House

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

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Few filmmakers have ever captured adolescence as well as John Hughes did with a string of hit films in the 1980s.  Most of his films were set in the fictitous town of Shermer, Illinois and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is no exception.

While much of the film did indeed film in the Greater Chicago area, Ferris’ house is actually located far from the neighborhoods of Chicago, in Long Beach, California. The same house appears in the films “Red Dragon” and “Not Another Teen Movie.”

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LOCATION: 4160 Country Club Dr, Long Beach, CA 90807

Ferris’ high school scenes were filmed at Glenbrook North High School, in Northbrook Illinois.  Hughes had previously used the hallways of the school in another of his 80s hits, “The Breakfast Club.”  Later in the film, Ferris poses as his girlfriend Sloane’s father, coming up with a scheme to get her out of school.  This scene was actually filmed at the Center for Performing Arts, a separate building on the grounds of the high school.  The stairs still look exactly the same as they did in the film.

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LOCATION: 2300 Shermer Rd, Northbrook, IL 60062

A reverse view at the parking lot from the stairs, where Ferris posed as Sloane’s father.

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The police station where Jeanie, played by Jennifer Grey, meets a mysterious man, played by Charlie Sheen, can be found in Downtown Los Angeles. It is only seen from interior views in the film. The building has been featured in countless films and television series, including “Beverly Hills Cop,” “Beverly Hills Cop II,” “Divergent,” “The Muppets,” “Wrath Of Man,” “License To Drive,” “Unlawful Entry,” “Inspector Gadget,” “Child’s Play 2,” “Enough” and dozens more.

LOCATION: 635 Mateo St, Los Angeles, CA 90021

Ferris’ best friend Cameron lives at this house in Highland Park, Illinois.  It has unfortunately since been remodeled, but we were able to capture it long before remodeling took place.

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LOCATION: 370 Beech St, Highland Park, IL 60035

Late in the film, disaster strikes when Ferris and Cameron accidentally reverse Cameron’s father’s car through the glass wall of this building, down a steep canyon.  The building really does exist behind the above house and there really is a steep canyon beneath it, exactly as depicted in the film. This building has not been remodeled.

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Some outfits worn by Ferris and Cameron in the film can be seen on display at Planet Hollywood in Florida.

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LOCATION: 1506 E Buena Vista Dr, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

Related articles: Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987), Uncle Buck (1989)

Wayne’s World (1992)

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Based on the classic “Saturday Night Live” skit, “Wayne’s World” is set in the town of Aurora, Illinois.  However, while a small bit of the film did shoot in Illinois, the majority was filmed in California.  Wayne’s house can be found in a neighborhood of Van Nuys, in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles.

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LOCATION: 7105 Texhoma Ave, Van Nuys, CA 91406

Garth’s house is located directly across the street.  However, in the time that has passed since filming, the house has undergone such heavy remodeling, it no longer bears any resemblance to how it appeared in the film.

LOCATION: 7102 Texhoma Ave, Van Nuys, CA 91406

The music store where Wayne sees his dream guitar can be found in San Fernando. The store is still in business and has photos from the film, as well as a signed guitar on display, although it is not the one seen in the film.

LOCATION: 901 N Maclay Ave, San Fernando, CA 91340

The diner where Wayne apologizes to Garth can be found in Inglewood. The hockey player on the roof was added by the production.

LOCATION: 1220 N La Brea Ave, Inglewood, CA 90302

Wayne’s actual guitar from the film can be found on display at Planet Hollywood in Florida.

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LOCATION: 1506 E Buena Vista Dr, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

Almost Famous (2000)

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The house of Patrick Fugit’s character, where he lives with Francis McDormand and Zooey Deschanel in Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical film “Almost Famous,” is set in San Diego, California.  However, the real home used in the film is actually located in Santa Monica, California.

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LOCATION: 1047 Maple St, Santa Monica, CA 90405

Related articles: Say Anything… (1989), Singles (1992), Jerry Maguire (1996), Aloha (2015)

Training Day (2001)

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Jake, played by Ethan Hawke, first meets Alonzo, played by Denzel Washington, at the Quality Cafe in Antoine Fuqua’s 2001 film “Training Day.”  The diner was a one-time staple of films, appearing in “Seven,” “Ghost World,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “Another Day In Paradise,” “(500) Days Of Summer” “Million Dollar Baby,” “The Rules Of Attraction,” “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” “The Heartbreak Kid” and dozens more.  However, it was not an actual restaurant open to the public.  Instead it was used solely for filming.  Sadly, it ceased to function as a filming location and was completely renovated in 2014.  The interior of the property no longer bears any resemblance inside to how it appeared in so many films.

LOCATION: 1238 W 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90017 (since closed and remodeled)

Later in the film, Jake finds himself set up inside this drug dealer’s house.  The house can be found perched on a hill in the Everett Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.  The home was used again in the 2009 Sam Raimi film, “Drag Me To Hell,” as the residence of Alison Lohman’s character.

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LOCATION: 1031 Everett St, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Mullholland Drive (2001)

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Given the title, it’s a given that David Lynch’s 2001 film “Mullholland Drive,” like many of his other films, is based around Los Angeles.  When Betty, played by Naomi Watts, first arrives in L.A., she stays at this apartment complex.

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LOCATION: 450 N Sycamore Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036

In the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, you’ll find the “Sierra Bonita” apartments, where Diane lives.  Located just a few blocks from the original site of Walt Disney Studios, the eight cottages are said to have inspired the animation designs for the dwarf houses in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

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LOCATION: 2900 Griffith Park Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

The iconic Pink’s Hot Dogs is seen where the hitman speaks with a prostitute. Pink’s has appeared in many films, such as “The Muppets,” “The Golden Child,” “Minnie and Moskowitz,” “loha, Bobby and Rose,” “Hickey & Boggs” and more.

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LOCATION: 709 N La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038

The Winkie’s Diner on Sunset Blvd is not actually on Sunset or even in Hollywood.  The building can actually be found in the city of Gardena.  The “Winkie’s” name was also created by the filmmakers.  The real restaurant was at one time a Denny’s, before later becoming Caesar’s Restaurant.  It currently sits vacant.

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LOCATION: 1016 W El Segundo Blvd, Gardena, CA 90247

In one of the film’s more unsettling scenes, Dan, played by Patrick Fischler, is haunted by the image of a man behind a wall in the back lot of the restaurant.  He makes his way down the sidewalk and stairs to the wall behind the restaurant, to face his nightmare.

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As he approaches the wall, he collapses when he sees the man in his nightmares personified.  As you can see, the wall appears a bit different now than how it appeared in the film, no longer extending out as far.

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In Downtown Los Angeles, you’ll find the entrance to Club Silenco.  This is actually the back of the Palace Theatre, facing S Spring St

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LOCATION: 630 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90014 (rear entrance, near 621 S Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90014)

The interior of Club Silenco was filmed at the Tower Theater in Downtown Los Angeles. It has since been converted into a retail store and is open to the public. Lynch revisited this location for “Inland Empire,” as well as “Twin Peaks: The Return.” The same building has also appeared in the films “Buffy The Vampire Slayer,” “The Omega Man,” “Fight Club,” “The Prestige,” “Coyote Ugly,” “Last Action Hero,” “Transformers,” “Ed Wood,” “End of Days,” ““She’s So Lovely,” “The Replacement Killers,” “The Good German,” “Dark Streets” and “The Mambo King.”

LOCATION: 800 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90014

Related articles: Eraserhead (1977), Wild At Heart (1990), Lost Highway (1997), Twin Peaks

Knocked Up (2007)

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Ben Stone, played by Seth Rogan in the 2007 comedy “Knocked Up,” lives with his buddies at this house in Northridge, California.  Unfortunately, the house has somewhat limited visibility from the road.  You can see this view from the driveway.  The rest of the property is obscured by a large wall covered by plants.  Another Seth Rogen comedy, “Superbad,” filmed scenes of a party house on the same street.

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LOCATION: 17800 Community St, Northridge, CA 91325

Alison visits her sister Debbie, played by Leslie Mann at this Brentwood home.  Debbie and her husband Pete, played by Paul Rudd, would become the subject of their own spin-off to this film, “This Is 40.”  The same house was used in both films.  This property is also gated, with a wall running along the street, so while it’s likewise not easily visible, it too can still be seen from a couple angles.

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LOCATION: 531 N Bristol Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90049

Related articles: The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005), This Is 40 (2012)

It (2017)

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To promote the release of the film “It,” Warner Bros. built a a haunted house on the corner of Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood, California, in which visitors could go inside the Neibolt house, where actors and haunted house theatrics would do their best to scare you.

The real house seen in the film was also a creation of the production.  It was built in the town of Oshowa, Ontario, Canada, on the corner of Eulalie Ave and James St.

“The IT Experience: Neibolt House Hollywood” pop-up exhibition was on display for one month, during August and September, 2017.  It has since closed.  In 2019, the studio built a pop-up for “It Chapter Two” at the same location.

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Related articles: It Chapter Two (2019)

The Karate Kid (1984)

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The 1980s classic “The Karate Kid” shot mostly around the San Fernando Valley in California.  Surprisingly, many of the film locations are not only still standing, but still closely resemble how they appear in the film.  The major exception is Mr. Miyagi’s house, which was torn down.

Daniel Larusso’s apartment still exists in Reseda, California.  The apartment looks identical to how it appeared in 1984.  However, the neighborhood it’s located in isn’t the safest of areas.

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LOCATION: 19223 Saticoy St, Reseda, CA 91335

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Daniel embarrassingly arrives in his mom’s run-down car to pick up Ali at her house for a date. This house has since been remodeled.

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LOCATION: 4072 Alonzo Ave, Encino, CA 91316

The two go on a date to Golf N’ Stuff, which is a real place and still open to visitors.  It’s located further south, down in Norwalk, California.

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LOCATION: 10555 Firestone Blvd, Norwalk, CA 90650

The location of the Cobra Kai dojo can be found in North Hollywood.  The same location was featured in the film “Say Anything…“

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LOCATION: 5223 Lankershim Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 91601

A glimpse inside the dojo location.

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Related articles: The Karate Kid Part II (1986), Cobra Kai