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San Diego, 1973 · a film by Cameron Crowe · 2000

  1. A young woman with long fair hair looks down as she signs a magazine
    Kate Hudson outside the Late Show in New York, July 2006, six years after playing Penny Lane. Katie Kiehn · CC BY-SA 2.0

    Kate HudsonPenny Lane

  2. A young man with a fringe of brown hair grins and holds up a card
    Patrick Fugit in November 2006, six years after playing William Miller. the1secondfilm.com at https://www.flickr.com/photos/the1secondfilm/ · CC BY 3.0

    Patrick FugitWilliam Miller

  3. A man with a dark mop of hair and a dark suit signs an autograph
    Cameron Crowe signing autographs at the Toronto International Film Festival, 2005, five years after Almost Famous. Tony Shek · CC BY 2.0

    Cameron Crowewrote and directed it

  4. A man in a dark jumper sits at a small table on a purple-lit stage, reading from a script
    Billy Crudup on stage in New York, January 2011. Thousandsrobots at Flickr a.k.a. Thousandrobots at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0

    Billy CrudupRussell Hammond

  5. A man in a dark top plays a black Les Paul guitar on stage
    Peter Frampton on stage in September 2006. Carl Lender at https://www.flickr.com/photos/clender/ · CC BY-SA 3.0

    Peter Framptonheadmaster, Rock and Roll School

Almost Famous

Circled: frame 14A, Kate Hudson (Penny Lane), photographed in 2006. Press another frame to circle it.

Photographs: Kate Hudson, 2006: Katie Kiehn, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Patrick Fugit, 2006: the1secondfilm.com at https://www.flickr.com/photos/the1secondfilm/, CC BY 3.0 · Cameron Crowe, 2005: Tony Shek, CC BY 2.0 · Billy Crudup, 2011: Thousandsrobots at Flickr a.k.a. Thousandrobots at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Peter Frampton, 2006: Carl Lender at https://www.flickr.com/photos/clender/, CC BY-SA 3.0.

A teenager goes on the road for Rolling Stone, and the story has to get past the fact-checkers. It is Crowe’s own story. Check it yourself: some of it happened where the film says, and some of it was somewhere else.

1The byline

Fifteen

1972–73

Cameron Crowe starts out as a rock journalist at 15; in 1973, at 16, he is writing for Rolling Stone, where he later becomes an associate editor.

1975–76

In 1975 Peter Frampton’s management tell him about a 16-year-old at Rolling Stone. Crowe goes on to write the liner notes for Frampton Comes Alive!

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A man in a dark top plays a black Les Paul guitar on stage
Peter Frampton on stage in September 2006. Carl Lender at https://www.flickr.com/photos/clender/ · CC BY-SA 3.0
Peter Frampton headmaster

Rock and Roll School · report

The Rock and Roll School pupils
Billy Crudupactor, Russell Hammond
Jason Leeactor, Jeff Bebe
Mark Kozelekmusician
John Fedevichmusician
Peter Framptonheadmaster

Billy Crudup and Jason Lee train with the musicians Mark Kozelek and John Fedevich, with Frampton as headmaster. Crudup arrives knowing only basic chords; the cast rehearse for weeks before the first concert scene.

Crowe and Frampton write songs with the band’s actors and musicians, among them Hour of Need and You Had to Be There.

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  • Brown
  • Olive
  • Gold
  • Orange
  • Scarlet

Betsy Heimann dresses the film in browns, olives and golds with orange and scarlet; every T-shirt is made new with 1970s sayings and pictures. The art directors give San Diego soft tones, the road earth tones and the hotel and motel interiors a bolder palette. This page wears the same colours.

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2The galley

Check the story

Before a story runs, someone checks every fact. Here is the film’s story set in type. Pencil each line: stet means it stands, a strike means it was filmed somewhere else.

Galley 1 · “Almost Famous” · for checking

8 lines to check. Press one to pencil it.

Nothing checked yet. The places open here.

A tall white hotel block with glassed-in balconies and a giant billboard on its side
The Andaz West Hollywood, once the Continental Hyatt House, on Sunset Boulevard in 2009. Minnaert · CC BY-SA 3.0

3Two stages

San Diego, then Cleveland

A wide panorama of an arena bowl with red seats around an ice rink
Inside Pechanga Arena, set up for hockey, January 2026. Pink Floyd Fan 101 · CC BY 4.0

The opening venue · plays itself

Pechanga Arena (the San Diego Sports Arena)

A long low white arena among trees and palms, with the hills of San Diego behind
The San Diego Sports Arena, now Pechanga Arena, in 2007. Nehrams2020 · CC BY-SA 3.0

The band’s first time on stage was filmed here. The crew stripped out modern advertising to take the building back to the 1970s, when Black Sabbath, the Allman Brothers and Peter Frampton sold it out. About 200 extras screamed for the band.

The Sports Arena was later renamed the Valley View Casino Center; today it is Pechanga Arena. The city has chosen the Midway Rising plan to replace it with a 16,000-seat venue and 4,254 homes. In October 2025 an appeals court set the plan back, and the mayor extended the developers’ negotiating agreement to 4 December 2026.

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“Cleveland” · 182 km up the coast

Hollywood Palladium

A cream Art Moderne theatre front with a lit marquee and a vertical sign at dusk
The Hollywood Palladium on Sunset Boulevard, June 2012. Doug Goodwin · CC BY-SA 3.0

The Palladium played the inside of the Cleveland arena. Four cameras filmed the later concert scene here.

Its calendar runs on through the autumn: the Sex Pistols on 18 October 2026, Modest Mouse on 20 October.

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4The Riot House

Behind the drywall

FRONT DESKSUNSETLOBBY, 1999

Slide the 1973 plan across the lobby.

A tall white hotel block with glassed-in balconies and a giant billboard on its side
The Andaz West Hollywood, once the Continental Hyatt House, on Sunset Boulevard in 2009. Minnaert · CC BY-SA 3.0

The Continental Hyatt House on Sunset Boulevard played the Riot House, where William stays. In the 1970s the hotel was the hub of the Los Angeles rock scene.

The lobby had been remodelled, so the crew gutted the main floor and put back the 1973 look: the old carpet pattern, faux-brass fittings and mottled glass.

Crowe thought the lobby looked bigger than he remembered. Old floor plans showed a staircase where a wall now stood; the owners agreed to take the wall down, and a marble terrazzo staircase came out from behind the drywall.

In 2008 the hotel was renovated as the Andaz West Hollywood, and its open balconies were enclosed.

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Hyatt

Andaz West Hollywood

8401 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood

The real Riot House, the Continental Hyatt House of the 1970s, renovated in 2008 with its balconies glassed in. The film rebuilt its lobby to 1973.

Check rooms

5On the road

Messages at the desk

Four hotels on the tour, and every one of them a real hotel. The Riot House and Chateau Marmont are 540 m apart on Sunset.

4 messages for Mr Miller; one is already out. Press another pigeonhole.

While you were out

For
W. Miller, room 2
From
Home
Message
Your mother called.
Really at
The Hollywood Roosevelt, 7000 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood

The Roosevelt’s lobby plays the King of the Road Motor Lodge in Tempe, where William’s mother’s message waits for him. The hotel opened in 1927 with 300 rooms. The first Academy Awards, in 1929, were a private dinner for about 270 people in its Blossom Ballroom.

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A cream Spanish Colonial hotel with a red-tiled roof and palm trees in front
The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard, 2018. Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Hollywood Roosevelt

The Hollywood Roosevelt

7000 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood · +1 (323) 785-7000

The lobby that played the Tempe motor lodge. Opened in 1927; the Tropicana pool, a lobby bar that takes walk-ins and cabaret in the Cinegrill from Thursday to Saturday.

Check rooms

6It ran

It ran

  1. 25 March 2001

    A Moorish-style auditorium with domes and towers under a blue sky
    The Shrine Auditorium on West Jefferson Boulevard, April 2012. MikeJiroch · CC BY-SA 3.0

    Shrine Auditorium

    The 73rd Academy Awards were held here on 25 March 2001. Cameron Crowe won the Oscar for the original screenplay. Kate Hudson and Frances McDormand were both nominated for supporting actress, and Joe Hutshing and Saar Klein for editing.

    A working auditorium beside the USC campus: see the outside from Jefferson Boulevard, or go to a show.

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  2. 27 September 2019

    A timbered Tudor-style round theatre with a brown roof, with people walking in front
    The Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park, December 2013. Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0

    The Old Globe

    Almost Famous the musical had its world premiere on the Old Globe’s Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in September 2019, with opening night on 27 September. Cameron Crowe, a San Diego native, wrote the book and lyrics from his film; Tom Kitt wrote the music and lyrics, and Jeremy Herrin directed.

    A working theatre in Balboa Park: see a play.

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  3. 3 November 2022 – 8 January 2023

    A theatre auditorium with a painted mural above the boxes and red curtains at the side of the stage
    Inside the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, August 2025. Epicgenius · CC BY-SA 4.0

    Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre

    Almost Famous the musical played here: previews from 3 October 2022, opening night on 3 November and the last show on 8 January 2023, after 30 previews and 77 performances. Crowe wrote the book and Tom Kitt the music; the two wrote the lyrics together, and Jeremy Herrin directed.

    A working Broadway theatre: see whatever is playing.

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7Where it is now

The places today

Where it is now

11 places on the map: 4 in San Diego, 5 in Los Angeles and 2 in New York. The arena and the Palladium are 182 km apart as the crow flies.

Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public shopping street that runs down to the beach. The old Strand at number 4950 is a shop now; walk on to the sand and the pier.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: area · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public park, free to walk. The visitor centre is at 1549 El Prado; museums and theatres charge separately.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working arena: buy a ticket for a show or a San Diego Gulls game and you are inside.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working theatre in Balboa Park: see a play.

  1. Silhouetted figures on wet sand beneath a long concrete pier at sunset
    Ocean Beach pier at sunset, at the foot of the Ocean Beach streets. Alton at English Wikipedia · Public domain

    4950 Newport Avenue, Ocean Beach, San Diego

    Newport Avenue, Ocean Beach

    The film opens on Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach, by the Strand Theatre.

    A public shopping street that runs down to the beach. The old Strand at number 4950 is a shop now; walk on to the sand and the pier.

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  2. An ornate Spanish-style tower rising above clipped hedges and palm trees under a blue sky
    The California Tower over the Alcazar Garden, Balboa Park, April 2026. Christian David · CC BY-SA 4.0

    Balboa Park, San Diego

    Balboa Park

    Balboa Park is seen behind the opening credits.

    A public park, free to walk. The visitor centre is at 1549 El Prado; museums and theatres charge separately.

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  3. A long low white arena among trees and palms, with the hills of San Diego behind
    The San Diego Sports Arena, now Pechanga Arena, in 2007. Nehrams2020 · CC BY-SA 3.0

    3500 Sports Arena Boulevard, San Diego

    Pechanga Arena (the San Diego Sports Arena)

    The Sports Arena is the opening venue, where William first meets Stillwater.

    A working arena: buy a ticket for a show or a San Diego Gulls game and you are inside.

    Checked against
  4. A timbered Tudor-style round theatre with a brown roof, with people walking in front
    The Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park, December 2013. Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0

    1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park, San Diego

    The Old Globe

    Almost Famous the musical had its world premiere on the Old Globe’s Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in September 2019, with opening night on 27 September.

    A working theatre in Balboa Park: see a play.

    Checked against

Stay

Check in where the band did.

The Riot House, the Tempe lobby, Chateau Marmont and the Plaza are all working hotels.

Hyatt

Andaz West Hollywood

8401 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood

The real Riot House, the Continental Hyatt House of the 1970s, renovated in 2008 with its balconies glassed in. The film rebuilt its lobby to 1973.

Check rooms
The Hollywood Roosevelt

The Hollywood Roosevelt

7000 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood · +1 (323) 785-7000

The lobby that played the Tempe motor lodge. Opened in 1927; the Tropicana pool, a lobby bar that takes walk-ins and cabaret in the Cinegrill from Thursday to Saturday.

Check rooms
Chateau Marmont

Chateau Marmont

8221 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles · Concierge +1 323-656-1010

Up the hill from the Riot House on Sunset. Rooms through the hotel’s own reservations; the restaurant books through Resy.

Check rooms
The Plaza

The Plaza

768 Fifth Avenue, New York · (212) 759-3000

Penny Lane’s New York hotel, open since 1 October 1907. Afternoon tea is served in the Palm Court.

Check rooms

Go there

See a show.

The arena and the Palladium still run shows, and guided trips run in both cities.

Pechanga Arena San Diego

A night at Pechanga Arena

3500 Sports Arena Boulevard, San Diego

The old Sports Arena, where Stillwater first went on stage, still runs concerts, family shows and San Diego Gulls hockey.

See what’s on
Hollywood Palladium

A show at the Hollywood Palladium

6215 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood

Cleveland in the film. The calendar runs through the winter into March 2027.

See what’s on
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Sunset Strip rock and roll tours

Los Angeles

Live marketplace results for guided trips along the Strip’s hotels and clubs. Check each itinerary for the places you want.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours
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San Diego walking tours

San Diego

Live marketplace results for guided walks round Balboa Park and the city.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours

What’s on

On the old stages.

Hockey in the old Sports Arena and a 1970s band on the stage that played Cleveland.

Checking current event dates…

Take it home

Posters, the soundtrack and the books.

Original 2000 posters from our store, the soundtrack album, the screenplay and Crowe’s memoir.

Printed Originals · Our poster store

Almost Famous (2000) — US one-sheet

The original American poster, 27 × 40 in, from 2000. Mint, rolled. Also offered framed.

In stock

View poster
Printed Originals · Our poster store

Almost Famous (2000) — German

The German poster, 22 × 33 in, from 2000. Very good; previously folded, now rolled.

In stock

View poster
eBay · Ad / affiliate

Almost Famous: Music From the Motion Picture

Various artists · CD, DreamWorks, 2000

The soundtrack album, released in the United States on 12 September 2000.

Live marketplace search · listings and condition change

Find a copy
Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate

Almost Famous (the screenplay)

Cameron Crowe

Cameron Crowe’s screenplay, published by Faber.

Find the book
Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate

The Uncool

Cameron Crowe

Cameron Crowe’s memoir.

Find the book

Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.

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Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.

11 of 11 places · 19 of 19 Moments

  • Newport Avenue, Ocean Beach

    4950 Newport Avenue, Ocean Beach, San Diego

    • Fifteen

      Cameron Crowe starts out as a rock journalist at 15; in 1973, at 16, he is writing for Rolling Stone, where he later becomes an associate editor.

    • The opening

      The film opens on Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach, by the Strand Theatre.

  • Balboa Park

    Balboa Park, San Diego

    • The credits

      Balboa Park is seen behind the opening credits.

  • Pechanga Arena (the San Diego Sports Arena)

    3500 Sports Arena Boulevard, San Diego

    • The liner notes

      In 1975 Peter Frampton’s management tell him about a 16-year-old at Rolling Stone. Crowe goes on to write the liner notes for Frampton Comes Alive!

    • Rock and Roll School

      Billy Crudup and Jason Lee train with the musicians Mark Kozelek and John Fedevich, with Frampton as headmaster. Crudup arrives knowing only basic chords; the cast rehearse for weeks before the first concert scene.

    • Stillwater’s songs

      Crowe and Frampton write songs with the band’s actors and musicians, among them Hour of Need and You Had to Be There.

    • The first show

      Stillwater’s first time on stage is filmed at the Sports Arena, stripped back to its 1970s look in front of about 200 extras.

    • The arena’s future

      A court ruling sets back the plan to replace the arena; the city extends its negotiating agreement to 4 December 2026.

  • The Old Globe

    1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park, San Diego

    • A musical at home

      Almost Famous the musical opens at the Old Globe in Crowe’s home town.

  • Hollywood Palladium

    6215 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood

    • Cleveland

      The Hollywood Palladium plays the inside of the Cleveland arena, filmed on four cameras.

  • Andaz West Hollywood (the Riot House)

    8401 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood

    • Browns, olives and golds

      Betsy Heimann dresses the film in browns, olives and golds with orange and scarlet; every T-shirt is made new with 1970s sayings and pictures.

    • Three palettes

      The art directors give San Diego soft tones, the road earth tones and the hotel and motel interiors a bolder palette.

    • The Riot House

      The Continental Hyatt House plays itself, the Riot House, its lobby put back to 1973.

    • Behind the drywall

      Old floor plans show a staircase where a wall stands; the owners let the crew take the wall down, and a marble terrazzo staircase comes out.

  • The Hollywood Roosevelt

    7000 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood

    • Tempe, Arizona

      The Roosevelt’s lobby plays the King of the Road Motor Lodge in Tempe, where William’s mother’s message waits for him.

  • Chateau Marmont

    8221 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles

    • Up the hill

      More scenes are filmed at Chateau Marmont.

  • Shrine Auditorium

    665 West Jefferson Boulevard, Los Angeles

    • The screenplay Oscar

      Crowe wins the Oscar for the original screenplay at the Shrine; Kate Hudson and Frances McDormand are both nominated.

  • The Plaza

    768 Fifth Avenue, New York

    • New York

      The Plaza is Penny Lane’s hotel in New York.

  • Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre

    242 West 45th Street, New York

    • Broadway

      The musical opens on Broadway and runs for 77 performances.

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