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I had another version with different music but due to copyright issues I wasn't allowed to upload that version. Therefore here is version two. I hope you enjoy!
500 Days in Downtown
Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt star in "(500) Days of Summer;" photo courtesy Fox Searchlight.
Below is information about historic locations from the 2009 Fox Searchlight film “(500) Days of Summer,” courtesy of the Los Angeles Conservancy.
1. San Fernando Bldg.
400 South Main Street (at Fourth Street)
*Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #728
*Listed in the National Register of Historic Places
In the film, the San Fernando Building serves as the video & record store.
Look diagonally across Main Street (northwest corner of Fourth & Main):
2. Van Nuys Hotel (Barclay Hotel)
103 West Fourth Street
*Los Angeles
Historic-Cultural Monument #288
In the film, the Barclay lobby serves as the hangout for Tom
and his buddies.
Cross Main Street at Fourth Street (toward the Barclay Hotel), go one block to Spring
Street; on your left will be:
3. Braly Block (Continental Building)
408 South Spring Street
*Los Angeles
Historic-Cultural Monument #730
*Part of National Register: listed Spring Street Financial District
In the film, this is one of Tom’s favorite buildings, as viewed from Tom’s bench; identified by Tom as
“L.A.’s first skyscraper.”
Continue west on Fourth another block; turn right on Broadway and head
north to Third Street. On your right will be:
4. Bradbury Bldg.
304 South Broadway
*Los Angeles
Historic-Cultural Monument #6
*State Landmark
*Listed in the National Register of Historic Places
In the film, this is the site of an important meeting for Tom.
Across Broadway, at Third Street:
5. Million Dollar Theatre
307 South Broadway
*Part of the National
Register-listed Broadway Theatre and Commercial District
*Photo by Larry Underhill
In the
film, Tom & Summer see The Graduate here.
To the left of the theatre:
6. Grand Central Market
315 South Broadway
John Parkinson,
1897
*Listed in the National Register of Historic Places
This was the site of a deleted
scene from the film in which Tom and Summer are shopping for fruit.
Cross Hill Street and go all the way up the 100+ steps to:
7. Tom's Bench
Angels Knoll/Bunker Hill
356 South Olive Street
In the film, this is Tom’s favorite L.A. spot, offering a great view of (mostly) pre-war buildings. As Tom
shows Summer the architecture, he says words along the lines of, "There’s so much beauty here. Sure the
street level isn’t much to look at, but if you look up, there’s some exciting stuff going on. If it were up to me, I’d get
people to notice!”
If you’re as thirsty as a pirate, head north on Hill to Second Street, to:
8. Redwood Bar & Grill
316 West Second Street
In the film, this serves as the office bar where Tom, Summer,
and coworkers indulge in drunken karaoke.
9. Other Downtown Film Locations
*FENTON BUILDING (circa 1925; aka Roseland dance hall)
833-835
South Spring Street, between Eighth and Ninth Streets
In the film, this is where Tom works as a
copywriter for a greeting card company.
*ARTHUR J. WILL MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN
(1965)
Civic Center Mall, between First and Temple Streets, near Grand Avenue
In the film, this is where Tom dances to the Hall & Oates song “You Make My Dreams Come True.”
The fountain is a mid-century classic, though the waterworks aren’t as splendidly scenic as they are the movie (in
fact, the fountain is usually turned off), due to water conservation.
*FINE ARTS
BUILDING (Walker and Eisen, 1926)
811 West Seventh Street
This is one of
Tom’s favorite buildings; he singles out architects Walker and Eisen.
*EASTERN
COLUMBIA BUILDING (Claud Beelman, 1930)
849 South Broadway, across from the Orpheum
Theatre
Another one of Tom’s favorites.
*BROADWAY
BAR
830 South Broadway, next to the Orpheum Theatre
In the film, this is where
Tom defends Summer.
Many thanks to the Los Angeles Conservancy, Fox Searchlight, Michael Chickey, Martin J. Cummins
and Harry Medved.
The Los Angeles Conservancy is a nonprofit organization devoted to preserving the
historic architectural and cultural resources of Los Angeles County. Join today if you’re not already a member!
Click to view500 Days in Downtown
Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt star in "(500) Days of Summer;" photo courtesy Fox Searchlight.
Below is information about historic locations from the 2009 Fox Searchlight film “(500) Days of Summer,” courtesy of the Los Angeles Conservancy.
1. San Fernando Bldg.
400 South Main Street (at Fourth Street)
*Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #728
*Listed in the National Register of Historic Places
In the film, the San Fernando Building serves as the video & record store.
- The
original building was built by John F. Blee in 1907 - The two top stories were added on by R. B. Young in
1911 - Designed in the Renaissance Revival style
- Commissioned by James B. Lankershim, one of
the largest landholders in California (his father Isaac helped develop the San Fernando Valley for
farming) - Originally had a café, billiard room, and Turkish bath in the basement for tenants
- Achieved
local attention in 1910, when a series of police raids occurred on the sixth floor due to illegal gambling in the
rooms - Redeveloped by Gilmore Associates and reopened in 2000 as 70 loft-style apartments; one of the
early projects that sparked Downtown’s current renaissance
Look diagonally across Main Street (northwest corner of Fourth & Main):
2. Van Nuys Hotel (Barclay Hotel)
103 West Fourth Street
*Los Angeles
Historic-Cultural Monument #288
In the film, the Barclay lobby serves as the hangout for Tom
and his buddies.
- Built by Morgan and Walls in 1896
- Designed in the Beaux-Arts style
with Romanesque features (which are less detailed and ornate than the more formal Beaux-Arts
style) - Look up to the top of the building to see “The Van Nuys”
- Commercial venture by Isaac
Newton Van Nuys, one of L.A.’s wealthiest businessmen and landowners - Opened in 1897 as the Van
Nuys Hotel, one of the finest in the city with the latest amenities - First hotel to provide telephone and
electric service in every room; “a neat device for the electrical heating of curling irons in each room is a new
feature of special interest to the ladies” (Los Angeles Times) - Fourth Street lobby has many original
elements, including ceiling decorations, columns, arched doorways, stained-glass windows with old-fashioned
scenes, and a crest with “V. N.” held up by sea horses - The oldest continuously operating hotel in Los
Angeles, now a low income residential hotel
Cross Main Street at Fourth Street (toward the Barclay Hotel), go one block to Spring
Street; on your left will be:
3. Braly Block (Continental Building)
408 South Spring Street
*Los Angeles
Historic-Cultural Monument #730
*Part of National Register: listed Spring Street Financial District
In the film, this is one of Tom’s favorite buildings, as viewed from Tom’s bench; identified by Tom as
“L.A.’s first skyscraper.”
- Built by John Parkinson between 1902 and 1904
- One of the
first examples of the Beaux-Arts business block - At 175 feet, considered the city's first
skyscraper - Completed shortly before the city established a 130-foot building height limit in 1905 (later
raised to 150 feet); remained the city's tallest building (in terms of occupied space) for more than fifty years
(except City Hall, which was exempted from the limit by public vote) - First floor has been altered, but the
second story retains its stone block design - Notice the row of lion heads on the projecting cornice made of
pressed galvanized tin - Served as office space and later housed many banks
- Now owned by
Gilmore Associates, which converted it into fifty-six loft-style apartments, which opened in 2001
Continue west on Fourth another block; turn right on Broadway and head
north to Third Street. On your right will be:
4. Bradbury Bldg.
304 South Broadway
*Los Angeles
Historic-Cultural Monument #6
*State Landmark
*Listed in the National Register of Historic Places
In the film, this is the site of an important meeting for Tom.
- Built by Sumner
Hunt and/or George H. Wyman (disputed) in 1893 - Built in the Victorian Romanesque style
- Simple
sandstone and brown brick exterior gives way to five-story interior court filled with light from the glass roof,
cast-iron railings, and open cage elevators - Hydraulic elevators originally powered by steam-derived boilers
in the basement - Lewis Bradbury was a mining millionaire who moved to L.A. later in life to become a real
estate investor - The oldest commercial building in the center city
- Purchased by Ira Yellin in 1989;
renovated as a key part of his Grand - Central Square project, which foreshadowed downtown’s current
renaissance by a decade - Has long been a popular filming location, probably best known for the 1982 sci-fi
epic Blade Runner
Across Broadway, at Third Street:
5. Million Dollar Theatre
307 South Broadway
*Part of the National
Register-listed Broadway Theatre and Commercial District
*Photo by Larry Underhill
In the
film, Tom & Summer see The Graduate here.
- Built by Albert C. Martin in
1918 - The interior was done by William Lee Woollett
- The exterior sculpture was done by by Joseph
Mora - Sid Grauman’s first Los Angeles theatre
- One of the earliest movie palaces in the U.S. and,
with over 2,300 seats (originally), one of the largest - Designed in the ornate Churrigueresque
style - Lavish exterior terra-cotta ornamentation by Mora includes bison heads, longhorn skulls, and
allegorical figures representing the arts - The name Million Dollar comes from the combined original costs of
the land and the building - Originally had a two-story exterior foyer/lobby; has been altered over the years,
though some details such as murals remain underneath - From 1949 until the late 1980s (when it closed),
the theatre was a major center of Latino entertainment, with Mexican films and traveling vaudeville shows from
Latin America - Operated as a Spanish-language church in the 1990s
- Reopened in 2008 after
a year-long, million-dollar refurbishment - Upper stories originally housed office space; now apartments
To the left of the theatre:
6. Grand Central Market
315 South Broadway
John Parkinson,
1897
*Listed in the National Register of Historic Places
This was the site of a deleted
scene from the film in which Tom and Summer are shopping for fruit.
- Built by retired Ohio
entrepreneur Homer Laughlin, founder of the Homer Laughlin China Company - The city’s first fireproofed
and steel-reinforced structure - In 1905, building was expanded through to Hill Street
- Market opened
in 1917 - Today has over fifty vending stalls, each privately owned and operated
- Building was
rehabilitated in the early 1990s as part of the Yellin Company’s Grand Central Square project - Project
removed a tile façade added in the 1960s to reveal the second-story windows and many of the original Beaux-Arts
details Go through Central Market to Hill Street (or down Third Street, then left on Hill).
Cross Hill Street and go all the way up the 100+ steps to:
7. Tom's Bench
Angels Knoll/Bunker Hill
356 South Olive Street
In the film, this is Tom’s favorite L.A. spot, offering a great view of (mostly) pre-war buildings. As Tom
shows Summer the architecture, he says words along the lines of, "There’s so much beauty here. Sure the
street level isn’t much to look at, but if you look up, there’s some exciting stuff going on. If it were up to me, I’d get
people to notice!”
If you’re as thirsty as a pirate, head north on Hill to Second Street, to:
8. Redwood Bar & Grill
316 West Second Street
In the film, this serves as the office bar where Tom, Summer,
and coworkers indulge in drunken karaoke.
9. Other Downtown Film Locations
*FENTON BUILDING (circa 1925; aka Roseland dance hall)
833-835
South Spring Street, between Eighth and Ninth Streets
In the film, this is where Tom works as a
copywriter for a greeting card company.
*ARTHUR J. WILL MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN
(1965)
Civic Center Mall, between First and Temple Streets, near Grand Avenue
In the film, this is where Tom dances to the Hall & Oates song “You Make My Dreams Come True.”
The fountain is a mid-century classic, though the waterworks aren’t as splendidly scenic as they are the movie (in
fact, the fountain is usually turned off), due to water conservation.
*FINE ARTS
BUILDING (Walker and Eisen, 1926)
811 West Seventh Street
This is one of
Tom’s favorite buildings; he singles out architects Walker and Eisen.
*EASTERN
COLUMBIA BUILDING (Claud Beelman, 1930)
849 South Broadway, across from the Orpheum
Theatre
Another one of Tom’s favorites.
*BROADWAY
BAR
830 South Broadway, next to the Orpheum Theatre
In the film, this is where
Tom defends Summer.
Many thanks to the Los Angeles Conservancy, Fox Searchlight, Michael Chickey, Martin J. Cummins
and Harry Medved.
The Los Angeles Conservancy is a nonprofit organization devoted to preserving the
historic architectural and cultural resources of Los Angeles County. Join today if you’re not already a member!