In the 2002 comedy-horror film “Bubba Ho-Tep,” Bruce Campbell plays an elderly man claiming to be Elvis Presley, who faces off against an ancient, evil mummy.  Along with a black man claiming to be John F. Kennedy, the two stay at the Shady Rest Retirement Home, supposedly located in East Texas.  The real location was an abandoned building on the grounds of the former Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey, California.

Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center was founded back in the late 1800s.  The hospital upgraded to a newer facility located nearby and abandoned a lot of their older buildings, with ownership transferred to the county.  The buildings sat vacant for years.  The site of the Shady Rest Retirement Home was located near the intersection of  Consuelo St and Esperanza St.

The area was formerly patrolled by security, but some of the roads were still open to the public.  Unfortunately in 2017, two buildings were burnt by fires, including the retirement home seen in the film, with the suspected cause being arson.  Since then, fencing now blocks off all streets leading to the building, with a second fence surrounding the building itself.  Security still heavily patrols the area as well. Here is an aerial view of what remains of the building since the fire. While it was not destroyed entirely, the damages were significant.

This is the closest public location seen from the street, near the intersection of Consuelo St and Dahlia Ave. It is unfortunate the filming location was essentially lost, but more importantly, no injuries were reported from the fires.

LOCATION: Approximately 7608 Consuelo St, Downey, CA 90242 (GPS coordinates: 33°55’20.4″N, 118°09’43.5″W)