The Mentalist – IAMNOTASTALKER

June 15, 2020June 14, 2020

The Howard Motor Company Building from “The Mentalist”

I always play tourist in my own town. Never was that more the case then when I resided in Pasadena. The area is so chock-full of notable locales, though, that sometimes it takes a newcomer to point them out. My friend Kim recently embarked upon her first visit to Crown City (it was socially-distanced, of course!) and in poring through the Facebook photos she posted that day, I was pleasantly surprised to see pics of the Howard Motor Company Building! Though Kim took note of the gorgeous structure immediately upon passing it, I drove by daily while living in Pasadena and even once witnessed The Mentalist filming on the premises, but somehow never dedicated a post to the place! So to the top of my To-Stalk List it went and I headed over there shortly thereafter.

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The Howard Motor Company Building was designed in 1927 by the Austin Company of California architecture firm.

The Spanish Colonial Revival-style structure served as an automobile showroom for the dealership through 1938, at which time the Busch-Morgan Motor Company moved in.

The stunning building continued to operate as a car gallery through at least 1996.

The ornate edifice, with its spectacular California Churrigueresque detailing, was intended to attract passersby traveling along the popular Route 66, get them to stop, and hopefully buy a new car. The concept certainly worked on my friend Kim who immediately pulled over to get a better look at the place.

The Howard Motor Company Building is easily one of Pasadena’s most beautiful structures.

The interior is just as incredible as the exterior!

Sadly, the property, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, has been tenantless for pretty much as long as I remember, though it sometimes houses a Spirit Halloween store in the Fall.

The long-term vacancy left it open for the filming of The Mentalist in November 2009. My dad and I happened to be driving by when the shoot was being set up and, of course, stopped to watch.

Though I don’t have any photos from that day, we were invited inside to take a peek at the space with all of its glorious set dressing and, let me tell you, the Howard Motor Company Building was definitely ready for its close-up!

In the episode, Season 2’s “Redline,” which aired in February 2010, the site portrayed the supposed Marin County Zenith Motors showroom, where Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) and the CBI team investigated the murder of a woman found stuffed inside the trunk of a car. The program showcased both the exterior . . .

. . . and interior of the space to spectacular effect!

With the red carpeting, extensive foliage and up-lighting, the episode really gives us an idea of what the building must have looked like back in its heyday.

Big THANK YOU to my friend Kim for reminding me of this location! 🙂

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 Howard Motor Company Building, from the “Redline” episode of The Mentalist, is located at 1285 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena.

January 28, 2019November 5, 2019

The Millennium Biltmore Hotel’s South Galleria from “The West Wing”

The Millennium Biltmore Los Angeles is a rare bird when it comes to filming locations in that virtually every square inch of it has appeared onscreen – and I’m talking in multiple major productions! This factoid fascinates me and I thought it would be fun to cover in an in-depth article, so a few years back I pitched the idea to my editor at Discover L.A. who told me to run with it. Though I chronicled ten areas of the vast hotel in the column, which was published in 2016, due to length concerns there were a few spots I had to leave out including the South Galleria, an ornate hallway that was most famously featured in Pretty in Pink. I had planned on writing about the beautiful space on my own site as a follow-up to the article shortly thereafter, but never got around to it. Then, last week, while watching an early episode of The West Wing (which the Grim Cheaper and I just started binging and are absolutely obsessed with!), I spotted the Galleria and decided it was high time I finally dedicate a post to it.

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The South Galleria, which is situated along the southwest edge of the Biltmore, connects the hotel’s South Grand Street entrance to its Main Galleria and provides access to the Heinsbergen Room, the Regency Room, and the Biltmore Bowl.

The gilded hallway, inspired by the opulent Roman villas of ancient Pompeii, boasts an intricate Beaux Arts-style vaulted ceiling featuring bucolic frescoes hand-painted by muralist Giovanni Smeraldi.

The dramatic space is also flanked by elaborate friezes, carved columns, and sweeping archways.

The gilded gates situated on its south side . . .

. . . lead to an equally grand stairwell that heads down to the Biltmore Bowl and the Regency Room.

Being that the South Galleria is situated in a tucked away area on the side of the hotel, it would, sadly, be quite easy for visitors and guests to spend ample time at the Biltmore and not even realize the impressive space exists. If you happen to find yourself on the premises, do not make that mistake. The striking hallway is not to be missed!

In the Season 1 episode of The West Wing titled “Let Bartlet Be Bartlet,” which aired in 2000, the South Galleria portrays Washington D.C.’s Old Executive Office Building (now known as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building), where President Jed Bartlet’s (Martin Sheen) speech to the United Organization of Trout Fishermen is moved at the last minute due to some unforeseen rain.

Producers cheated a bit with the locale in the scene by shooting from both ends of the Galleria in order to make it appear as two different hallways that the President has to walk down on the way to deliver his speech. The West Wing does love a good lengthy walk-and-talk segment!

John Norman Howard (Kris Kristofferson) gets into a fight with the paparazzi during the Grammy Awards at the top of the staircase/escalator leading down to the Biltmore Bowl in the 1976 version of A Star Is Born.

In the 1986 classic Pretty in Pink, Andie (Molly Ringwald) trepidatiously ventures alone down the South Galleria on her way to her Senior Prom (which was held in the Biltmore’s famed Crystal Ballroom) . . .

. . . only to find her BFF Duckie (Jon Cryer) waiting for her at the other end.

Though Richard Alleman asserts in his book New York: The Movie Lover’s Guide that “James Caan, as the novelist in Steven King’s Misery (1990), celebrated his latest best seller” at Tavern on the Green, I discovered that information was incorrect while doing research for my June 2018 post about the famed NYC eatery. In actuality, at the end of the film, Caan’s character, Paul Sheldon, shares a celebratory lunch with his agent, Marcia Sindell (Lauren Bacall), at none other than the South Galleria, which was dressed to look like an upscale Big Apple restaurant.

The South Galleria also posed as a restaurant in Atlas Shrugged: Part I. In the 2011 drama, it served as the spot where Dagny Taggart (Taylor Schilling) confronted Francisco D’Anconia (Jsu Garcia) about his shady copper mine investments.

But the South Galleria’s noted onscreen appearances don’t end there! The space also pops up as a Beirut hotel hallway in the Season 7 episode of The Mentalist titled “Orange Blossom Ice Cream,” which aired in 2014.

And Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston) and Cory Ellison (Billy Crudup) have a terse conversation in the South Galleria during an awards ceremony in the Season 1 episode of The Morning Show titled “A Seat at the Table,” which aired in November 2019.

Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon) is also shown walking down the Biltmore Bowl staircase on her way to the ceremony in that same episode.

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 Millennium Biltmore Los Angeles is located at 506 South Grand Avenue in downtown L.A. You can visit the property’s official website here. The South Galleria, from the “Let Bartlet Be Bartlet” episode of The West Wing, can be reached via the hotel entrance situated just north of and adjacent to Coffee on Grand at 530 South Grand Avenue.

February 12, 2018February 11, 2018

South Pasadena Public Library from “Say Anything . . . “

I was incredibly saddened to learn of the passing of John Mahoney last week. Not only did I love the actor in pretty much every role he played, but his Hollywood story is such an unusual and admirable one. After graduating from college, Mahoney tried his hand at a few different occupations including teaching English at a university and editing a medical journal. Then at the not-so-tender age of 37, he switched gears and decided to follow his passion – acting. He found quick success on Broadway, even winning a Tony for his performance in The House of Blue Leaves in 1986, before ultimately heading to Tinseltown where he hit the big time with memorable parts in such iconic productions as Moonstruck, Barton Fink, She’s the One, Primal Fear, Reality Bites, In the Line of Fire, and, of course, Frasier, among countless others. It is extraordinary that Mahoney accomplished so much after such a late-in-life career shift. What an inspiration – and proof that it is never too late to change course in order to pursue your dreams! So today I thought I’d honor John by writing about South Pasadena Public Library – a locale from one of his early movies, 1989’s Say Anything . . .

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Truth be told, South Pasadena Public Library did not actually appear in the final cut of Say Anything . . . The building – or more accurately Library Park, which surrounds it – pops up in one of the flick’s alternate scenes that can be viewed on both the 20th Anniversary Edition and Special Edition DVDs. In the scene, Diane Court (Ione Skye) asks ex-boyfriend Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) to take her back outside of what is supposed to be the kick-boxing dojo where Lloyd works. Though interior dojo bits were shot at the same North Hollywood spot used as the Cobra Kai karate studio in The Karate Kid, the segment taking place outside of the dojo was lensed on the western side of Library Park along Diamond Avenue, a good 15 miles away.

I recognized the locale immediately upon watching the alternate scene a couple of years ago while I was on a hunt for the house where Diane lived in the flick.

South Pasadena Public Library is a tough spot to forget.

The city’s original library was established in 1907 thanks to a $12,000 grant from steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. Designed by architect Norman Marsh, the building, which Carnegie himself visited in 1910, boasted a Classical Revival style. You can see an image of it from its early days here and here. Sadly, virtually none of that structure remains. After being expanded in 1916 via another grant from Carnegie (this one to the tune of $6,000), the facility was completely overhauled in 1930 and given a Mediterranean Revival motif, once again created by Marsh, along with architects D.D. Smith and Herbert J. Powell. Their design still graces the site’s El Centro Street edifice today.

Formerly the library’s front entrance, the El Centro Street façade now serves as entry to the facility’s Community Room.

Constructed as the library’s main reading area during the 1930 renovation, the Community Room retains much of its original design, including a hand-painted beam ceiling, leaded glass windows, and wrought iron detailing. You can see a 1946 image of its interior here and a current picture here.

Today, the Community Room hosts special city events and can be rented out for certain functions.

In 1982, South Pasadena Public Library again underwent a remodel and expansion, but this time only the property’s southern face, situated along Oxley Street, was touched. That edifice, designed by architect Howard Henry Morgridge, is pictured below.

It now serves as the facility’s main entrance.

As you can see, it is quite a departure from the 1930 design.

The two varying faces of the library, which is South Pasadena Cultural Heritage Landmark #10, make for an interesting and striking piece of architecture.

Surrounding the site is Library Park, a lush 2-acre space overflowing with trees, sprawling lawns, and pathways.

The towering Moreton Bay fig that stands as the park’s focal point is nothing short of magical.

Though its origin is not entirely known, per the City of South Pasadena website, the tree was likely planted by Street Department employee Willem Garret Andries Kloezeman in 1930.

Library Park is one of South Pas’ most picturesque and serene spots.

So it is no surprise that the park, along with the library itself, has found its way onto both the big and small screens in a myriad of other productions besides Say Anything . . .

In Rob Zombie’s 2007 horror flick Halloween, the exterior of South Pasadena Public Library briefly masks as Haddonfield High School.

Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler) schools Abby Richter (Katherine Heigl) on the importance of hair extensions while walking along a path on the western side of Library Park in the 2009 romcom The Ugly Truth.

Rebecca Harper (Emily VanCamp) catches her boyfriend, Justin Walker (Dave Annable), kissing his sponsee, Chelsea Yeager (Kaitlin Doubleday), on the library steps after an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in the Season 3 episode of Brothers & Sisters titled “Owning It,” which aired in 2009.

In the Season 1 episode of Modern Family titled “Moon Landing,” which aired in 2010, Gloria Delgado-Pritchett (Sofia Vergara) brings Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) to Library Park to show him where she got into a recent car accident.

South Pasadena Public Library pops up several times as the Carson Springs Department of Social Services in the Season 5 episode of The Mentalist titled “Red John’s Rules,” which aired in 2013.

The interior of the Community Room also appears in the episode.

That same year, Dr. Daniel Pierce (Eric McCormack) attends a supposed Brooksville, Pennsylvania town hall meeting at the library in the Season 2 episode of Perception titled “Toxic.”

The interior of the Community Room was also utilized in the episode.

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: South Pasadena Public Library, from Say Anything . . . , is located at 1100 Oxley Street in South Pasadena. Kaldi Coffee and Tea, another frequent film star, can be found just across the road at 1019 El Centro Street.

March 5, 2015February 26, 2015

New “L.A.” Mag Post – About “The Mentalist” Finale

Be sure to check out my latest Los Angeles magazine post – about the heartwarming series finale of The Mentalist. My articles typically get published in the late morning/early afternoon hours.

January 28, 2015August 1, 2018

St. Vincent Court from “The Mentalist”

I cannot wait for the Secret L.A.-themed February issue of Los Angeles magazine to hit newsstands! The City of Angels is chock full of tucked-away gems and I absolutely love discovering them. The Grim Cheaper and I just stalked one, in fact, that is also a filming location – St. Vincent Court, which appeared in a recent episode of The Mentalist. I first discovered the tiny and incredibly unique alleyway while on a Watson Adventures’ Downtown L.A. Movie Locations Scavenger Hunt with Mike, from MovieShotsLA, back in November 2010. So I recognized it immediately when it popped up on The Mentalist and ran right out to re-stalk it while in L.A. last week.

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St. Vincent Court is so named because it stands on the site of what was Los Angeles’ first college, Saint Vincent’s College. The school was originally founded in 1865 at the Lugo Adobe House. Two years later, it moved to a two-story building on 6th Street, between Hill and Broadway, in downtown L.A. St. Vincent Court, which is actually a small alleyway, was known as St. Vincent Place at the time and served as the main pathway onto the campus. In 1887, the school relocated to a new venue and the property subsequently served as a military compound. Then, in 1906, it was chosen to be the location of the very first Bullocks department store. The new store was constructed on the corner of 7th and Broadway, adjacent to St. Vincent Place, which was used as a pass through and for deliveries. Bullocks soon purchased the building located across the alley and built an air bridge to connect the two structures. The alley became dirty and dingy, as alleys tend to do, though, and in 1956 Bullocks and the City of L.A. teamed up to give the small space a facelift. Façades and false fronts were built, awnings installed, a café and flower shop added, and the alley’s name changed to St. Vincent Court. The site was dedicated in 1957 and became a California Registered Historical Landmark that same year.

St. Vincent Court is situated behind a rather unremarkable breezeway and is virtually hidden from view. Despite the signage out front announcing its existence, one could easily walk by without even realizing it is there.

From the outside, it looks like any other of the city’s non-descript alleys. Step inside, though, and you’ll find that it is anything but.

Inside, the place looks like Disneyland.

The fake balconies;

ornate overhangs;

whimsical signage;

elaborate doorways and windows;

and sidewalk seating . . .

. . . . all add up to give the alley an amusement park/movie set/fake European/old world-feel. To say that St. Vincent Court is unique is a vast understatement. The place is like a Hollywood backlot that has been randomly plopped into the middle of downtown.

Despite some recent opposition to outdoor seating in the alley, mid-week St. Vincent Court is typically bustling with hungry downtowners seeking authentic European and Mediterranean-style meals at lunchtime.

In the Season 7 episode of The Mentalist titled “Orange Blossom Ice Cream,” Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) and Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney) went undercover in Beirut in order to capture a terrorist. No filming actually took place in the Middle East, though. Instead production simply headed to . . . downtown Los Angeles. The hotel where Patrick and Teresa stayed in the episode was none other than the Millennium Biltmore.

Two of the Biltmore’s hallways were used in the episode . . .

. . . but I am fairly certain that Jane and Lisbon’s suite was just a set built on a soundstage at Warner Bros. Studios where The Mentalist is lensed.

For outdoor filming, production head to St. Vincent Court. The alley was first shown in the scene in which Patrick was taken to meet with terrorist Jan Nemic (Mark Ivanir).

Nemic’s lair was actually the back side of the Los Angeles Theatre.

Later in the episode, Lisbon and Jane dined on some manakish at a local Beirut eatery.

The restaurant scene was filmed at the Sevan Garden Kebab House, which is located at the northeastern end of St. Vincent Court. Unfortunately, I did not get any photos of the place’s interior. You can check some out here, though.

After dinner, Jane and Lisbon head out to St. Vincent Court and hail a cab.

At the end of the episode, Lisbon and Jane are shown walking up the Biltmore’s stairs . . .

. . . and onto the hotel’s rooftop to share some orange blossom ice cream.

St. Vincent Court also appeared in the Season 1 episode of Moonlight titled “Out of the Past.”

Memphis Raines (Nicolas Cage) sped through the alley while being chased by cops in Gone in 60 Seconds

And Taylor Swift danced there in her “Delicate” music video.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: St. Vincent Court, from the “Orange Blossom Ice Cream” episode of The Mentalist, is located on 7th Street, in between South Hill Street and Broadway, in downtown Los Angeles’ Jewelry District.

January 27, 2015January 18, 2018

Burning Man’s House from “Major Crimes”

My friend Owen and I share an uncanny synchronicity. The other night I received an email from him which said the following, “837 Beacon Ave., L.A. You may want to stalk this place after you watch the Season 7 premiere of Parks and Recreation.” I had yet to see the episode, but immediately looked up the address via Google Street View and just about fell off my chair. The very same house had also appeared in that week’s Major Crimes and I had made a mental note while watching to track it down. As I said, uncanny! It was as if Owen had read my mind!

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The reason Owen thought I would be interested in stalking the residence should be apparent to those who read my site regularly. As you can see below, the property is abandoned and there is nothing this stalker loves more than an abandoned site.

In the Major Crimes episode that I had watched, Season 3’s “Special Master: Part Two,” the Major Crimes Division gang tried to catch a serial murderer/rapist known as “Burning Man” who was killing women in abandoned houses all over L.A. They finally manage to locate him at his abandoned childhood home in what is said to be Boyle Heights. In reality, though, the property is in Westlake.

The interior of the residence also appeared in the episode.

In the Season 7 episode of Parks and Recreation titled “2017,” which aired the day after “Special Master: Part Two,” April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza) and Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) stumbled upon an open house at the property while driving through Pawnee, Indiana’s “creepy Warehouse District.”

I loved the fact that the owner was holding open houses every day in the episode. He was really motivated to sell! Winking smile

While touring the interior, Andy states that the residence has the “fairly standard layout” of 12 closets, 3 bomb shelters, 5 dumbwaiters, 2 and 3/8 baths, and no kitchens.” Ah yes, and there is also a staircase to nowhere and a fire pole on the premises. Once the couple learns that the pad used to be a holding cell for assembly line workers from the Pawnee Doll Head Factory who had gone insane, they spontaneously decide to purchase it. Sold!

In real life, the property, which was originally built in 1895, boasts 6 bedrooms, 2 baths, 3,264 square feet of living space, and a 0.18-acre plot of land. And I am guessing that it does actually have a kitchen.

Though the property is abandoned in real life, I think it is in better shape than its façade would have one believe. Granted the place is not turn-key by any means, but it’s not dilapidated, either. I am also fairly certain that the windows are boarded up in order to protect them and not due to being broken.

Owen also let me know that April and Andy’s new home had appeared in several other productions over the years. In the Season 8 episode of The X-Files titled “Via Negativa,” which aired in 2000, the house serves as the supposed Pittsburgh headquarters of the Third Eye cult.

The interior of the property also appears in the episode.

Detective Michael Raines (Jeff Goldblum) and his team arrest some murder suspects at the house in the Season 1 episode of Raines titled “The Fifth Step,” which aired in 2007. Only the interior of the residence is featured in the episode.

In the Season 2 episode of The Mentalist titled “The Scarlet Letter,” which aired in 2009, the home masks as an apartment building where the stepmother of a murder victim lives.

The interior of the dwelling was also utilized in the filming, though obviously altered to appear as if it was comprised of separate apartment units.

That same year, the property was featured in the movie Blood and Bone as the boarding house where Isaiah Bone (Michael Jai White) stays after being released from prison.

The interior of the home also appears in the movie.

As you can see, it is in much better shape than one would expect. The woodwork is gorgeous! All the place needs is a little Magic Eraser and it would be amazing!

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

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: Burning Man’s house from Major Crimes is located at 837 Beacon Avenue in Westlake.

January 20, 2015March 16, 2015

FBI Headquarters from “The Mentalist”

Around this time last year, The Mentalist embarked on a huge change of course by having Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) and Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney) leave the Sacramento-based California Bureau of Investigation and then join the Austin, Texas branch of the FBI. So, of course, that meant that I had a new location to find – the building used as FBI Headquarters. I spent countless hours searching for the stunningly modern structure, though, but was never able to track it down. For a while, I even thought it might actually be located in the Lone Star State. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I enlisted the help of my friend Owen, of the When Write Is Wrong blog, and he came through big time! While doing a Google Image search, he happened upon this Tumblr page on which a commenter stated that the building used on the series is the Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook University Center at the College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita. As soon as Owen shared the information with me, I became desperate to stalk the place. So last week, when we headed out to West L.A. for my dad’s doctors appointments, I begged the Grim Cheaper to take a little detour to Santa Clarita beforehand. Despite the fact that this would take us sixty miles out of our way (round-trip), he agreed! He’s seriously so good to me!

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The Dianne G. Van Hook University Center was designed by architect Leo A. Daly in 2010 at a cost of almost $29 million. The 110,000-square-foot ultra-modern structure contains 23 classrooms, 6 computer labs, 6 meeting rooms, a lecture hall/theatre, a book store, a video conference room, and a large outdoor patio. The building was named in honor of the college’s longtime superintendent/president, Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook, who has been running the COC since 1988.

Though the College of the Canyons has appeared in countless productions over the years (including Weeds, NCIS, and The Girl Next Door), for this post I am focusing solely on the University Center. The building first showed up in the Season 6 episode of The Mentalist titled “My Blue Heaven” and has subsequently been used in every episode since, usually in establishing shots.

The Dianne G. Van Hook University Center is just as stunning in person as it is onscreen. I love how the façade is made up of both sharp and rounded lines.

The interior of the building also pops up occasionally on The Mentalist, so I was beyond thrilled to discover that it is accessible to the public.

The University Center’s interior is also just as stunning in person as it is onscreen.

In the recently-aired Season 7 episode of The Mentalist titled “The Silver Briefcase,” Lisbon and Jane were shown walking along the building’s catwalk . . .

. . . and down the main staircase.

So I just had to pose for a pic on the stairs. Smile

The building’s incredible views were also shown in “The Silver Briefcase.” Man, what I wouldn’t give to see that place at night!

The interior of the actual FBI offices on The Mentalist are sets located inside of a soundstage at Warner Bros. Studio in Burbank. I actually got to see those sets while on a tour of the lot back in June with my friends Lavonna, Kim, Kaylee and Katie. Unfortunately, no photographs were allowed, though.

The University Center also popped up in the Season 12 episode of NCIS titled “Blast From the Past” as the spot where Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) went undercover as an IT specialist.

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

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook University Center, aka the Austin Headquarters of the FBI on The Mentalist, is located on the College of the Canyons campus in Santa Clarita. The building does not have an exact address, but is situated on University Center Drive, just west of where it intersects with Rockwell Canyon Road.

April 30, 2014April 29, 2014

Bombay Beach

Out of all of the Salton Sea townships that I stalked while my best friend, Robin, was visiting in March, Bombay Beach was, without a doubt, my favorite. Situated about twenty miles south of the North Shore Beach and Yacht Club (which I blogged about here), the tiny census-designated place is made up of about two hundred homes and trailers, a great number of which are abandoned.

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At 223 feet below sea level, Bombay Beach has the distinction of being the lowest city in America. It is also, according to this July 2013 article, the most-filmed location in the entire Imperial County.

Originally set to be a Riviera-like resort destination on the shores of the Salton Sea, Bombay Beach suffered the same fate as its neighboring townships. As the sea’s toxicity and salinity increased in the late 1960s, the fish and bird population died off. It was not long before animal carcasses covered the once-sandy beaches and the smell of their decaying bodies permeated the air. Many residents vacated the region. Then, when the storms of 1976 and 1977 hit and caused massive flooding, even more people fled. Oddly though, some stayed behind and still call Bombay Beach home to this day.

The tiny, 0.9-square-mile township currently boasts about three hundred residents.

The abandoned properties remain, though.

It is this juxtaposition that makes the place so eerie.

Also adding to the creepiness factor is the fact that many of those who fled walked away not only from their properties, but all of their belongings, as well. Forgotten sofas, toys and even cars can be seen strewn about the landscape.

In fact, I’m pretty sure that’s the Friends couch visible through the window below. Winking smile

Situated in the midst of this apocalyptic–like setting is a church . . .

. . . two mini-marts (I only got a photograph of one) . . .

. . . and a “fireside lounge” named Blues After Dark, which is currently for sale. There’s also a restaurant, the Ski Inn, but I’ll get to that in a bit.

The entire area was just begging to be photographed.

Yep, the graffiti pictured below reads, “Abandon all hope ye who enter.”

Prior to visiting Bombay Beach, I had never even heard of the place, so I was absolutely shocked to discover how often it has been utilized for filming. I guess its immortalization onscreen should not have come as a surprise, though, considering its vastly unique and desolate landscape.

In the 1990 made-for-television movie The Great Los Angeles Earthquake, Bombay Beach was said to be the site of numerous foreshocks, but it does not appear that any actual filming took place there.

In 2008, chef Anthony Bourdain visited Bombay Beach to film the Season 4 episode of his Travel Channel reality series Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations titled “U.S. Southwest.”

During his sojourn, Bourdain partook of a patty melt at Bombay Beach’s sole restaurant, the Ski Inn.

The episode makes for a fascinating watch and is available for purchase via Amazon Instant Video.

A 2011 documentary was also made about the township. Appropriately titled Bombay Beach, the film was directed by Israeli filmmaker Alma Har’el and followed the lives of three Bombay Beach residents. It won “Best Documentary Feature” at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival and was nominated for an Independent Spirit award.

You can watch the Bombay Beach trailer by clicking below.

In 2013, Jeremy Wade shot a promo for the fifth season of his Animal Planet series, River Monsters, at Bombay Beach.

You can watch that promo by clicking below.

Bombay Beach was used extensively in the 2013 music video for Austrian singer Christina Sturmer’s song “Millionen Lichter” (translation – “A Million Lights”). The video was shot on the shoreline . . .

. . . throughout the town itself . . .

. . . and in front of several Bombay Beach houses.

The motel that appeared in “Millionen Lichter” cannot be found in Bombay Beach, however, but about 170 miles away. It is the Four Aces movie set in Palmdale, which has appeared in countless productions over the years and which I have stalked, but have yet to blog about.

You can watch the “Millionen Lichter” video by clicking below. It’s actually a really catchy song, although I don’t understand a word of it.

I was absolutely shocked to discover while doing research for this post that the Season 6 episode of The Mentalist titled “The Desert Rose” was filmed on location at Bombay Beach. “The Desert Rose” was one of my favorite episodes of the show ever, so how I did not recognize the place when we visited is beyond me.

In “The Desert Rose,” Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) and Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney) are sent to the Salton Sea to investigate the murder of a real estate developer named Brooke Yardley (Alex Daniels), whose body was found on the shores of Bombay Beach. The spot where the body was found is located near Avenue D & 5th Street.

While in town, Lisbon and Jane pop into the Borrego Gap Diner, which is actually the Ski Inn, Anthony Bourdain’s former stomping grounds.

Sadly, because I did not realize its significance at the time, I only got one partial photograph of the eatery.

The inside of the Ski Inn (which you can check out some pictures of here) does bear a striking resemblance to the diner shown on The Mentalist, but I do not believe any interior filming actually took place on the premises. As you can see in this photograph, not only are there structural differences between the two, but the flooring shown in the episode does not match the restaurant’s actual flooring.

While we were driving around Bombay Beach, Robin mentioned how much it reminded him of Sandy Shores from Grand Theft Auto V. I had no clue what he was talking about at the time, but was floored to discover while reading a Wikipedia article later that day that Bombay Beach had served as the inspiration for the town in the game! I should mention here that Robin is not into filming locations AT ALL, so this was a first – and I couldn’t have been more excited about it. I swear I’ll make a stalker out of him yet! Winking smile I ended up buying the Grim Cheaper a PlayStation 3 and Grand Theft Auto V for his birthday shortly after Robin’s visit and, in our excitement to see Bombay Beach onscreen, we stole a boat in the opening scene of the game and drove it right up to Sandy Shores. Now we are kind of stuck there, unsure of what to do. Sure enough, though, the place does look exactly like Bombay Beach.

Of the Sandy Shores design, Grand Theft Auto V art director Aaron Garbut said in a 2014 interview with the Edge, “We did know the [biographies] for the three characters right at the start, so we knew we wanted to create an area for Trevor out in the sticks. Towards the beginning of preproduction, I met up with [Rockstar president] Sam [Houser] in LA, and we spent a week together driving about, just exploring and talking. During that trip, we drove out into the desert and eventually ended up visiting Salton Sea [in California]. We went to an amazing spot called Bombay Beach and expected a real-life Trevor to burst out on us at any second. When the full reference trip was organized, we sent a team out to Salton Sea for a few days.” LOVE it!

On an abandoned sites side-note – I just learned about an abandoned water park located on the grounds of none other than the Walt Disney World Resort! Known as River Country, the park was shuttered in 2001 and has sat rotting ever since. Man, would I love to see it in person! You can check out some great photographs of the property in its current state here.

For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online. And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Bombay Beach is located on the eastern side of the Salton Sea, about twenty miles north of Niland and twenty miles south of the North Shore Yacht Club. The Ski Inn, aka the Borrego Gap Diner from The Mentalist, is located at 9596 Avenue A.

February 12, 2014February 11, 2014

The Colorado Street Bridge from “The Bachelor”

When Juan Pablo Galavis and Chelsie Webster went bungee jumping off of Pasadena’s Colorado Street Bridge in the recently-aired Season 18 episode of The Bachelor titled “Soccer Date,” I found myself wondering, “How did I miss the filming?” Although it has been over a year now, I still have to remind myself that the Crown City is no longer home. (The Grim Cheaper is convinced that all the blonde hair dye I use has finally started to affect my brain. Winking smile ) I happened to drive under the famed bridge while visiting Pasadena last week and got to thinking that it would make for a good Valentine’s-themed post (even though, per Reality Steve, Juan Pablo and Chelsie do not wind up together), so I pulled over to snap some pics. (The GC also “loaned” me a bunch of photos he took of the structure years ago.)

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The Colorado Street Bridge was designed by the Kansas City, Missouri-based engineering firm Waddell & Harrington. Construction on the 1,467.5-foot-long, two-lane structure was completed in 1913. The bridge, which towers 148.5-feet above the Arroyo Seco, is an architectural marvel boasting 11 Beaux Arts arches, ornamental clustered light posts and an iron balustrade. Shockingly, the magnificent, curving span was almost demolished in 1953 following the completion of the adjacent Pioneer Bridge, which connects the 134 and 210 freeways. The site was saved thanks to a letter-writing campaign and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Due to structural deterioration, the Colorado Street Bridge was closed to traffic in 1989 and a $27-million restoration project subsequently begun. The site was re-opened on December 13th, 1993 – the 90-year anniversary of its original completion.

The span is often referred to as the “Suicide Bridge” because more than 100 people have jumped to their deaths from it over the years, most during the 1930s in the midst of the Great Depression. While a wrought-iron suicide-prevention fence was installed at the time of the 1989 renovation, it has not halted the most determined troubled souls – thirteen people have jumped from the bridge since 2006 alone.

In the “Soccer Date” episode of The Bachelor, Juan Pablo first takes Chelsie to sample Venezuelan delicacies at Amara Chocolate & Coffee (located at 55 South Raymond Avenue in Old Town).

The two then head over to the Colorado Street Bridge where, after a considerable amount of hemming and hawing on Chelsie’s part, they embark on a tandem bungee jump.

The Bachelor is hardly the first production to make use of the picturesque site. The bridge has appeared in countless productions over the years – far too many for me to ever chronicle here. But I’ve compiled a few of the highlights. Way back in 1921, Charlie Chaplin featured the structure in his movie The Kid (which starred Jackie Coogan, grandfather of Keith Coogan, my girl Pinky Lovejoy’s husband.)

The Colorado Street Bridge showed up very briefly at the beginning of the 2005 romantic comedy Rumor Has It, in the scene in which Sarah Huttinger (Jennifer Aniston) and Jeff Daly (Mark Ruffalo) first arrived in Pasadena.

The bridge was where Carl (Jim Carrey) bungee jumped – and took a phone call – in 2008’s Yes Man.

Jim Carrey actually performed the stunt himself for the scene. You can watch a behind-the-scenes video of it being shot by clicking below.

In the Season 4 episode of The Closer titled “Fate Line,” which aired in 2009 (and which I got to watch being filmed – you can read my set report here), horror film producer Sean Thompson died in a car accident underneath the Colorado Street Bridge.

In the Season 2 episode of The Mentalist titled “The Scarlet Letter,” which also aired in 2009 (and which I also watched being filmed – you can read that set report here), the Colorado Street Bridge masqueraded as the Sacramento-area bridge where the body of Kristin Marley (Kristine Blackport) was found.

The structure was where two sisters killed themselves in another 2009 production – the Season 1 episode of Lie to Me (a series I absolutely loved) titled “Depraved Heart.”

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Colorado Street Bridge, where Juan Pablo and Chelsie bungee jumped on The Bachelor, is located on West Colorado Boulevard, in between South Orange Grove Boulevard and North San Rafael Avenue, adjacent to the 134 Freeway, in Pasadena.

January 14, 2014February 25, 2016

Bob’s Market from “The Fast and the Furious”

As I mentioned in my December 12th post for Los Angeles magazine’s CityThink blog, I was heartbroken upon learning the news of Paul Walker’s death. I met Paul on December 1st, 2012, almost a year to the day of his passing, and couldn’t have been more impressed with his down-to-earth attitude and kindness. (You can read about my experience meeting Paul on the Mike the Fanboy website here.) For whatever reason, I had never seen what is arguably his most famous movie, The Fast and the Furious, though, so I set about to amend that the week before Christmas. I wound up absolutely loving it, especially the locations, and ran out to stalk Bob’s Market in Echo Park, which masqueraded as Toretto’s Market & Deli, the bodega owned by Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) in the flick, shortly thereafter.

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Bob’s Market, which is Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #215, was constructed in 1913. Yep, the place is over one hundred years old! The one-story edifice was designed by architect George F. Colterison and built by Peter A. Holmberg for $3,500. The property, which boasts Mission Revival and Asian design elements, was commissioned by Ella J. McMillen and originally consisted of two separate storefronts – one that housed a tailor and the other, a small market.

In 1934, new owners merged the two spaces into one to house a larger grocery store and the set-up has remained that way ever since. It became “Bob’s Market” in 1965 when it was purchased by a man named Bob Nimura and his wife, Keiko, who still own the site to this day.

In The Fast and the Furious, Bob’s Market was where Walker’s Brian O’Conner character infiltrated a group of illegal street racers over “tuna on white, no crust.”

Mike, from MovieShotsLA, stalked the market a while back and was informed by Bob that the interior of the place was gutted and then completely redressed for the filming. How crazy is that? I would have guessed that a set had been used for the interior scenes.

I have heard that Bob isn’t especially friendly to stalkers, but he was nice enough to allow Mike to take some photographs inside of the store. As you can see it looks absolutely nothing like the interior of Toretto’s – no counter seating, no open back room, no tuna on white.

Mike told me that Bob even has photographs on display showing the transformation that took place for the filming. So incredibly cool! You can check out some more interior pictures of Bob’s Market here.

In The Fast and the Furious scene, Brian parked his car directly across the street from Bob’s Market.

The big fight between Brian and Vince (Matt Schulze) took place in that area, as well.

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When I stalked Bob’s back in December, there was a small memorial set up for Paul in that spot.

Bob’s Market has appeared onscreen countless times over the years. In 1997, it popped up briefly in the background of L.A. Confidential in the scene in which Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) and Edmund J. Exley (Guy Pearce) interrogated boxer Leonard Bidwell (Robert Barry Fleming).

In the 2002 movie The Salton Sea, Danny Parker (Val Kilmer) stopped to buy cigarettes at Bob’s Market during a sting operation.

The interior was also shown very briefly in the film.

In 2011, the market was used in the Season 3 episode of Southland titled “Graduation Day,” as the spot where Detective Lydia Adams (Regina King) discussed her love live with Detective Josie Ochoa (Jenny Gago) while investigating a death.

That same year, Bob’s was where Kimball Cho (Tim Kang) and Wayne Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) investigated the whereabouts of a suspect named Richard Haibach (William Mapother) In the Season 4 episode of The Mentalist titled “Blinking Red Light.”

In the second episode of TNT’s new neo-noir miniseries Mob City, which was titled “Reason to Kill a Man”, Bob’s stood in for Abarrotes, where boy scout cop William Parker (Neal McDonough) successfully defused a hostage situation early in his career.

The real life interior of the store also appeared in the episode.

Bob’s pops up briefly in the 2014 thriller Nightcrawler in the background of the scene in which Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) listens to information coming across a police scanner while sitting in his car.

In the Season 4 episode of Major Crimes titled “Hindsight Part I,” the LAPD Major Crimes division investigates a shooting of a young mother and son that took place outside of Bob’s Market.

Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for sharing his photographs of the interior of Bob’s Market.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Bob’s Market, aka Toretto’s Market & Deli from The Fast and the Furious, is located at 1230 Bellevue Avenue in Echo Park.