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Nine people on a small stage, most in folding director’s chairs
The cast at the Paley Center, November 2008, in the fourth season: Matthew Gray Gubler, Shemar Moore, Paget Brewster, Thomas Gibson and Joe Mantegna in front; Jayne Atkinson, the producer Ed Bernero, A. J. Cook and Kirsten Vangsness behind. etrainer · CC BY-SA 2.0

Criminal Minds

The BAU lived at Quantico, Virginia. The show was made in Los Angeles, with a mountain town for Alaska and Vancouver for Seattle. Read like Reid

CBS, 2005 to 2020; Criminal Minds: Evolution on Paramount+ from 2022.

Twenty thousand words a minute

Read like Reid.

Spencer Reid says he can read 20,000 words a minute. Every place behind the show is a short passage here. Pick one and a speed, and it runs through the window a word at a time; then the place opens.

About Reid

89 words about Culver City Hall. Choose a speed, then read.

Places read: 0 of 10.

Marine Corps Base Quantico · Virginia

The real Quantico.

Academy opened
1972
Acres
547
Behavioral Analysis Units
5
Buildings of the FBI Academy
The FBI Academy at Quantico. Not stated (Commons) · Public domain

Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia

FBI Academy, Quantico

The FBI Academy opened on 7 May 1972 on Marine Corps Base Quantico, near the town of Quantico.

It covers 547 acres of the base; it opened on 385 acres of woodland.

The real unit began in 1972 as the Behavioral Science Unit. Today there are five Behavioral Analysis Units, BAU 1 to BAU 5, in the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime.

In the show, Penelope Garcia supports the team from her computer lab at Quantico.

On a Marine Corps base and closed to the public.

Cleared sources
  • A man in a dark suit and open-necked shirt
    Thomas Gibson, Aaron Hotchner, at the Paley Center, November 2008. etrainer; crop by Danyele · CC BY-SA 2.0
    Thomas Gibson, Hotchner
  • A slim young man with tousled hair in a dark jacket
    Matthew Gray Gubler, Spencer Reid, at the Paley Center, November 2008. etrainer · CC BY-SA 2.0
    Matthew Gray Gubler, Reid

The bullpen, built.

The set decorator Kathy Cahill put four of the team in the bullpen and two in private offices; Gideon’s had worn leather, books and things to look through, and Hotchner’s orderly furniture and FBI certificates.

About the set

Hogan’s Alley

The real Quantico has a fake town.

Hollywood set designers helped the FBI build a small town at the Academy to train in. The show went the other way: its Quantico was built in Los Angeles.

A sign reading Hogan’s Alley beside a road among trees
The Hogan’s Alley sign at the FBI Academy, April 2009. Sanders · CC BY-SA 3.0

Inside the FBI Academy, Quantico, Virginia

Hogan’s Alley

Hogan’s Alley is a training complex at the Academy that simulates a small town.

It was built with help from Hollywood set designers.

Inside the Academy grounds; not open to visitors, so it is not on the map.

Cleared sources

Five captions.

Each episode tells you where you are. Turn the captions over to see where you really were.

  • StoryQuantico, Virginia
  • StorySeattle, Washington
  • StorySt. Louis, Missouri
  • StoryFranklin, Alaska
  • StoryVietnam

Quantico, Seattle, St. Louis, Alaska and Vietnam.

About the stand-ins

Los Angeles and Ventura counties

Half of America, round Los Angeles.

One city hall plays the show’s police stations and hospitals, another a meeting with the Los Angeles police; a suburb plays St. Louis and a coast plays Vietnam. Culver City Hall and Glendale City Hall are 19 km (12 miles) apart.

A pale civic building with a tall arched entrance
Culver City City Hall, July 2022. Jengod · CC BY-SA 4.0

9770 Culver Boulevard, Culver City

Culver City Hall

In a first-season episode, this is where the BAU meets the Los Angeles police.

The episode is “Somebody’s Watching”, aired on 29 March 2006: the team is in Los Angeles to give a profiling seminar.

At the end, Reid and the actress Lila Archer, played by Amber Heard, say goodbye here.

Before it moved to Quixote Studios, the show was mainly shot in Culver City.

Reid, played by Matthew Gray Gubler, has an IQ of 187 and an eidetic memory, and says he can read 20,000 words a minute.

A working city hall; the forecourt is on Culver Boulevard.

Cleared sources
A long Spanish-style civic building with a tower behind lawns
Glendale City Hall, December 2015. Vahe Martirosyan · CC BY-SA 4.0

613 East Broadway, Glendale

Glendale City Hall

It was mostly used for the show’s police-station and hospital scenes.

Glendale and Northridge gave the show many of its exteriors.

A working city hall on East Broadway; see it from the street and the lawns.

Cleared sources
The Culver Hotel

The Culver Hotel

9400 Culver Boulevard, Culver City

Not a filming location: a 1924 landmark hotel at 9400 Culver Boulevard, a short walk from Culver City Hall, with 46 rooms and suites. Pictured: City Hall.

Check rooms
A film crew and actors at work outdoors beside equipment
Filming the sixth season in Simi Valley, December 2010. Dan Huse · CC BY 2.0

Simi Valley, Ventura County

Simi Valley

The crew filmed in Simi Valley in December 2010, during the sixth season.

Joe Mantegna was photographed on that shoot on 6 December 2010.

No filming site is named, so it is not on the map.

Cleared sources
A grey-bearded man in a dark coat on a location shoot
Joe Mantegna, David Rossi, filming the sixth season in Simi Valley, 6 December 2010. Dan Huse · CC BY 2.0
A wide avenue running towards mountains
Lake Avenue, Altadena, January 2011, with Charles W. Eliot Middle School on the left. Weedwhacker128 · CC0

Altadena, Los Angeles County

Altadena

Altadena stood in for St. Louis, Missouri.

No filming site is named, so it is not on the map.

Cleared sources
Green bluffs falling to a calm blue sea
The coast at Rancho Palos Verdes, October 2012. Cedward Brice · CC BY 2.0

Palos Verdes Peninsula, Los Angeles County

Palos Verdes Peninsula

The show’s Vietnam scenes were shot on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

No filming site is named, so it is not on the map.

Cleared sources
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Los Angeles film and TV location tours

Los Angeles

Live marketplace results for film and TV location tours of Los Angeles. None is built round the show; check each route for Hollywood Boulevard, Culver City and Glendale.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours

Kern County · British Columbia

Alaska, and the pilot.

A mountain town 100 km (65 miles) from Culver City Hall played Alaska; the pilot was made 1,740 km (1,080 miles) up the coast.

A wooden town sign among pines on a mountain road
The way into Frazier Park, February 2008. Jey0h · CC BY 3.0

Mount Pinos Way, Frazier Park, Kern County

Frazier Park

Filming began here on Monday 29 March 2010, with the town dressed as Franklin, Alaska; vehicles were brought in for a Klondike feel.

The Assembly of God church became an Alaskan schoolhouse, and the Mountain Enterprise office the town’s sheriff’s station.

The BAU shared rooms at the Tavern Inn, which locals call Alpine Plaza.

The episode, “Exit Wounds”, is set in a small Alaska fishing town and aired on 12 May 2010.

A mountain town in Kern County; the church is on Mount Pinos Way, and the town is open to walk round.

Cleared sources
A long concrete colonnade round a lawn courtyard
The Academic Quadrangle at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, 2012. RestfulC401 (WinterforceMedia) · CC0

Burnaby Mountain, Burnaby, British Columbia

Vancouver and Simon Fraser University

The pilot was filmed in Vancouver, standing in for Seattle.

Simon Fraser University, Stanley Park and West Georgia Street are among the Vancouver sites one location guide lists for the show.

The pilot, “Extreme Aggressor”, directed by Richard Shepard, aired on 22 September 2005; it begins when a Seattle woman goes missing.

An open university campus on Burnaby Mountain; walk round.

Cleared sources
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Vancouver film location tours

Vancouver, British Columbia

Live marketplace results for film and TV location tours of Vancouver, where the pilot was made. Check each route for Stanley Park and West Georgia Street.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours

During the run

The team.

  • Nine people on a small stage, most in folding director’s chairs
    The cast at the Paley Center, 17 November 2008, in the fourth season. Back: Jayne Atkinson, producer Ed Bernero, A. J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness. Front: Matthew Gray Gubler, Shemar Moore, Paget Brewster, Thomas Gibson, Joe Mantegna. etrainer · CC BY-SA 2.0
    The cast at the Paley Center, 2008
  • A smiling woman with red hair
    Kirsten Vangsness, Penelope Garcia, 10 November 2007, in the third season. Danny Casillas · CC BY-SA 2.0
    Kirsten Vangsness, Garcia, 2007
  • A blonde woman on a stage at night, hand raised
    A. J. Cook, Jennifer Jareau, at the National Memorial Day Concert in Washington, 30 May 2010. Chad J. McNeeley, US Department of Defense · Public domain
    A. J. Cook, JJ, 2010
The low cream frontage of Musso & Frank Grill with its sign and palms
Musso & Frank Grill, on the 6600 block of Hollywood Boulevard, December 2006: a nearby view. Gary Minnaert · Public domain

6654 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood

Joe Mantegna’s star

On 29 April 2011 Joe Mantegna received the 2,438th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

It is in the Live Theatre category, at 6654 Hollywood Boulevard.

He signed on to the show on 11 August 2007, replacing Mandy Patinkin.

His David Rossi is, in the story, one of the BAU’s founding fathers, who had retired to write books and go on lecture tours.

On the pavement of Hollywood Boulevard; walk up.

Cleared sources
Musso & Frank Grill

Dinner at Musso & Frank

6667 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood

Open since 1919 at 6667 Hollywood Boulevard, on the same stretch of the boulevard as Joe Mantegna’s star.

Book a table

Go there.

Where it is now

6 places you can visit: 1 at Quantico, seen from outside the base, 3 in Los Angeles and 2 further out. Hogan’s Alley, Simi Valley, Altadena and the Palos Verdes Peninsula have no named site, so they are listed here and left off the map.

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

  • Site reference · Restricted access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. On a Marine Corps base and closed to the public.

  1. Buildings of the FBI Academy
    The FBI Academy at Quantico. Not stated (Commons) · Public domain

    Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia

    FBI Academy, Quantico

    The FBI Academy opened on 7 May 1972 on Marine Corps Base Quantico, near the town of Quantico.

    On a Marine Corps base and closed to the public.

    Cleared sources

Stay

By the city hall, or on the boulevard.

A 1924 hotel in Culver City and a 1927 one on Hollywood Boulevard.

The Culver Hotel

The Culver Hotel

9400 Culver Boulevard, Culver City

Not a filming location: a 1924 landmark hotel at 9400 Culver Boulevard, a short walk from Culver City Hall, with 46 rooms and suites. Pictured: City Hall.

Check rooms
The Hollywood Roosevelt

The Hollywood Roosevelt

7000 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood

Not a filming location: a 1927 hotel at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard, a walk along the Walk of Fame from Joe Mantegna’s star. Pictured: the boulevard’s 6600 block.

Check rooms

Go there

Dinner and tours.

Dinner near Joe Mantegna’s star, and location tours of Los Angeles and Vancouver.

Musso & Frank Grill

Dinner at Musso & Frank

6667 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood

Open since 1919 at 6667 Hollywood Boulevard, on the same stretch of the boulevard as Joe Mantegna’s star.

Book a table
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Los Angeles film and TV location tours

Los Angeles

Live marketplace results for film and TV location tours of Los Angeles. None is built round the show; check each route for Hollywood Boulevard, Culver City and Glendale.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Vancouver film location tours

Vancouver, British Columbia

Live marketplace results for film and TV location tours of Vancouver, where the pilot was made. Check each route for Stanley Park and West Georgia Street.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours

What’s on

Nothing listed.

No event tied to the show is on the calendar.

No current dated events are listed. Check providers for the latest programme.

Take it home

Two books.

Matthew Gray Gubler’s picture book, and a book on profiling at the FBI.

Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate

Rumple Buttercup

Matthew Gray Gubler · Random House

Matthew Gray Gubler’s picture book, published in April 2019, while the show was still on air.

Find the book
Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate

Mindhunter

John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker · Gallery Books

John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker’s book on profiling at the FBI, in the October 2017 Gallery Books edition.

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.

Every place, every source

Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.

10 of 10 places · 10 of 10 stories

  • FBI Academy, Quantico

    Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia

    • Four desks, two offices

      The set decorator Kathy Cahill put four of the team in the bullpen and two in private offices; Gideon’s had worn leather, books and things to look through, and Hotchner’s orderly furniture and FBI certificates.

  • Hogan’s Alley

    Inside the FBI Academy, Quantico, Virginia

    • A town built for training

      At the real Quantico, Hollywood set designers helped build a town for the FBI to train in.

  • Culver City Hall

    9770 Culver Boulevard, Culver City

    • Somebody’s Watching

      The team meets the Los Angeles police at Culver City Hall, and Reid says goodbye to Lila Archer.

  • Glendale City Hall

    613 East Broadway, Glendale

    • Police station and hospital

      Glendale City Hall plays the show’s police stations and hospitals.

  • Joe Mantegna’s star

    6654 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood

    • The 2,438th star

      Joe Mantegna’s star on Hollywood Boulevard.

  • Simi Valley

    Simi Valley, Ventura County

    • On location in Simi Valley

      The crew and Joe Mantegna filming the sixth season.

  • Altadena

    Altadena, Los Angeles County

    • St. Louis

      Altadena stands in for St. Louis, Missouri.

  • Palos Verdes Peninsula

    Palos Verdes Peninsula, Los Angeles County

    • Vietnam

      The Palos Verdes Peninsula stands in for Vietnam.

  • Frazier Park

    Mount Pinos Way, Frazier Park, Kern County

    • Exit Wounds

      Frazier Park is dressed as Franklin, Alaska.

  • Vancouver and Simon Fraser University

    Burnaby Mountain, Burnaby, British Columbia

    • Extreme Aggressor

      Vancouver plays Seattle for the pilot.

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