After editing thousands of photos from my trip to Southern California, I am ready to share some of them on the blog. This first post will feature photos from beautiful Pasadena, just outside Los Angeles.
Pasadena is known for being the filming location for a number of movies and TV shows, perhaps most notably Back to the Future. I made a point of visiting some of these locations while I was there.
The first location I visited was the house from the 90s sitcom Step by Step (pictured above). This really wasn’t that high on my bucket list, but I used to love the show and it was in the neighborhood of some other sites I wanted to see.
Above is the Colorado Street Bridge, which has been featured in many movies and TV shows. For all you Full House fans, this was the bridge that Jesse and Becky bungee jumped from in one episode.
One of the most exciting sites to see was the street in South Pasadena where the houses of the characters in Back to the Future lived in 1955. Above is a photo looking down the street.
Marty’s mom Lorraine’s house (above) is painted a different color than it was in the movies, but it’s still exciting to see.
Biff Tannen’s house (above) and Marty’s dad George’s house (below) look more like they did in the movies.
The next stop was the house from the Father of the Bride movies in the 90s. The light was gorgeous when we got there; it was almost surreal. I read an article about the owners of this house which said that they go to great lengths to keep the house looking nice year round for tourists. No one else was there when I was, but apparently in summer it’s not uncommon for several tourist groups to stop by in a day.
At the end of Father of the Bride Part II, the camera pans down this street as George, Nina and Matty wave good-bye to Annie and Brian and their son driving away. I couldn’t resist getting the same shot myself.
Heading Back to the Future…or the past…the next stop was the Gamble House, which stood in as the exterior of Doc Brown’s house in 1955. This house is actually a museum, although time did not permit me going in and taking a tour (I was only in Pasadena for less than a day). I lucked out, and although a tour did pass in front of the museum at one point, I was able to get a shot without any people in it. Not to mention the perfect location of the sun for an epic sun star!
Next stop was Pasadena City Hall, which is just stunning.
Once you walk through the city hall, you can walk around the courtyard and view the architecture from various angles.
There’s even a sound installation that roars every minute or so to sound like the lion that is featured in the crest (see above photo).
Lots of arches made for great framing opportunities.
Next it was time to take some photos around the hotel, the Langham Huntington Pasadena. I’d say the view from the room (above) was pretty awesome, especially with that sunset going on.
I got the photo of the pool area standing on the walkway that connects the main building to the back building.
I love the lights on the trees in the courtyard.
The lobby and its gorgeous chandelier.
T hotel looking majestic at night.
The Japanese gardens looked enchanted at night.
The lobby has a nice sitting area, which I photographed the next morning.
I also took a few photos in the Japanese gardens the next morning, before heading off to Warner Brothers Studios, which will be the focus of my next post.
Disclaimer: In this post I visited several TV and movie filming locations. Please remember if you choose to visit these locations yourself that they are (for the most part) privately owned homes. Please respect private property and do not trespass. All photos were taken from public streets and sidewalks.
All photos in this post are © Samantha Decker and may not be used without permission.
