TGAH was a series that was shot mainly on location as opposed to being filmed on sets and the studio backlot. Although there were some sets (Hinkley home interior, FBI offices, Maxwell's apt.) located in a warehouse that was converted into a soundstage, the series shot for the most part on the streets and buildings throughout the Los Angeles area and other parts of California.
Thoughout the series, some areas names and locations were known to me because of their continued use over and over in television and film production. For example, places such as Sisters of The Immaculate Heart, and Bronson Canyon have been used for years and I was aware of those among a few others even back during the series original run. However some other locations could have been anywhere, and it wasn't until the various map options on the internet and the INCREDIBLE detective work of one of my forum members MST3Claye did many of the actual shooting locations come to light.
In this section I will showcase many of the areas used during the location filming of TGAH.
Of course here is the house fans have come to recognize as the home of Ralph Hinkley. This house located in Sherman Oaks , CA was used thoughout the series run except for the pilot. (more on the pilot home below) That house was a two story design and in a totally different location altogether.
A screen grab featuring the house is at the top left, and below that is the house as it appears today.
As mentioned above this is the Hinkley home featured in the pilot and barely seen at all. Its real location is in Pasadena, CA. The still from the pilot movie is the top photo, while on the bottom is the house at it currently appears.
The Nelson Corey estate seen at the end of the pilot movie is actually called Sisters of The Imaculate Heart and is located in Los Angeles, CA. The same location can also be seen again as a Consulate in the 2nd hour long episode called Here's Looking at You, Kid. You can also view the same location in various episodes of Airwolf, Knight Rider, and Dynasty to name a few.
The top left photo is taken from the pilot movie, underneath is the location as it appears today.
Up next is the most commonly used exterior of the Federal Building, always seen when establishing Maxwell at work. This angle as seen in the top photo, quickly became one of the most used during the series run. This is actually the Dongguk Royal University in Los Angeles. Notice in the bottom picture a bit of the greenery around the buildings front has changed, but their sign sits pretty much right on the spot where the production erected the Fed sign.
In Reseda Rose Ralph crashes outside a gas station while searching for the house with Rhonda's Kidnapped mother. The station still exists to this day in Northridge, CA, and while the A frame canopy seen in the screen grab has been replaced with a flat version the station can still be recognized as the same area.
The John Smith house used in Reseda Rose was located on Albers St. in VanNuys, CA. As you can see from the screen grab compared to the more recent pic, the house is blocked a bit by various types of shrubs, etc. and large trees have grown in the right front yard. However, for the most part the area around the cul de sac remains pretty much the same. You can still spot the shrubs that separate the driveways, and gate between the houses.
In the episode Fire Man, we see Ralph searching through the phone book looking for the address of the La Reina Cinema. After locating the address he claims its in Glendale, actually it was located in Sherman Oaks, CA. Sadly this grand old theater closed in the mid-80's, and has been turned into various types of businesses over the years. Eventually the neon La Reina sign was removed after it was damaged in the Northridge earthquake in 1995. However the marquee facade, movie poster display cases, and ticket booth still remain.
Thanks to Ken Mc at Cinema Treasures for the present day photos.
In The Lost Diablo the gang travels in search of a lost gold mine, in reality they traveled not far from Griffith Park into Bronson Canyon. For decades this has been one of the most used locations for film and television. One of the cave entrances probably most famous for being the exit to the Batcave in the 1960's Batman t.v.series. The area can also be seen in Wonder Woman, The A-Team, and V to name a few.
If interested in where the production shot with more detail please join this sites forum. Once registered a section called Real-Life Locations will become accessable, and you will find many pages detaling the detective work used to track down and confirm many areas the company used.
