Tag: Tacoma attractions

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The “Hand That Rocks The Cradle” House

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Another location that I stalked while visiting the Pacific Northwest this past May was the gorgeous Victorian-style residence where the Bartel family – Claire (aka Annabella Sciorra), Michael (aka Matt McCoy), Emma (aka an absolutely adorable pre-Californication Madeline Zima), and baby Joey (aka Eric, Jennifer, and Ashley Melander)  – and their nanny, Peyton Flanders (aka Rebecca De Mornay), lived in the 1992 thriller The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.  Even though I had actually only seen the movie once – almost two decades ago when it was first released in theatres – the Bartel home made such an impression on me that an image of it has been imprinted on my mind ever since.  It is absolutely amazing to me how iconic the dwelling still is all these years later.  Even more amazing to me is the fact that the home pictured above wasn’t actually the producer’s first choice for the filming of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.  They originally approached the owners of a different Tacoma-area Victorian residence – one that was chosen seven years later to stand in for the Stratford family home in the 1999 teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You.  But because The Hand filmmakers wanted to paint over some interior woodwork, cut holes in several walls, and temporarily remove all of the real life furnishings and decor, the 10 Things homeowners turned down the offer and a different property located just over a mile to the west was chosen instead.  And the rest, as they say, is history.  There’s a quote from the now-defunct Movieline Magazine that I’ve had pinned up on my bulletin board for over twenty years now which reads, “It is always fascinating to learn how an actress came to play a role in which she is so perfect for the part that you can’t imagine anyone else ever having been considered.”  Well, the same can be said for houses, and it especially holds true for The Hand That Rocks the Cradle house – I honestly can’t imagine any other residence ever having been considered for the Bartel home.

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I am very happy to report that The Hand That Rocks the Cradle house looks remarkably the same today as it did eighteen years ago when it appeared in the movie.  The residence has been painted a different color since that time and there is a quite a bit more foliage surrounding the property now, but otherwise it is still completely recognizable.

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Even the light post/address marker located near the front porch is still there in real life, although the top of it is shaped a bit differently now.

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The backside of the house and the garage area also appeared in the flick . . .

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. . . although both have been remodeled quite a bit since filming took place.

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The real life interior of the home was also used extensively in the filming.

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Amazingly enough, the owners of the house decided to leave the famous Hand That Rocks the Cradle greenhouse, which played a pivotal role in the movie and which was built solely for the filming, intact after the flick had wrapped, which I think is just about the coolest thing ever!  Even cooler still is the fact that there is a scene in the movie in which Michael calls 911 and says to the police, “We live at 808 Yakima”, which is the home’s actual address.  I love it when real life details like that are included in a script!

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In real life, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle house, which was originally built in 1891, boasts 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and a whopping 6,105 square feet of living space.  And while the residence is absolutely beautiful in person, I prefer the white color it was painted in the movie, as opposed to the yellow color it is currently painted today.

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On a celebrity-sighting side-note – While doing some grocery shopping this past Sunday afternoon, I happened to run into actress Kimmy Robertson, who played Cathy in fave movie Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead.  I just about died when I realized who she was and, despite the Grim Cheaper’s objections, followed her outside to ask if she wouldn’t mind taking a photograph with me.  Kimmy was SUPER, SUPER nice and even chatted with us about Don’t Tell Mom for a bit.  I think she found me a bit odd when I told her how upset I was that the All American Burger on Sunset Boulevard – which stood in for Clown Dog restaurant in the movie – had recently been torn down, but she and her dog Cleo happily posed for a pic with me nonetheless.  So incredibly cool!

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The Hand That Rocks the Cradle house is located at 808 North Yakima Avenue in Tacoma, Washington.

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Stadium High School from “10 Things I Hate About You”

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Yet another location that I stalked while vacationing in the Pacific Northwest this past May was Tacoma’s Stadium High School – the spot that stood in for Padua High in the 1999 teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You.  The Grim Cheaper and I, along with our good friends Kerry and Jim, visited this locale on our last day in Washington, whereupon we met up with fellow stalker David and his daughter, Olivia (pictured above), who live in the area.  I was especially excited about stalking this location as it is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL place and is so incredibly unique in its architecture.  When I first watched 10 Things over a decade ago, I was actually convinced that Padua High was a set that had been built solely for the filming.  I was absolutely shocked to discover that the castle-like structure is, indeed, an actual high school in real life.  I cannot even imagine being lucky enough to spend four years attending classes in a place like that!  Sigh!

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Stadium High School, which is located in the Stadium District of Tacoma, was first built in 1891 and was originally conceived as a luxury hotel which was set to be named either the Olympic or the Tourist.  The hotel was commissioned by the Northern Pacific Railroad Company and the Tacoma Land Company and was designed by the Philadelphia-area architectural firm of Hewitt and Hewitt.  Thanks to the Panic of 1893 and the Northern Pacific Railroad Company’s subsequent bankruptcy, though, construction on the French Renaissance-style hotel was abruptly stopped later that same year.  The building, which at the time consisted of little more than a roof and exterior walls, was then turned into a lumber storage facility for the struggling railroad company.  On October 11, 1898, disaster struck when a mysterious fire broke out at the unfinished structure, gutting the property completely.  Shortly following the fire, the city made plans to demolish the decrepit building, until the Tacoma School District stepped in and purchased it on February 19, 1904.  Architect Frederick Heath immediately set about transforming the vacant structure into a useable high school and on September 10, 1906, the then-named Tacoma High School opened its doors to its first students. 

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Three years later, Heath set about construction on a 2.5-acre, 32,000-seat stadium on a bluff situated adjacent to the school that overlooks the ocean.  The new stadium was completed in 1910 and was given the name Stadium Bowl.  The school’s name was eventually changed to Stadium High School in honor of the newly-built structure.  The Bowl has been the site of numerous special events and speaking engagements over the years.  Louis Armstrong once performed there and everyone from Baby Ruth to presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson have given speeches on the premises. 

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Stadium High School, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, is absolutely breathtaking in person.  With its limestone and brick edifice, wrought iron detailing, and majestic views of Commencement Bay, I am extremely surprised that more productions have not found their way to the campus.

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The 10 Things I Hate About You crew spent six weeks shooting on location in Tacoma, dividing their time between the Stratford house, which I blogged about last month, and Stadium High School.  Interestingly enough, according to an August 1998 News Tribune article (which I unfortunately cannot link to as the Tribune does not allow free access to its archives), the movie was originally set to be filmed right here in Los Angeles, but when the flick’s location scouts saw photographs of Stadium High School, they decided its look was perfect for their modern-day Shakespeare adaptation and the entire shoot was moved north.  I find it so incredibly cool that an entire production was moved over 1,000 miles all because of one single location!

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Stadium High School was used extensively throughout 10 Things I Hate About You.  The areas of the school that were featured in the flick include the front entrance . . .

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. . . and, according to one of the teachers that I spoke with while there, a few real life interiors – including the counselor’s office, the library, several classrooms, and a hallway.

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Sadly though, the school’s interior was given an extensive facelift in 2006 and no longer looks the same as it did in the movie.

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Stadium Bowl is the area of the school that was most memorably featured in 10 Things, though, and I am happy to report that it looks pretty much exactly the same today as it did back in June of 1998, when the movie was filmed.  The Bowl first appeared in the scene in which Michael (aka David Krumholtz) accidentally rides his dirt bike off of a cliff.

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It was later used in the scene in which Patrick Verona (aka Heath Ledger) – along with the Padua High School band – serenades Kat Stratford (aka Julia Stiles) with the Frankie Valli song “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”, which has to be one of my VERY favorite scenes in ALL of moviedom.  Unfortunately, there is a large, locked fence which now surrounds the stadium, so I was not able to venture onto the bleachers to re-enact Patrick’s serenade.  Such a bummer as that was one of the things I had most wanted to do while in Washington! 

You can watch the serenade scene by clicking above.

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And in a bit of trivia that fellow stalker David clued me into – the band Letters to Cleo was actually on the real life roof of Stadium High playing “I Want You To Want Me” during the filming of the movie’s final scene.  And here I thought that whole segment had been shot in front of a green screen!  So incredibly cool!

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According to IMDB, the school was also featured in the 1990 romantic comedy I Love You To Death.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

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Stalk It: Stadium High School from 10 Things I Hate About You is located at 111 North E Street in Tacoma, Washington.  In the movie, Heath Ledger danced in the southern portion of Stadium Bowl’s bleachers, in the area depicted by the pink circle in the above aerial view.  Please remember that this location is a school and that it should not be stalked during operating hours when children are present.  And please remember to always get permission from the front office before setting foot on any school campus.