Hollywood Star Lanes was a 32-lane bowling alley located on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. Open from 1960 to 2002, the alley was featured in the movies The Big Lebowski and The Big Empty , which was filmed on location over three weeks of the eleven-week filming schedule. [1] In 2002, the alley was closed after the Los Angeles Unified School District seized the land by eminent domain with the goal of building an elementary school at the site. [2]
In July, 1977, the area behind the bowling alley was used by the FBI as a staging area to conduct a raid on two nearby Scientology locations. [3]
The Big Lebowski is a 1998 black comedy crime film written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler. He is assaulted as a result of mistaken identity, then learns that a millionaire also named Jeffrey Lebowski was the intended victim. The millionaire Lebowski's trophy wife is kidnapped, and he commissions The Dude to deliver the ransom to secure her release; the plan goes awry when the Dude's friend Walter Sobchak schemes to keep the ransom money. Sam Elliott, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tara Reid, David Thewlis, Peter Stormare, and Ben Gazzara also appear, in supporting roles.
Jeffrey Leon Bridges is an American actor, singer, producer, and composer. One of the most acclaimed actors of his generation, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and an Academy Award from seven nominations. Critic Pauline Kael wrote that Bridges "may be the most natural and least self-conscious screen actor that has ever lived."
Kirstie Louise Alley is an American actress, producer, model, and television personality. Her breakout role was as Rebecca Howe on the NBC sitcom Cheers (1987–1993), receiving an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991 for the role. From 1997 to 2000, she starred on the sitcom Veronica's Closet, earning additional Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
Bel Air is a residential neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains. Founded in 1923, it is the home of The Hannah Carter Japanese Garden and the American Jewish University.
Tarzana is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Tarzana is on the site of a former ranch owned by author Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is named after Burroughs' fictional jungle hero, Tarzan.
Eagle Rock is a neighborhood of Northeast Los Angeles, located between the cities of Glendale and Pasadena, abutting the San Rafael Hills in Los Angeles County, California. Eagle Rock is named after a large rock whose shadow resembles an eagle with its wings outstretched. Eagle Rock was once part of the Rancho San Rafael under Spanish and Mexican governorship. In 1911, Eagle Rock was incorporated as a city, and in 1923 it combined with the City of Los Angeles.
Chinatown is a neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles, California, that became a commercial center for Chinese and other Asian businesses in Central Los Angeles in 1938. The area includes restaurants, shops, and art galleries, but also has a residential neighborhood with a low-income, aging population of about 20,000 residents.
Little Armenia is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. It is named after the Armenians who escaped genocide and made their way to Los Angeles during the early part of the 20th century.
Gilmore Field was a minor league baseball park in Los Angeles, California, that served as home to the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League from 1939–57 when they, along with their intra-city rivals, the Los Angeles Angels, were displaced by the transplanted Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League.
Lebowski Fest is an annual festival that began in 2002 in Louisville, Kentucky, celebrating the 1998 cult film The Big Lebowski by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. In addition to its home city of Louisville, Lebowski Fest has been held in Milwaukee, New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Austin, Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, Portland, London, Boston, New Orleans and Pittsburgh.
CBS Studio Center is a television and film studio located in the Studio City district of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. It is one of two production facilities in Los Angeles owned by ViacomCBS, the other being the studios of Paramount Pictures in Hollywood. The lot has 18 sound stages from 7,000 to 25,000 square feet, 220,000 square feet (20,000 m2) of office space, and 223 dressing rooms. It is the headquarters of CBS Studios but is not open to the public for tours. The triangular site is bisected by the Los Angeles River.
The Greystone Mansion, also known as the Doheny Mansion, is a Tudor Revival mansion on a landscaped estate with distinctive formal English gardens, located in Trousdale Estates of Beverly Hills, California, United States. Architect Gordon Kaufmann designed the residence and ancillary structures, and construction was completed in 1928. It was a gift from oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny to his son, Edward "Ned" Doheny, Jr. and his family. Following the purchase of the estate by the City of Beverly Hills in 1965, it became a city park in 1971, and was subsequently added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 as Doheny Estate/Greystone. The house and grounds are often used as locations for film and television shows. The house's descending staircase is one of the most famous sets in Hollywood.
Franklin Avenue is a street in Los Angeles. It is the northernmost thoroughfare in Hollywood, north of Hollywood Boulevard, and the southern border of the Hollywood Hills. It is the center of the stylish neighborhood of Franklin Village.
Trementina Base is the popular designation for a property of the Scientology-affiliated Church of Spiritual Technology (CST) near Trementina, New Mexico.
The Beverly Hills Playhouse is an acting school with theaters and training facilities in Beverly Hills, California, and also in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City. It is one of the oldest acting schools and theatres in Los Angeles County, California. It is located at 254 South Robertson Boulevard in Beverly Hills.
The KCET Studios, located at 4401 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California is the longest continuously-producing studio in Hollywood. Since its establishment in 1912, the studios located at the site have been the home of motion picture producers, including Lubin, Essanay, Willis and Inglis, J.D. Hampton, Charles Ray, Ralph Like, Monogram Pictures, Allied Artists, and ColorVision. Since 1970, it has been the home of public television station KCET, but in April 2011 KCET announced that it had sold the facility to the Church of Scientology.
The Wallis Annenberg Building is a building located in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California. It was built in 1912 and designed by architect J.W. Wollett. The building served as the armory for the 160th Infantry Regiment between World War I and World War II
Kona Lanes was a bowling center in Costa Mesa, California, that opened in 1958 and closed in 2003 after 45 years in business. Known for its futuristic design, it featured 40 wood-floor bowling lanes, a game room, a lounge, and a coffee shop that eventually became a Mexican diner. Built during the advent of Googie architecture, its Polynesian-inspired Tiki styling extended from the large roadside sign to the building's neon lights and exaggerated rooflines.
The Jesus Rolls is a 2020 American crime comedy film written by, directed by, and starring John Turturro. It doubles as a remake of the 1974 French film Going Places by Bertrand Blier, and as a spin-off to the 1998 cult film The Big Lebowski by the Coen brothers. Turturro reprises his Lebowski role of Jesus Quintana.
The Airport Marina Hotel was an 800-room, first-class hotel located at the 8601 Lincoln Boulevard at the southwest corner of Manchester Avenue, in Westchester, Los Angeles, near Los Angeles International Airport. Its architect was Welton Becket; it was completed in December 1962 and opened in January 1963. At opening it had a shopping center with Joseph Magnin, a specialty department store, pharmacy, drugstore, bank and a 32-lane bowling alley. Hawaii-based Amfac bought the hotel and shopping center leasehold in 1968 for $3.7 million and a share of future profits. Amfac started operating them in January 1969 under their Fred Harvey division. The hotel was later known as the Furama Hotel, then Custom Hotel. The grounds are now the site of the Playa de Oro apartment complex, while the tower continues operating as a boutique hotel, the Hotel June.
Coordinates: 34°5′28.28″N118°18′12.56″W / 34.0911889°N 118.3034889°W