THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL
2301 N. Highland Ave., Los Angeles
www.hollywoodbowl.com
As seen in Anchors Aweigh, Beaches, Xanadu. Tinseltown’s favorite outdoor music venue is also one of its favorite film locations. It can also be seen in the famous Bugs Bunny cartoon, “Long-Haired Hare.”
The Hollywood Bowl Museum (at the same location) offers a complete list of movies and shows that have featured this summer home of the L.A. Philharmonic. Stop by and see if you can find your favorites!
THE CHEMOSPHERE
You probably don’t recognize this location by name, but it’s the flying saucer-shaped house that you have seen in so many films and TV shows, most notably Body Double, Charlie’s Angels and The Simpsons.
The John Lautner designed abode hovers over the valley side of the Hollywood Hills just over Studio City. You can see a really clear view from the Universal City Walk, which is located on the other side of the 101 Freeway, just across the Cahuenga pass from this otherworldly home.
THE QUEEN MARY
1126 Queen’s Highway, Long Beach
www.queenmary.com
The grand dame of the sea that now resides in Long Beach is routinely used whenever a movie calls for an ocean liner. It can be seen in Pearl Harbor and was used extensively in the original The Poseidon Adventure, but was actually not used for Titanic.
The dome that sits beside the ship once contained Howard Hughes’ “Spruce Goose.” It is now empty, but its vast interior has been used as a sound stage to film Batman and Jack Frost, among others.
CAPITOL RECORDS BUILDING
1750 Vine Street, Hollywood
Used alone or in conjunction with the Hollywood Sign that rests on the hills above it, the Capitol Records Building tower is a universally recognized landmark that says “we are now in Hollywood” when seen on the screen. It has been featured in countless films and TV shows.
Originally designed to look like a stack of records, you can see the famous tower destroyed in Earthquake and The Day After Tomorrow.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART
5905 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles
www.lacma.org
This is just a great place to visit anyway, but many of you will remember this is the museum where Steve Martin rollerskates through the halls in L.A. Story. He’s also an avid collector and has donated many great works of art to the museum. See if you can find a few while you’re there.
The La Brea Tar Pits share the same site as the museum and were the location of the fictional eruption that wreaked havoc on the area in the Tommy Lee Jones film Volcano.
VASQUEZ ROCKS
10700 Escondido Canyon Rd., Agua Dulce
(661) 268-0840; parks.co.la.ca
With its unique vistas of crooked rock strata jutting from the ground at steep, unusual angles, this L.A. County Park is routinely utilized when a story calls for a “unique” location. You have seen it in The Flintstones, Planet of the Apes (2001) and Blazing Saddles.
It was also often the alien landscape in the original “Star Trek” TV series. The park offers picnic areas and hiking trails.
FORMOSA CAFÉ
7156 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles
www.formosacafe.com
Not only can you visit this little piece of Hollywood history that has been used in films such as L.A. Confidential, The Majestic and Swingers, but you can also grab a bite to eat and enjoy a drink while you’re there!
It has been a landmark since it opened in 1939 and continues to host a celebrity clientele. Many of which are showcased in the hundreds of pictures that line its walls.
UNION STATION
800 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles
Considered by many as “the last of the great railway stations” this downtown location has been used so often that you will recognize it as soon as you step inside and look around! It has been featured in Speed, Blade Runner, Star Trek: First Contact and the TV series, “24.”
VENICE BEACH
Los Angeles’ funky oceanside community has hosted many films crews. Performers like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd filmed silent classics there!
More recently, it has been showcased in The Doors, White Men Can’t Jump, Falling Down and many more. It was featured prominently in L.A.
Story, which also showcased one of its famous murals that stands in testament to the area’s artistic community. The mural is still visible about a block from the beach on Windward Avenue.
CENTURY CITY
Built on land that was once part of the 20th Century Fox studios, Century City is home to many film locations. The riot scenes in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes were filmed at the then-recently completed Century City Mall.
Terrorists in the Bruce Willis film Die Hard overran the Fox Plaza tower at 2121 Avenue of the Stars. The Hyatt Regency next door was blown up in Point of No Return, and the entire neighborhood is destroyed at the climactic end of Fight Club.
What is left of the 20th Century Fox Studios is still located nearby at 10201 Pico Boulevard (at Avenue of the Stars), Century City.
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