The Los Angeles locations of La La Land

Damien Chazelle shot his 2016 musical almost entirely on public ground: a county park, a funicular the crew had to repair before it would run, a 1936 cinema that now books rock shows. Nearly every structure here predates 1940, and what the film borrowed was mostly the building as it already stood, with the notable exception of a planetarium rebuilt on a soundstage and a bench that was a prop. Each entry notes what was real, what was set, and what a visitor can actually reach.

Places in this collection

  • Angels Flight Railway — The upper terminus sits on Grand Avenue, one short block and 298 vertical feet above the Hill Street entrance, and the ride between them ta…
  • Chateau Marmont — The hotel above Sunset Boulevard opened in 1929 and guards its guests' privacy closely enough that it is rarely lent to film crews. It supp…
  • Cafe Club Fais Do-Do — The exterior of the theatre where Mia stages So Long, Boulder City is this West Adams event venue at South Cloverdale Avenue; the interior…
  • El Rey Theatre — Opened in 1936 as a movie house on the Miracle Mile, the Art Deco room was converted decades ago to a standing live-music venue, which is w…
  • Angels Flight — The funicular opened in 1901 to haul passengers up Bunker Hill, was dismantled and returned to service in 1996, then suspended after a 2013…
  • Salazar Park — A painted wall in this East Los Angeles park flashes past in the same montage that takes in the Watts Towers and a North Hollywood church,…
  • Watts Towers — Simon Rodia spent 34 years, from the 1920s into the 1950s, assembling seventeen major structures from scrap steel, mortar, broken tile and…
  • Colorado Street Bridge — The arched concrete span opened in 1913, carrying its deck roughly 150 feet above the Arroyo Seco, and is designated a National Historic Ci…
  • Griffith Observatory — Built between 1933 and 1935 in Art Deco on the southern slope of Mount Hollywood, the observatory doubles as the destination when the print…
  • Cathy's Corner — The bend on Mount Hollywood Drive where Mia and Sebastian tap through "A Lovely Night" is a working fire road turnout in Griffith Park, loo…

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