it is apparent in aerials. Making the pad even more elusive, the view shown on Truth Be Told was actually of its rear entrance, situated off a small private road named Kengary Lane.

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The massive abode is Truth Be Told’s central location. It is at the supposed Menlo Park pad that author/professor Chuck Buhrman (Nic Bishop) is murdered on Halloween night 1999, thereby setting off the main storyline. Though featured throughout the series’ eight-episode run, we oddly don’t catch many full views of the place, the best being in episode 7, titled “Live Thru This,” as seen below. The shot appears to have been digitally altered because the house is not actually visible at all from Kengary Lane due to a plethora of foliage surrounding it, as I sadly discovered upon arriving to stalk it. I figured the property was still blogworthy, nonetheless. (I did not trespass to take the photo below, by the way. I stayed on Altadena Drive, which is public, and zoomed in on my camera for the shot.)

Per Zillow, the sprawling 3-story Victorian boasts 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, 3,162 square feet, a rock fireplace, a 2.7-acre lot, a detached garage, and a wraparound porch. But neither the fencing out front . . .

. . . nor at the rear provide any sort of clue as to the beauty that lies just beyond them up the driveway.

What I wouldn’t give to see the home up close!

As you can see in this photo, a sign by the property’s front door reads “Circa 1886, Estab. here Sept. 1, 1984,” so I’m wondering if it was initially located elsewhere and then moved to its current location, which sounds crazy but isn’t all that out of the ordinary in Los Angeles.

Interior scenes taking place at the Buhrman house were shot elsewhere. As you can see in these images as compared to the screen captures below, what was shown onscreen bears little resemblance to the actual inside of 2150 Mendocino Lane.

A reader named Mimi wrote in to let me know that the Buhrman house also portrayed the Minnesota residence of Chrissa Maxwell (Sammi Hanratty) in the 2009 straight-to-video movie An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong.

The property popped up as the home of a serial child abductor in the Season 5 episode of Criminal Minds titled “Mosley Lane,” which aired in 2010.

And fellow stalker Richard (you may remember him from this post and this post) let me know that the Victorian appeared in the recently-aired Season 1 episode of 9-1-1: Lone Star titled “Monster Inside” as the residence of a man who refuses to believe his mother has passed away.

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 Buhrman house from Truth Be Told is located at 2150 Mendocino Lane in Altadena.

November 20, 2019May 2, 2020

Bradley’s Mom’s House from “The Morning Show”

The Morning Show really threw me for a loop, location-wise (as I mentioned in this recent post). Set in NYC, I got through the entire first episode of the new Apple TV+ series thinking it was shot in the Big Apple, as well. I did have a couple moments of hesitation in that belief while watching, one when an overhead shot of the dining room of downtown L.A.’s famous Cicada restaurant was shown and the other when Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon) pulled up to the home belonging to her mother, Sandy (Brett Butler). The foliage, setback, and architecture of the latter had a definite San Gabriel Valley feel to it. In fact, it looked ripped right off a leafy Pasadena-area street! I even turned to the Grim Cheaper and said, “Huh, they must have Craftsman-style houses like that in the suburbs of NYC, too!” D’oh! As soon as I realized while watching episode 2 that The Morning Show was actually lensed in L.A., my first order of business was to find Sandy’s house. Thankfully, it turned out to be a fairly easy endeavor despite some trickery by the production team.

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In the series’ premiere episode, titled “In the Dark Night of the Soul It’s Always 3:30 in the Morning,” Bradley heads to her mother’s supposed West Virginia home to confront her brother about his early release from rehab. A fake address number of 1624 was added to the residence’s mailbox for the scene and, while it thwarted my identification attempts for a bit, ultimately I prevailed. You have to get up pretty early in the morning to fool me! Winking smile

Due to the home’s seeming ruralness, I figured it was most likely located just north of Pasadena in the unincorporated community of Altadena and began my search there. Thanks to its unique orientation – it sits perpendicular to the road with its side facing the street, which is apparent when Bradley parks in the scene – I pinpointed it rather quickly via aerial views as 2874 Santa Anita Avenue, about a mile northwest of the Walsh house from Beverly Hills, 90210.

In real life, the handsome 2-story Craftsman, built in 1915, boasts 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, 1,673 square feet, and a detached garage.

Not to mention one grand front porch!

It is on the front porch that Hannah Shoenfeld (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) convinces Bradley to go to New York to be interviewed by Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston) in the episode.

Set back from the road, the home sits on a large corner 0.41-acre lot.

Though the front of the property is visible from the street, not much else of it is thanks to the massive amount of foliage surrounding it.

I am 99.9% certain that the inside of the pad also appeared in “In the Dark Night of the Soul It’s Always 3:30 in the Morning,” but, unfortunately, I could not find any interior photos with which to verify that.

It is also from the house that Hal (Joe Tippett) calls Bradley to inquire about her new morning show gig in episode 3, titled “Chaos is the New Cocaine.”

And it is from there that Sandy is interviewed during Bradley’s hosting debut in episode 4 “That Woman.”

The residence is actually no stranger to the small screen.

Thanks to IMDB, I learned that it also portrayed the Harvest, Alabama-area dwelling where David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) and his team investigated a double murder and kidnapping in the Season 4 episode of Criminal Minds titled “Bloodline,” which aired in 2009.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Sandy Jackson’s house from The Morning Show is located at 2874 Santa Anita Avenue in Altadena.

October 3, 2019August 7, 2020

Mountain View Mausoleum from “Lucifer”

Given my proclivity for graveyards and extensive knowledge of Los Angeles (especially the Pasadena area), it is shocking that I only learned of Altadena’s Mountain View Mausoleum a few months ago. Sure I’ve visited the neighboring Mountain View Cemetery numerous times and even dedicated a post to it, but somehow I never knew about its mausoleum, situated directly across the street on Marengo Avenue. It was only while watching the latest season of Lucifer, which Netflix dropped in May, that I discovered the place. More beautiful than scary, I figure it’s still a perfect spot to include in my Haunted Hollywood blogs. (How fitting is that orb in the photo above, by the way?)

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In the Season 4 episode of Lucifer titled “Somebody’s Been Reading Dante’s Inferno,” Mountain View Mausoleum masks as the church library in Italy where Los Angeles police detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German) researches biblical stories about the devil in an attempt to gain clarity on the disturbing things she has recently learned about her partner, Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis).

Producers went to great lengths to transform Mountain View into a library for the shoot, sparing what seems to be no expense on set décor including tables, chairs, desk lamps, red curtains, and large bookshelves filled with tomes to cover the crypts. The result was extremely convincing. While initially viewing the episode, I was sure filming had taken place at an actual area athenaeum. Being that I am something of an aficionado of such spaces (as evidenced here, here, here, here, here, here, and here), I was shocked I had never come across the place in all of my stalkings. It wasn’t until taking a closer look at the scenery while scanning through “Somebody’s Been Reading Dante’s Inferno” the following day that I realized the site where Chloe researched was actually a mausoleum.

From there, it was not very hard to pinpoint the exact spot used. A simple Google search for the terms “ornate mausoleum,” “arched ceilings,” “stained glass,” and “Los Angeles,” led me straight to Mountain View. I finally ran out to stalk it this past weekend.

Though I do intend on penning another post about Mountain View Cemetery (since my previous one was published way back in 2010!), I will only be covering the mausoleum itself in this column.

Designed in 1925 by architects Clarence L. Jay and Cecil E. Bryan (the latter was a one-time student of Frank Lloyd Wright!), Mountain View Mausoleum is a sight to behold!

While certainly compelling from the outside . . .

. . . it is the interior of the Neo-Mediterranean-style structure that is truly special.

Though Bryan designed more than eighty mausoleums throughout his lifetime, he considered Mountain View his pièce de résistance. So much so that when he passed away in 1951, it was there that he chose to be interred. And it’s not very hard to see why.

Unsurpassed beauty is found around every turn.

The mausoleum’s focal point is easily its 180-foot-long Great Gallery featuring an ornate vaulted ceiling hand-painted by artist Martin Syvertsen. The massive mural, depicting a frescoed version of the story of Christianity, took four years to complete and is nothing short of awe-inspiring.

The Mausoleum also boasts stained glass windows created by Judson Studios, surfaces fashioned from more than 64 varieties of Italian marble, and intricate tile work.

It is, hands down, one of the most beautiful spaces in Los Angeles.

I mean!

Sorrow coexists with lightness seamlessly here . . .

. . . and there are plenty of eerie tucked-away corners to explore for those who are so inclined.

At one point, while perusing the mausoleum, I found myself separated from the Grim Cheaper, on a lower floor by myself, sans cell signal and surrounded by a quiet permeating the space so strongly it was almost deafening! In my haste to get back to civilization, I wound up lost and wandered through the basement level for what felt like hours, though I’m sure it was only minutes. Needless to say, I was sufficiently spooked. Those looking for a scary experience can definitely find it here.

Not initially associated with the cemetery, the mausoleum was acquired by Mountain View in 1971 and adopted its name at the same time.

Of the building, Altadena Historical Society President Jane Backman said, “This is Altadena’s own Sistine Chapel. Most Altadenans, even those who have lived here all their lives, have driven past the mausoleum on Marengo but have never gone inside.” It is such a shame that most locals (myself included, until just recently) don’t even know it’s there! Mountain View is a true hidden gem.

There seems to be quite a bit of misinformation floating around concerning the mausoleum’s cinematic history, so I’ve decided to rectify that.

Sebastian Stark (James Woods) gives Jennifer Randolph (Elizabeth Lackey) a stern talking to at the mausoleum in the Season 2 episode of Shark titled “Partners in Crime,” which aired in 2008.

In 2011, D.B. Russell (Ted Danson) and Greg Sanders (Eric Szmanda) encountered a distraught Joanna Sapphire (Frances Fisher) there in the Season 12 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation titled “Maid Man.”

James Woods returned to the mausoleum in 2013, this time playing Sully Sullivan in the Season 1 episode of Ray Donovan titled “New Birthday,” which I learned about thanks to Geoff, of 90210Locations. He also provided the screen captures that appear below. Thank you, Geoff!

That same year, the mausoleum appeared in Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” music video.

Geoff also informed me that Rick Stevens (Nat Wolff) went to confession there in the 2014 comedy Behaving Badly.

Elizabeth (Lady Gaga) visits the tomb of Rudolph Valentino (Finn Rittrock) at Mountain View Mausoleum – and learns that he’s not actually dead – in the episode of American Horror Story: Hotel titled “Flicker,” which aired in 2015.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) head to the mausoleum to investigate the murder of a Navy lieutenant in the Season 15 episode of NCIS titled “Twofer,” which aired in 2017.

In the finale of the new Netflix series Hollywood, Avis Amberg (Patti LuPone) gives Henry Wilson (Jim Parsons) the green light for his new movie at the mausoleum.

And (spoiler alert!) the funeral for Dick Samuels (Joe Mantello) also takes place in the mausoleum’s onsite chapel, The Chapel of the Gardens.

The mausoleum also appears as the funeral home that Emily Dodson (Gayle Rankin) and Della Street (Juliet Rylance) visit in the second episode of the new HBO series Perry Mason titled “Chapter 2.”

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Mountain View Mausoleum, from the “Somebody’s Been Reading Dante’s Inferno” episode of Lucifer, is located at 2300 North Marengo Avenue in Altadena. The property is open to the public daily and photos are not only allowed, but encouraged!

November 12, 2015October 28, 2015

New “L.A.” Mag Post – About “The Grinder” House

Be sure to check out my latest Los Angeles magazine article about the Sanderson house from The Grinder, my new favorite TV show. My articles typically get published in the early afternoon hours.

October 12, 2015September 29, 2017

Gramma-Jess’ House from “Poltergeist II: The Other Side”

I have never seen Poltergeist, which, considering my love of the ‘80s and all things spooky, is rather shocking. I tried to remedy the situation this past weekend, but the Grim Cheaper was having none of it, unfortunately. I did recently stalk a location from the sequel, Poltergeist II: The Other Side, though. I had come across a post on the Then & Now Movie Locations blog about the residence used as Gramma-Jess’ (Geraldine Fitzgerald) house in the flick and became quite intrigued. Not only is the dwelling gorgeous, but it is located in Altadena, in close proximity to my old home. So I ran right out to see it in person.

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Their house having imploded in Poltergeist, the Freeling family – Steve (Craig T. Nelson), Diane (JoBeth Williams), Robbie (Oliver Robins), and Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke) – moves in with Diane’s mom, Gramma-Jess (Geraldine Fitzgerald), in Poltergeist II: The Other Side. Virtually all of the movie takes place at the large Craftsman-style residence, which is said to be located in Phoenix, Arizona.

Amazingly, the house looks very much the same today as it did onscreen in 1986.

Love the images below!

And LOVE that the driveway is exactly the same as it appeared onscreen!

A few areas of the home were used in the filming, including the front exterior . . .

. . . the backyard . . .

. . .and the front porch.

Interiors were filmed on a soundstage at MGM Studios in Culver City (which is now Sony Pictures Studios). According to the Poltergeist II production notes, “Preceded by months of intensive preparatory work, the production fully occupied two of the largest soundstages at MGM’s famed Culver City studio lot. On Stage 30, [production designer Ted] Haworth and his crew constructed a full-scale house, duplicating in exacting detail the real-life house selected to represent Gramma Jess’ home in the film –– inside and out.”

Because it is obvious that most of the exteriors were shot at the actual home in Altadena, I am guessing that the replica exteriors mentioned in the notes were only used for more close-up, tight shots of the outside of the residence, such as in the scene below. UPDATE – I recently spoke to David, who runs the amazing Poltergeist Fan Website, and it turns out that my hunch was correct. David informed me that the residence’s backyard and garage were re-created on a soundstage for use in a few night scenes, including the scene in which the Freelings ran out the back door of the house, through the backyard and into the garage, where they found Carol Anne hiding in the station wagon.

In real life, Gramma-Jess’ house, which was built in 1913, boasts three bedrooms, two baths, 2,766 square feet of living space, and a 0.53-acre plot of land. The property was last sold in 1973 for $18,500, which cracks me up being that Zillow now estimates its worth at around $1.5 million.

The home is absolutely gorgeous in person and I am quite surprised that it is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

While researching this post, I was floored to discover that the Poltergeist franchise is laced with behind-the-scenes mystery and intrigue. According the the television special Real Fear: The Truth Behind the Movies, the original 1982 film is said to be loosely based on supposed real life events that took place at a one-story ranch-style house belonging to the Hermann family in the Long Island suburb of Seaford. In early 1958, the Hermanns began experiencing many odd occurrences at the home. James and Lucille and their two children witnessed random objects flying across the room and furniture toppling over for no apparent reason. The disturbances only lasted about five weeks and the family attributed them to an Indian burial ground located nearby. You can read a more in-depth article about the Hermann hauntings here, though there is some contention about their connection to Poltergeist. There is also quite a bit of contention over who actually directed the first installment. While Tobe Hooper is listed on the credits, many believe that Steven Spielberg was actually at the helm. Mystery also shrouds the re-shot ending of the third movie, which no one involved in the production seems to want to discuss. And, of course, there is the so-called “Poltergeist curse,” which I talked about in my post about the house from the original film. For those who want to delve deeper into the intrigue surrounding the movies, I highly recommend checking out the Poltergeist Fan Website.

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

Big THANK YOU to the Then & Now Movie Locations blog for finding this location! Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Gramma- Jess’ house from Poltergeist II: The Other Side is located 1589 Homewood Drive in Altadena.

September 21, 2015September 18, 2015

The Convenience Store from “Can’t Hardly Wait”

My buddy, fellow stalker Owen of the When Write Is Wrong blog, is a huge Jennifer Love Hewitt fan. Like huge. He is also a fan of filming locations and, over the years, has managed to track down the vast majority of locales featured in his fave JLH movie, 1998’s Can’t Hardly Wait. One that had eluded him for some time, though, was the convenience store where Kenny Fisher (Seth Green) shopped at the beginning of the flick. He recently got a tip from a crew member that the market was in Altadena and, after some Google Street View sleuthing, surmised that it was most likely the Ezzz Stop Food Store on Lake Avenue. He asked me to confirm his hunch by doing some recognizance of the shop’s interior the next time I was in town. I was able to stop by shortly thereafter and, sure enough, he was right!

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As luck would have it, the owner of the Ezzz Stop Food Store happened to be onsite while we were stalking the place and could not have been nicer.

Not only did he confirm that Can’t Hardly Wait had been filmed on the premises, but he also let us take all of the photographs of the place that we wanted.

In Can’t Hardly Wait, Ezzz Stop Food Store is where Kenny unveils his “love kit” to his friends, Homeboy #1 (Branden Williams) and Homeboy #2 (Robert Jayne). The owner told us that he had a blast during the filming and that all of the actors were hilarious, especially Seth Green. He loved watching them ad-lib and goof off between takes.

Most of the scene was shot on the eastern side of the store, opposite from where the cash registers are, in the area pictured below.

Though some changes have been made to the Ezzz Stop Food Store’s interior, portions of it still look exactly the same as they did onscreen, including the yellow and blue “ICE” signage pictured below.

The wood paneling that used to run above the refrigerators is also still intact . . .

. . . but has since been painted white, as you can kind of see in the photographs above and below.

The fridges themselves haven’t changed at all and even have the same white-stickered lettering pasted on them.

The super-nice owner also informed us that the shop next door, Lindsey’s Liquors, belonged to him, as well, and that it had been featured in an episode of Weeds.

I was pretty stoked upon hearing the name of the liquor store (for obvious reasons) and quickly posted a pic of it to Instagram with the caption, “I’ll consider it a personal affront if they don’t sell champagne.” Thankfully, they do. Winking smile

Lindsey’s Liquors was featured in the series finale of Weeds, Season 8’s “In Time: Part I,” in the scene in which Silas (Hunter Parrish) and his wife shopped for goats milk, among other things, before heading to visit his mom, Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker).

On a JLH side-note – Jerry Ferrara, one of my faves, shared a pretty amazing story about the actress recently on his Bad 4 Business podcast. It is definitely worth a listen. You can do so here.

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

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Ezzz Food Stop, from Can’t Hardly Wait, is located at 2427 Lake Avenue in Altadena. Lindsey’s Liquors, from Weeds, is located next door at 878 East Mariposa Street.

February 4, 2015February 3, 2015

The Andrew McNally House from “Kingdom Come”

Los Angeles never ceases to surprise me. Though I feel like I know the city and its environs like the back of my hand and have spent the last decade of my life researching its locations, I am constantly learning of new spots that I had no idea even existed. Such was the case with an architecturally unique property located pretty much right in my own former backyard. A fellow filming location enthusiast name Liesel recently asked me why I had yet to blog about the Andrew McNally House in Altadena. The answer to that question was simple – despite the fact that the locale is historically significant, architecturally important AND a filming location, not to mention the fact that I lived less than three miles from it for over ten years of my life, somehow I had never heard of the place.

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The massive Queen Anne-style residence was originally built in 1887 for Andrew McNally (of Rand-McNally map company fame). It was designed by architect Frederick L. Roehrig, who also designed Stacy’s (Brittany Murphy) childhood home from Little Black Book, Pasadena’s iconic Castle Green apartments, and the Frederick Hastings Rindge House (a locale that I have stalked, but have yet to blog about as I am unsure of its filming history).

The residence was built facing south, away from the street, so the photographs below actually show the rear of the property. Unfortunately, the front side is not visible from the street. You can see a picture of what it looks like here, though.

You can also catch a slight glimpse of the front of the home from the 600 block of East Deodara Drive, as shown in the Google Street View images below.

The residence, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007, boasts 10 bedrooms, 2 baths and a whopping 6,938 square feet. Though it originally sat on 15 acres of land, the property was subdivided after McNally passed away in 1904 and today measures 0.82 acres.

Though its exterior is striking, the most interesting aspect of the home can actually be found inside. In 1893, McNally acted as a commissioner for the Columbian Exposition at the World’s Fair in Chicago. While there, he became so enamored of a Turkish display that upon the Fair’s closing, he purchased said display and had it shipped home. In 1894, McNally employed Roehrig to build an addition to the southeastern corner of the Altadena residence in order to exhibit it. The architect wound up constructing a 25×25-foot, one-and-a-half story, eight-sided room that he topped with a conical roof. It became known as the “Turkish smoking room.” The space was ornate to say the least and featured a built-in banquette, elaborate screens, tall arches, diamond-shaped paned glass windows, and carved wood paneling. You can see historic pictures of the smoking room, which is still intact today, here and here and you can check out some more recent photographs of it, as well as the rest of the interior, here.

According to Liesel, the smoking room appeared in an episode of NCIS, but try as I might (and boy, did I try – I spent countless hours searching!) I could not figure out which episode. If anyone out there knows, please fill me in.

Liesel also let me know that the residence masqueraded as Depew’s Funeral Home in the 2001 dramedy Kingdom Come.

The interior of the house also appeared in the movie.

Several different rooms were used in the filming. You can see photographs of those rooms here.

Amazingly, the Andrew McNally House is still a private residence. Yep, someone actually lives there! I can’t even imagine how cool that must be!

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Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Liesel for telling me about this location! Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Andrew McNally House, from Kingdom Come, is located at 654 East Mariposa Street in Altadena.

November 19, 2014November 18, 2014

Henry’s House from “Selfie”

I was saddened to learn recently that both Selfie and A to Z – two of my favorite new shows of the fall season – had been cancelled. If How to Get Away with Murder winds up on the chopping block next, the networks will be receiving a very strongly worded letter from me! While Selfie is (or should I say “was”?) both hilariously written and fabulously acted, it is the architectural house where Henry Higgs (John Cho) lives on the series that has me most obsessed. So while I was in L.A. last week (before I learned that the show had been canceled) with my good friends Lavonna, Kim, Melissa and Maria (that’s Melissa and Maria pictured above) who were visiting from Ohio, we headed out to Altadena to see the pad in person.

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Henry’s sprawling post-and-beam-style house is featured regularly on Selfie.

The residence looks very much the same in person as it does onscreen. I was shocked to discover while there, though, that the pad sits on a humongous piece of land. In establishing shots, only a small, tight-angle shot of Henry’s home is shown, so I never pictured it to be situated on such a massive lot, which, according to Redfin, measures 1.02 acres.

The tranquil property, which is located towards the end of a hilly, winding road, is extremely private and quiet.

The structure was originally built in 1949 by architect Robert F. Gordon. The entryway and living area were then remodeled in 1975 by Tim Andersen and in 2004 the husband-and-wife team of Fung + Blatt converted the home’s detached poolside stables into a guest retreat with a bedroom, kitchenette and bath. You can check out some photographs of the guest house remodel here.

In real life, the one-story residence boasts three bedrooms, three baths and 1,844 square feet of living space. Over the years, the stunning property has been featured in Sunset, Los Angeles and Atomic Ranch magazines.

I am fairly certain that the interior of Henry’s home is a mix of both the Altadena dwelling’s actual interior (which you can see photographs of here and here – LOVE the living room’s built-in couch and shelving) and a set located at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank where Selfie is lensed. I believe the room pictured below, which is the area of the house shown most often on the series, is a set.

But I think that the other sections of the house that appear onscreen are those of the real life residence. Henry’s kitchen, which is pictured in the screen captures below, is an exact match to the home’s actual kitchen, which you can see in this photograph.

On a side-note – I will be on The Bill Feingold Show Featuring Kevin Holmes once again this morning at 8 a.m. PST. You can listen in here.

Bill Feingold Show featuring Kevin Holmes (1 of 3)

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Henry’s house from Selfie is located at 3705 Alzada Drive in Altadena.