CBS · 2000–2015 · Las Vegas, made in Santa Clarita

The lit casino towers of the Las Vegas Strip at night — Clément Bardot · CC BY-SA 3.0

On screen · Las Vegas

CSICrime Scene Investigation

Brown chaparral hills under a blue sky beyond a park — Mdm.Bla · CC BY-SA 4.0

Behind the camera · Santa Clarita

Shane Saunders · CC BY 3.0
William Petersen · Grissom · 2004
lukeford.net · CC BY-SA 2.5
Marg Helgenberger · Willows · 2007
Mark Richardson from The Woodlands, TX, USA · CC BY 2.0
Jorja Fox · Sidle · 2009
gkrew (Flickr) · CC BY 2.0
Anthony E. Zuiker · creator · 2010

Las Vegas on screen; a valley outside Los Angeles behind the camera. Run the sample

The Strip at night in 2012, from the Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas. Clément Bardot · CC BY-SA 3.0 Santa Clarita, July 2025: dry hills of the San Gabriel Mountains from Central Park. A view of the valley, not the studio. Mdm.Bla · CC BY-SA 4.0 William Petersen, Gil Grissom, in March 2004, during the fourth season. Shane Saunders · CC BY 3.0 Marg Helgenberger, Catherine Willows, on a Writers Guild picket line in November 2007, during the eighth season. lukeford.net · CC BY-SA 2.5 Jorja Fox, Sara Sidle, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, September 2009, ten seasons into the run. Mark Richardson from The Woodlands, TX, USA · CC BY 2.0 Anthony E. Zuiker, who created the show, signing autographs in March 2010. gkrew (Flickr) · CC BY 2.0

Paper chromatography

Run it out.

Chromatography pulls a mixture apart: run a spot up a strip of paper and the solvent separates it into bands. Here the sample is the show’s Las Vegas. Each press of solvent separates one more of the places that made it, in the order the show used them.

About the bands

Las Vegas, as broadcast

Solvent front: 0 of 5.

One spot on the start line: Las Vegas, as broadcast. Add solvent to run it.

Santa Clarita Valley · Universal City

Three moves, one valley.

The show began on a Lockheed Martin campus because Valencia looked like the edge of Las Vegas, moved down the road to a studio after eleven episodes, and settled on the Universal lot after season five. Rye Canyon and Universal City are 39 km (24 miles) apart.

1–11Episodes at Rye Canyon
12→Santa Clarita Studios
S6→Mainly Universal

A low stone sign reading Valencia beside a landscaped road — Valencia, Santa Clarita, in 2006: the welcome sign on McBean Parkway, the neighbourhood round Rye Canyon. Not the campus itself. Coolcaesar at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0

Rye Canyon Road, Valencia, Santa Clarita, California

Rye Canyon, Valencia

The first episodes were shot at Rye Canyon, a Lockheed Martin corporate campus in Valencia, Santa Clarita.

It was picked because the area looked like the outskirts of Las Vegas.

Filming stayed here until the eleventh episode, “The 1-15 Murders”, then moved to nearby Santa Clarita Studios.

In the first season the cast also went to Las Vegas now and then to shoot on location.

A business park of private offices; Rye Canyon Road itself is a public street.

Cleared sources

Valencia, Santa Clarita, California

Santa Clarita Studios

After episode eleven, filming moved from Rye Canyon to Santa Clarita Studios nearby.

The studio began building its first six stages in 1987, the valley’s first production facility.

It now has 35 sound stages, from 8,000 to 46,000 square feet, and lists CSI among its productions.

Even after the move to Universal, outdoor scenes went on being shot in Santa Clarita.

A working studio, closed to visitors. No address is given in the sources here, so it is listed and not on the map.

Cleared sources

Rows of studio sound stages and backlot streets with mountains behind — The Universal backlot in 2007, with the San Fernando Valley beyond. Ganeshk · CC BY 3.0

100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California

Universal Studios lot

After season five, episodes were mainly filmed at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City.

In 2011 the production designer Daniel Novotny described the show working across four stages: two permanent, one for construction and one for temporary sets.

For the episode “Freaks & Geeks” he built a 9,000-square-foot circus on a stage, with real tents that needed special rigging; no real circus was used.

A helicopter interior of just 72 square feet was among his hardest builds.

The lot opened on 15 March 1915, covers 400 acres and has more than 30 sound stages.

A working lot; the public sees it on the Studio Tour from Universal Studios Hollywood, with a ticket.

Cleared sources

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Universal City, Los Angeles

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Los Angeles

Borrowed buildings.

A campus hall in Westwood, a domed city hall in Pasadena and a university on the east side all turn up in the show’s Nevada.

A red-brick Romanesque hall with two towers — Royce Hall on Dickson Court, UCLA, October 2019. Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dickson Court, UCLA, Westwood, Los Angeles

Royce Hall, UCLA

Royce Hall at UCLA is one of the California sites the show used.

It was built in 1929 by Allison & Allison; its two towers borrow from Sant’Ambrogio in Milan.

It is one of the four original buildings on the Westwood campus, and its auditorium seats 1,800.

On UCLA’s open campus; see it from Dickson Court, or inside at a concert.

Cleared sources

A domed civic building with arches and a courtyard — Pasadena City Hall, November 2013. Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net) · CC BY-SA 4.0

100 North Garfield Avenue, Pasadena, California

Pasadena City Hall

Pasadena City Hall is one of the California sites the show used.

It was completed on 27 December 1927 to designs by Bakewell and Brown.

It was emptied in 2004, lifted onto base isolators against earthquakes and reopened in 2007.

It also plays Pawnee’s city hall in Parks and Recreation.

A working city hall; the courtyard is open in office hours.

Cleared sources

An aerial view of a hillside university campus among freeways — California State University, Los Angeles, from the air in 1982. Larry Sharkey, Los Angeles Times · CC BY 4.0

State University Drive, East Los Angeles

California State University, Los Angeles

Cal State LA is one of the California sites the show used, with Royce Hall, Pasadena City Hall and Verdugo Hills High School.

An open university campus; walk round.

Cleared sources

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Las Vegas Boulevard South

Sometimes Las Vegas was Las Vegas.

A second unit filmed the streets, and one episode, “Suckers”, came here almost whole. Caesars Palace and the MGM Grand are 1.7 km (1 miles) apart. And the Strip itself is not in the City of Las Vegas.

Las Vegas Boulevard South, Paradise, Nevada

The Las Vegas Strip

Las Vegas itself was used mainly for second-unit exterior shots of its streets.

The Strip is about 4.2 miles (6.8 km) long.

It is not in the City of Las Vegas at all, but in the unincorporated towns of Paradise and Winchester.

The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, built in 1959, stands 4.5 miles outside the city limits.

The show’s creator, Anthony E. Zuiker, grew up in Las Vegas, where his mother dealt blackjack; he went to Chaparral High School, whose theatre is named after him.

He had the idea after staying in one night to watch The New Detectives on the Discovery Channel.

Public pavements the length of the boulevard, open day and night.

Cleared sources

A large white hotel tower behind fountains and gardens — Caesars Palace from Las Vegas Boulevard, April 2026. Christian David · CC BY-SA 4.0

3570 South Las Vegas Boulevard, Paradise, Nevada

Caesars Palace

The season-four episode “Suckers” was mostly shot in Las Vegas in December 2003, with some scenes at Caesars Palace in January 2004.

Caesars Palace opened on 5 August 1966, founded by Jay Sarno and Stanley Mallin.

It had 3,960 rooms and suites in six towers in 2016.

Its Colosseum, a 4,296-seat theatre, was built in 2003 for Celine Dion.

A working resort and casino; the lobby, gardens and Forum Shops are open to walk through.

Cleared sources

A long green-glass hotel tower beside a boulevard — The MGM Grand in 2013, when CSI: The Experience was inside. Tuxyso · CC BY-SA 3.0

3799 South Las Vegas Boulevard, Paradise, Nevada

MGM Grand

CSI: The Experience, a paid attraction based on the show, ran here from 2009 to 2020.

Visitors chose one of three staged scenes and worked out what had happened.

It closed under Nevada’s pandemic restrictions; a former employee said in 2021 that it had been shut for good since July 2020, and the space now stores liquor.

The MGM Grand opened on 18 December 1993 as the largest hotel in the world by room count.

A working resort and casino. The CSI attraction has gone; its space is a storeroom.

Cleared sources

A woman with dark hair speaking at an event in a casino — Jorja Fox, Sara Sidle, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, September 2009, ten seasons into the run. Mark Richardson from The Woodlands, TX, USA · CC BY 2.0

Caesars Entertainment

Caesars Palace

The Strip, Las Vegas

Where “Suckers” filmed some of its scenes in January 2004: a resort of six towers on the Strip, at 3570 South Las Vegas Boulevard.

Check rooms

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Las Vegas

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The CSI effect

Lab time.

A man in a dark suit signing autographs at a table — Anthony E. Zuiker, who created the show, signing autographs in March 2010. gkrew (Flickr) · CC BY 2.0

Anthony E. Zuiker grew up in Las Vegas and had the idea for the show after staying in one night to watch The New Detectives on the Discovery Channel. Four years after it began, the press had a name for what it was said to do to juries.

Television time

Within hours

The result comes back before the next scene.

On television, labs return results within hours. Jurors began to expect the same.

About the CSI effect

William Petersen, Gil Grissom, in March 2004, during the fourth season. Shane Saunders · CC BY 3.0
William Petersen, 2004
Marg Helgenberger, Catherine Willows, on a Writers Guild picket line in November 2007, during the eighth season. lukeford.net · CC BY-SA 2.5
Marg Helgenberger, 2007

A long classical museum with a central dome above a lagoon — The Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, June 2010. Knarfol at de.wikipedia · Public domain

5700 South DuSable Lake Shore Drive, Chicago

Museum of Science and Industry

CSI: The Experience, a touring exhibit developed by the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History in 2006, opened here first, on 25 May 2007, with stars of the series at the opening.

The museum lists it among its past special exhibitions.

The building is the Palace of Fine Arts from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition; the museum opened in it in 1933.

It is now called the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry.

The phrase “CSI effect” was first reported in USA Today in 2004: the idea that jurors now expect the forensic evidence they see on television.

On television, labs return results within hours; in real cases DNA and fingerprint work can take several weeks or months.

Open to visitors with a General Admission ticket; Chicago residents get a discount.

Cleared sources

Griffin Museum of Science and Industry

Hyde Park, Chicago

Where CSI: The Experience opened first, in 2007. At 5700 South DuSable Lake Shore Drive; Chicago residents get $9 off adult and $5 off child General Admission.

Plan a visit

Go there.

Where it is now

9 places you can visit: 2 in the Santa Clarita Valley and Universal City, 3 in Los Angeles, 3 in Las Vegas and 1 in Chicago. Santa Clarita Studios has no published address here, so it is listed 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. A business park of private offices; Rye Canyon Road itself is a public street.
Site reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working lot; the public sees it on the Studio Tour from Universal Studios Hollywood, with a ticket.

Valencia, Santa Clarita, in 2006: the welcome sign on McBean Parkway, the neighbourhood round Rye Canyon. Not the campus itself. Coolcaesar at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Rye Canyon Road, Valencia, Santa Clarita, California
Rye Canyon, Valencia
The first episodes were shot at Rye Canyon, a Lockheed Martin corporate campus in Valencia, Santa Clarita.
A business park of private offices; Rye Canyon Road itself is a public street.
Cleared sources
The Universal backlot in 2007, with the San Fernando Valley beyond. Ganeshk · CC BY 3.0
100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California
Universal Studios lot
After season five, episodes were mainly filmed at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City.
A working lot; the public sees it on the Studio Tour from Universal Studios Hollywood, with a ticket.
Cleared sources

Stay

On the Strip.

The resort where “Suckers” filmed some of its scenes.

Caesars Entertainment

Caesars Palace

The Strip, Las Vegas

Where “Suckers” filmed some of its scenes in January 2004: a resort of six towers on the Strip, at 3570 South Las Vegas Boulevard.

Check rooms

Go there

The lot, the Strip, the museum.

The Studio Tour at Universal, tours of the Strip and Los Angeles, and the Chicago museum where the exhibit began.

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Universal Studios Hollywood tickets

Universal City, Los Angeles

Live marketplace results for Universal Studios Hollywood, whose Studio Tour runs through the working lot where CSI was mainly made from season six.

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Las Vegas Strip tours

Las Vegas

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Los Angeles

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Griffin Museum of Science and Industry

Hyde Park, Chicago

Where CSI: The Experience opened first, in 2007. At 5700 South DuSable Lake Shore Drive; Chicago residents get $9 off adult and $5 off child General Admission.

Plan a visit

What’s on

Nothing dated yet.

No current event tied to the show was found.

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

Take it home

The theme.

The Who’s 1978 album, whose title track opened every episode.

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Who Are You

The Who · 12-inch vinyl, UK, 1978

The album whose title track, written by Pete Townshend and sung by Roger Daltrey, is the show’s theme.

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Find a copy

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.

Search places and stories What remains Sort

10 of 10 places · 10 of 10 stories

Rye Canyon, Valencia
Rye Canyon Road, Valencia, Santa Clarita, California
- The edge of Las Vegas
  The first eleven episodes are shot on a Lockheed Martin campus in Valencia because it looks like the outskirts of Las Vegas.
Santa Clarita Studios
Valencia, Santa Clarita, California
- After “The 1-15 Murders”
  From the twelfth episode the show moves to Santa Clarita Studios, and keeps shooting outdoors in the valley for years.
Universal Studios lot
100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California
- Four stages at Universal
  From season six the show is made mainly on the Universal lot, where a circus and a helicopter are built on stages.
The Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Boulevard South, Paradise, Nevada
- Second unit on the Strip
  Las Vegas supplies mainly second-unit shots of its streets.
Caesars Palace
3570 South Las Vegas Boulevard, Paradise, Nevada
- Suckers
  A season-four episode shot mostly in Las Vegas, with scenes at Caesars Palace.
MGM Grand
3799 South Las Vegas Boulevard, Paradise, Nevada
- CSI: The Experience
  A paid attraction based on the show, with three staged scenes to work out.
Royce Hall, UCLA
Dickson Court, UCLA, Westwood, Los Angeles
- A campus hall
  UCLA’s Royce Hall is used as a California location.
Pasadena City Hall
100 North Garfield Avenue, Pasadena, California
- A city hall
  Pasadena City Hall is used as a California location.
California State University, Los Angeles
State University Drive, East Los Angeles
- Another campus
  Cal State LA is used as a California location.
Museum of Science and Industry
5700 South DuSable Lake Shore Drive, Chicago
- The exhibit opens
  The touring CSI exhibit opens here first, three years after the press starts talking about a “CSI effect” on juries.

CSICrime Scene Investigation

Run it out.