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Where will your curiosity take you?

Low modern college buildings with palm trees and a green lawn under a blue sky
Glendale Community College, March 2010, the spring of the first season: the Science Center building. Dreamyshade · CC BY-SA 4.0

Schedule of classesNBC 2009–14 · Yahoo Screen 2015

Greendale Community College, as built from real rooms in Los Angeles

Community

It began with a Spanish class. Dan Harmon enrolled at Glendale Community College at 32, and Greendale is one letter away. Pick your classes: each one meets in a real room.

Sources

Admissions

One letter
apart.

Low modern college buildings with palm trees and a green lawn under a blue sky
Glendale Community College, March 2010, the spring of the first season: the Science Center building. Dreamyshade · CC BY-SA 4.0

Glendale Community College

1500 North Verdugo Road, Glendale

Dan Harmon based Community on his own time at Glendale Community College; Greendale is one letter from Glendale.

He enrolled at 32 and took Spanish with his girlfriend, to keep the relationship going. He says the pitch came from being at a community college, not from how good the school was, and that those days were among the healthiest of his life.

He goes back about twice a year for questions and answers, mostly to say that Greendale is not Glendale.

A working college. Walk the grounds; the classrooms are for students.

Sources
Rows of small new houses along a quiet street in a planned 1930s village
Greendale, Wisconsin, September 1939, a year after its first families moved in. Photograph by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. John Vachon · Public domain

Greendale, Wisconsin

Broad Street village centre, Greendale, south-west of Milwaukee

Harmon, a Milwaukee native, has said the name Greendale was probably a nod to the Milwaukee suburb.

The federal government built Greendale from 1936 as one of three New Deal greenbelt towns, with Greenhills outside Cincinnati and Greenbelt outside Washington. It opened to 572 families in 1938.

Its centre is Broad Street: shops along one side and the administration building, now the village hall, at the north end.

A village south-west of Milwaukee. Park by the village hall and walk Broad Street, the planned centre.

Sources

Registration · Greendale

Pick your
classes.

Greendale’s outdoor scenes were shot on a real Los Angeles campus: NBC’s Los Angeles station reported it when the show began, and a production assistant’s blog named Los Angeles City College in 2010. The same blog described the show as a couple of standing sets plus some shooting on the LACC campus.

A college official worried how the show would make community colleges look. Harmon promised it would be an advert for them.

Sources

  1. Real life · Dan Harmon, aged 32 · Mon 9am · 3 credits

    Spanish

    Room: to be assigned

  2. Season 1 · Tue 11am · 3 credits

    Modern Warfare

    Room: to be assigned

  3. Season 1 · Wed 10am · 3 credits

    The Science of Illusion

    Room: to be assigned

  4. Season 2 · Thu 1pm · 3 credits

    Accounting for Lawyers

    Room: to be assigned

  5. Season 2 · Thu 1pm · 3 credits

    Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking

    Room: to be assigned

Your week0 of 15 credits

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Choose a class and enrol. Every class gets its real room.

A pale college building with tall windows and trees on a sunny campus
Los Angeles City College on Vermont Avenue, July 2008: the Da Vinci Hall art gallery. Gerry · CC BY 3.0

No room yet. Enrol in a class to see where it met.

Sources for the schedule
Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Studio Tour

Melrose Avenue, Hollywood · Daily · 2 hours · $71

Two hours on the lot where Greendale’s library, Borchert Hall, Lucy Park and the studio theatre were. The sets are gone; the tour still points out campus corners. A three-hour weekday tour adds the New York backlot.

Book the tour
Kimpton (IHG)

Kimpton Everly Hotel

1800 Argyle Avenue, Los Angeles

A Hollywood hotel with a rooftop pool and views of the hills, off Argyle Avenue: a short drive to the Paramount gate, LACC on Vermont Avenue and the Dolby. Pictured: Los Angeles City College, 2008.

Check rooms

Six seasons

And
a movie.

A pale college building with tall windows and trees on a sunny campus
Los Angeles City College on Vermont Avenue, July 2008: the Da Vinci Hall art gallery. Gerry · CC BY 3.0

Season 1

From 17 September 2009

  • Los Angeles City College Greendale’s outdoor scenes are shot on the Los Angeles City College campus.
  • Saban Theatre PaleyFest holds its Community night at the Saban Theatre.
  • Lucy Park Shirley and Annie chase Jeff across Lucy Park.
Sources

Off campus

The study group,
in public.

A smiling man in a dark jacket at a public event
Joel McHale at PaleyFest’s Community night, Saban Theatre, 3 March 2010. Tomdog · CC BY-SA 3.0
An art deco theatre tower lit up at night above Wilshire Boulevard
The Saban Theatre on Wilshire Boulevard, December 2009, three months before Community night at PaleyFest. RexMandel · CC BY-SA 4.0

Saban Theatre

Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills

On Wednesday 3 March 2010, in the first season, PaleyFest held its Community night here, with Joel McHale on the panel.

Sources
A bearded man speaking at a panel table
Dan Harmon on the Community panel at WonderCon, Anaheim, 18 March 2012. Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America · CC BY-SA 2.0
A young woman with fair hair speaking into a microphone
Gillian Jacobs on the Community panel at WonderCon, Anaheim, 18 March 2012. Gage Skidmore · CC BY-SA 3.0

Anaheim Convention Center

Anaheim, Orange County

At WonderCon in Anaheim in March 2012, Dan Harmon, Yvette Nicole Brown, Gillian Jacobs and Ken Jeong sat down with Bullz-Eye.

Harmon told them Greendale has to be an underdog.

WonderCon is held at the Anaheim Convention Center; the next is on 26–28 March 2027.

Sources
A smiling man with glasses at a convention
Jim Rash at San Diego Comic-Con, July 2011, seven months before his Oscar. Keith McDuffee from Northborough, MA, USA derivative work: CennoxX (talk) · CC BY 2.0
The grand staircase and lit atrium of the Kodak Theatre at night
The Kodak Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, October 2008; it reopened as the Dolby Theatre in 2012. Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0

Dolby Theatre

6801 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood

On 26 February 2012, in the third season, Jim Rash won the Oscar for adapted screenplay for The Descendants, with Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon.

The ceremony was held at the Hollywood & Highland Center. The Kodak Theatre reopened as the Dolby Theatre later in 2012, seating about 3,400.

Sources
Comic-Con International

WonderCon 2027

Anaheim Convention Center · 26–28 March 2027

Where Dan Harmon and the cast took questions in March 2012. Guests for 2027 are not announced.

See the dates
Dolby Theatre

Dolby Theatre tour

6801 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood · From $19

A guided tour of the Oscars’ theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, with an Oscar statuette and the backstage lounge. Adults $25; seniors and under-18s $19.

See tour dates

End of term

Office
hours.

Two colleges are open to walk around; the Paramount lot is open on its tour; the basement in Studio City is a working lot. Greendale, Wisconsin, is a village you can stroll.

Where it is now

10 places you can visit. Paramount and CBS Studio Center are working lots: Lucy Park and the studio theatre are seen only on the Paramount tour.

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

  • Site reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working college on Vermont Avenue. Walk the quad; the buildings are for students.

  • Site reference · Restricted access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working studio. You can only go in on the studio tour, which starts on Melrose Avenue; book ahead.

  • Site reference · Restricted access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A lawn inside the studio gates. Seen only on the studio tour.

  • Site reference · Restricted access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. The studio’s own cinema, inside the gates. Seen on the studio tour.

  • Building reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. On Hollywood Boulevard; the steps and the shopping centre around it are open. The theatre runs guided tours; times are on its schedule page.

  1. A pale college building with tall windows and trees on a sunny campus
    Los Angeles City College on Vermont Avenue, July 2008: the Da Vinci Hall art gallery. Gerry · CC BY 3.0

    Hollywood · 855 North Vermont Avenue, East Hollywood

    Los Angeles City College

    Greendale’s outdoor scenes were shot on a real Los Angeles campus: NBC’s Los Angeles station reported it when the show began, and a production assistant’s blog named Los Angeles City College in 2010.

    A working college on Vermont Avenue. Walk the quad; the buildings are for students.

    Sources
  2. The arched Paramount Pictures gate on Melrose Avenue under a blue sky
    The Melrose Avenue gate of Paramount Pictures, July 2012, during the fourth season. Photograph by Carol M. Highsmith. Carol M. Highsmith (Library of Congress) · Public domain

    Hollywood · Melrose Avenue, Hollywood; the studio tour starts at 5515 Melrose Avenue

    Paramount Pictures lot

    On a studio tour in February 2011, a visitor found Community shooting inside and outside Stages 30 and 27.

    A working studio. You can only go in on the studio tour, which starts on Melrose Avenue; book ahead.

    Sources
  3. A backlot street of brownstone facades and fire escapes under a hazy sky
    The New York street sets on the Paramount lot, July 2012. Lucy Park lies inside the same lot. Carol M. Highsmith · Public domain

    Hollywood · Inside the Paramount lot, Hollywood

    Lucy Park

    In The Science of Illusion, in the first season, Shirley and Annie chase Jeff across Lucy Park after catching him with frog-sized mariachi costumes.

    A lawn inside the studio gates. Seen only on the studio tour.

    Sources
  4. The arched Paramount Pictures gate on Melrose Avenue under a blue sky
    The Melrose Avenue gate of Paramount Pictures, July 2012, during the fourth season. Photograph by Carol M. Highsmith. Carol M. Highsmith (Library of Congress) · Public domain

    Hollywood · Inside the Paramount lot, Hollywood

    The Paramount Theatre

    Its inside was Jeff’s old law office in Accounting for Lawyers, in the second season, the tour guide said.

    The studio’s own cinema, inside the gates. Seen on the studio tour.

    Sources
  5. The grand staircase and lit atrium of the Kodak Theatre at night
    The Kodak Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, October 2008; it reopened as the Dolby Theatre in 2012. Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0

    Hollywood · 6801 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood

    Dolby Theatre

    On 26 February 2012, in the third season, Jim Rash won the Oscar for adapted screenplay for The Descendants, with Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon.

    On Hollywood Boulevard; the steps and the shopping centre around it are open. The theatre runs guided tours; times are on its schedule page.

    Sources

Stay

Sleep near the lot.

Two hotels in Hollywood, a short drive from Melrose Avenue and Vermont.

Kimpton (IHG)

Kimpton Everly Hotel

1800 Argyle Avenue, Los Angeles

A Hollywood hotel with a rooftop pool and views of the hills, off Argyle Avenue: a short drive to the Paramount gate, LACC on Vermont Avenue and the Dolby. Pictured: Los Angeles City College, 2008.

Check rooms
The Hollywood Roosevelt

The Hollywood Roosevelt

Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles

Open since 1927, along Hollywood Boulevard from the Dolby Theatre, where Jim Rash won his Oscar in the third season.

Check rooms

Go there

Sit in on the lot.

The Paramount tour, the Dolby, and marketplace studio tours.

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Studio Tour

Melrose Avenue, Hollywood · Daily · 2 hours · $71

Two hours on the lot where Greendale’s library, Borchert Hall, Lucy Park and the studio theatre were. The sets are gone; the tour still points out campus corners. A three-hour weekday tour adds the New York backlot.

Book the tour
Dolby Theatre

Dolby Theatre tour

6801 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood · From $19

A guided tour of the Oscars’ theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, with an Oscar statuette and the backstage lounge. Adults $25; seniors and under-18s $19.

See tour dates
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Hollywood studio tours

Los Angeles

Live marketplace results for studio and TV tours in Los Angeles. CBS Studio Center is a working lot; check what each tour includes.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours

What’s on

WonderCon, in March.

Where Harmon and the cast took questions in 2012.

Comic-Con International

WonderCon 2027

Anaheim Convention Center · 26–28 March 2027

Where Dan Harmon and the cast took questions in March 2012. Guests for 2027 are not announced.

See the dates

Take it home

A book.

Joel McHale’s memoir.

Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate

Thanks for the Money

Joel McHale

Joel McHale’s memoir, published in 2016, the year after the sixth season.

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.

The transcript

Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.

10 of 10 places · 17 of 17 stories

  • Glendale Community College

    1500 North Verdugo Road, Glendale

    • Spanish, at 32

      Dan Harmon enrols at Glendale Community College and takes Spanish with his girlfriend.

    • Not Glendale

      Harmon returns for questions and answers to say that Greendale is not Glendale.

  • Los Angeles City College

    855 North Vermont Avenue, East Hollywood

    • Greendale outdoors

      Greendale’s outdoor scenes are shot on the Los Angeles City College campus.

    • An advert for community colleges

      A college official worries; Harmon promises the show will sell community colleges.

    • Modern Warfare

      The first paintball episode covers the sets, the characters and the campus in paint.

  • Paramount Pictures lot

    Melrose Avenue, Hollywood; the studio tour starts at 5515 Melrose Avenue

    • Stages 30 and 27

      The library, the Dean’s office and the cafeteria are built on Paramount’s Stages 30 and 27.

    • Borchert Hall

      The side of a soundstage is dressed as Borchert Hall.

  • Lucy Park

    Inside the Paramount lot, Hollywood

    • The Science of Illusion

      Shirley and Annie chase Jeff across Lucy Park.

  • The Paramount Theatre

    Inside the Paramount lot, Hollywood

    • Accounting for Lawyers

      The theatre’s inside plays Jeff’s old law office.

    • Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking

      The theatre’s outside plays Brooks Memorial Hospital.

  • CBS Studio Center

    Radford Avenue, Studio City

    • The basement

      Season 6 is shot in a basement at CBS’s Radford studios.

    • And a movie

      Peacock orders a Community film, written by Harmon and Andrew Guest.

  • Greendale, Wisconsin

    Broad Street village centre, Greendale, south-west of Milwaukee

    • The name

      Harmon says the name Greendale was probably a nod to the Milwaukee suburb.

    • A New Deal village

      The government builds Greendale as one of three greenbelt towns; 572 families move in.

  • Saban Theatre

    Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills

    • Community night

      PaleyFest holds its Community night at the Saban Theatre.

  • Anaheim Convention Center

    Anaheim, Orange County

    • An underdog

      At WonderCon, Harmon says Greendale has to be an underdog.

  • Dolby Theatre

    6801 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood

    • An Oscar in the third season

      Jim Rash wins the Oscar for adapted screenplay for The Descendants.

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