Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Studio Tour
Hollywood · Daily · $71 · ages 10 and up
Starts at 5515 Melrose Avenue, the building the film calls “Columbia Studio”, where Cliff collects Rick. Two hours on the lot; book ahead.
Book the tour
Sharon Tate, 1967. Unknown author · Public domain Sharon Tate 1967
Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Leonardo DiCaprio at the film’s Los Angeles premiere, 22 July 2019. Glenn Francis (Toglenn) · CC BY-SA 4.0 Pitt, Robbie, DiCaprio 2019
Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair, 1968: the year before the film is set. Unknown author · Public domain Steve McQueen 1968
Los Angeles196993 KHJ
Once Upon a Timein Hollywood
A fading TV cowboy, his stunt double and his neighbour, Sharon Tate, in Los Angeles in 1969. Turn the radio on and drive it.
Station breaks
Tune to 930.
The film’s radio is KHJ. Turn the dial through the static until Boss Radio locks in; every station break is a real place you can go.
1270 kHz · static
Boss Radio
Boss Radio 93 KHJ launched its Top 40 format on 930 AM on 5 May 1965, devised by Bill Drake and Gene Chenault, with Ron Jacobs as programme director. The Real Don Steele was one of its DJs, with a TV show on co-owned KHJ-TV, Channel 9.
The film’s radio was built from hours of KHJ airchecks of the era; a KHJ promo for the Batphone secret-number contest plays during the credits.
On the record
“Almost like a period narrator.”
Hollywood Boulevard
Dressed back to 1969.
Many of the boulevard’s old businesses were recreated with the minimum of digital trickery; the stretch between Cherokee Avenue and Cahuenga keeps most of old Hollywood Boulevard.
6656 Hollywood Boulevard
The Pussycat Theatre sign, 6656 Hollywood Boulevard
The empty round structure above 6656 Hollywood Boulevard was restored to carry its old Pussycat Theatre sign. The cinema closed in the early 1980s, became the Ritz Theatre in 1987 and, in the 1990s, a church.
At 6664, the Supply Sergeant has sold military surplus under its towering sign since 1948, and is still trading.
Look up from the pavement opposite: the round tower above the shopfront carried the film’s Pussycat sign.
On the record
The Hollywood Roosevelt
The Hollywood Roosevelt
7000 Hollywood Boulevard
Not in the film, but on the same boulevard as Musso & Frank and the Pussycat sign. The 1927 hotel hosted the first Academy Awards on 16 May 1929.
Check roomsNow showing
Change the letters.
The Bruin: in the film, the letters read “THE WRECKING CREW”.
Sharon Tate watches herself
Sharon Tate goes to the Bruin to watch herself as the klutzy Miss Carlson in The Wrecking Crew, with Dean Martin. The Bruin opened in 1937; across Broxton Avenue rises the white spire of the 1931 Village Theatre.
Regency’s lease ended in 2024. A Toronto exhibitor, Rui Pereira, plans to reopen the 670-seat cinema in October 2026 with 35mm and 70mm projectors. He means to keep its old character, and eventually to restore the vintage marquee letters.
Sharon Tate, 1967
On the record
Reopening in October 2026 with 35mm and 70mm projection. The wrap-around marquee is lit at night.
Simi Valley
The ranch is a park.
The ranch where Cliff insists on seeing George Spahn was recreated at the old Corriganville Movie Ranch, barely a mile west of the real Spahn Ranch, whose owners were not keen. The real Spahn Movie Ranch, in Chatsworth, was the base of the Manson “family”.
Ray Corrigan bought the land in 1937. It was open to the public at weekends from 1949 to 1965; fires in 1970 and 1979 destroyed almost every set. Simi Valley bought 190 acres in 1988. Corriganville Park has traces of the film sets and placards on its movie history.
A free public park in the Santa Susana foothills. Walk the trails past old set foundations and the movie-history placards.
On the record
Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District
Corriganville Park trails
Simi Valley · Free public park
Walk the old movie ranch that stood in for Spahn Ranch: set foundations, rocks and placards on its film history.
Plan a visitMagic hour
Bring the sun down.
The film’s last act opens as the signs flicker on across the city. Drag the sun below the hills.
Still light. No signs yet.
El Coyote’s neon at dusk, Beverly Boulevard, 2022. PoetishBookwormus · CC BY-SA 4.0 El Coyote7312 Beverly Boulevard
The Frolic Room’s neon on Hollywood Boulevard, 2017 (cropped to the sign). Daviddavisengineer · CC BY-SA 4.0 The Frolic Room6245 Hollywood Boulevard
The Casa Vega roadside sign on Ventura Boulevard, 2025. Caterpillar84 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Casa Vega13301 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks
Chili John’s, Burbank, 2014. Junkyardsparkle · CC0 Chili John’sIn the film’s montage
The Bruin’s wrap-around marquee at night, 2006. Karen (Flickr) · CC BY 2.0 The Bruin Theater948 Broxton Avenue, Westwood Village
The Cinerama Dome still dressed by the film, August 2019. Codera23 · CC BY-SA 4.0 The Cinerama DomeIn the film’s montage
Casa Vega, the last night
On the evening of 8 August, Rick and Cliff mark the end of their partnership by getting thoroughly drunk at Casa Vega. Casa Vega has been on Ventura Boulevard since 1956.
Open daily until midnight; weekday happy hour 2.30–6pm. Valet parking.
On the record
El Coyote, the same evening
Sharon Tate and her friends dine at El Coyote, the restaurant where their real counterparts ate that night in 1969. The frontage carries a small stencilled image of Sharon Tate, with no name on it.
Blanche and George March founded El Coyote on 5 March 1931, first at First Street and La Brea; the Beverly Boulevard restaurant seats 375.
A working Mexican restaurant, open from noon. The neon is best at dusk.
On the record
The Dome and Chili John’s
In the film’s dusk montage, the Dome was taken back to the late sixties with a marquee for Krakatoa, East of Java. Chili John’s, serving Burbank since 1946, is one of the signs that light up in the film’s dusk montage.
On the record
Cielo Drive
A road we leave alone.
Rick Dalton lives next door to Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate. The film gives their road a fairy-tale ending. The real house is gone.
The hairpin at Bella Drive, seen several times, is the real Cielo Drive, a few hundred yards from the site of the house Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate rented. That house was demolished in 1994; a new villa was built and the address changed, partly to discourage sightseers.
Rick’s house “on Cielo Drive” is on Alta View Drive in Studio City, a few miles from the real road; the house behind it stands in for the Polanski–Tate home.
Roman and Sharon go to a party at Hugh Hefner’s real Holmby Hills mansion, where Steve McQueen laments that he is not Sharon’s type. Hefner did not buy it until 1974, five years after the film is set; it is now a private home.
A stretch of Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon, May 1997: the road, not the house. JGKlein · Public domain Cielo Drive
A Studio City street sign, February 2024: the neighbourhood, not the house. Jengod · CC BY-SA 4.0 Rick’s house
A Beverly Glen Boulevard sign in Holmby Hills, 2012: the neighbourhood, not the mansion. Zigzig20s · CC BY-SA 3.0 The Playboy Mansion
All three are private. They are named here and never pinned on the map; the photos show the roads and neighbourhoods, not the houses.
On the record
Where it is now
12 places you can visit. Cielo Drive, Rick’s house on Alta View Drive and the Playboy Mansion are private: named, never pinned.
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. Open Tuesday to Saturday from 5pm, Sunday from 4pm. Ask for the New Room, the bar where Rick meets his agent.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Look up from the pavement opposite: the round tower above the shopfront carried the film’s Pussycat sign.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working bar, next door to the Pantages. Come after dark for the neon.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working theatre. The Who’s Tommy runs from 27 October to 15 November 2026.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Closed for restoration until early 2028. See the geodesic dome from Sunset Boulevard.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. The Paramount Studio Tour starts here: two hours, daily, $71. Book ahead; children must be over 10.
Musso & Frank Grill on Hollywood Boulevard, 2006. Gary Minnaert · Public domain 6667 Hollywood Boulevard
1 · Musso & Frank Grill
Rick meets his agent, Marvin Schwarz, in the bar: the 1955 addition still called the New Room.
Open Tuesday to Saturday from 5pm, Sunday from 4pm. Ask for the New Room, the bar where Rick meets his agent.
On the record
6656 Hollywood Boulevard, once the Pussycat Theatre, March 2025. Gb321 · CC BY-SA 4.0 6656 Hollywood Boulevard
2 · The Pussycat Theatre sign, 6656 Hollywood Boulevard
Many of the boulevard’s old businesses were recreated with the minimum of digital trickery; the stretch between Cherokee Avenue and Cahuenga keeps most of old Hollywood Boulevard.
Look up from the pavement opposite: the round tower above the shopfront carried the film’s Pussycat sign.
On the record
The Frolic Room’s neon on Hollywood Boulevard, 2017 (cropped to the sign). Daviddavisengineer · CC BY-SA 4.0 6245 Hollywood Boulevard
3 · The Frolic Room
The Frolic Room’s neon frontage gleams behind the flashback that explains why Cliff drives Rick about: too many drunk-driving tickets.
A working bar, next door to the Pantages. Come after dark for the neon.
On the record
The Pantages Theatre, Hollywood Boulevard, 2008. Andreas Praefcke · CC BY 3.0 6233 Hollywood Boulevard
4 · The Pantages Theatre
Cliff drives Rick home past the Pantages, its marquee showing Three in the Attic.
A working theatre. The Who’s Tommy runs from 27 October to 15 November 2026.
On the record
The Cinerama Dome still dressed by the film, August 2019. Codera23 · CC BY-SA 4.0 6360 Sunset Boulevard
5 · The Cinerama Dome
In the film’s dusk montage, the Dome was taken back to the late sixties with a marquee for Krakatoa, East of Java.
Closed for restoration until early 2028. See the geodesic dome from Sunset Boulevard.
On the record
The Melrose Gate of Paramount Pictures, 2014. Coolcaesar · CC BY-SA 4.0 5515 Melrose Avenue
6 · Paramount’s Studio Four building, the film’s “Columbia Studio”
The “Columbia Studio” where Cliff collects Rick at the end of the day is Paramount’s Studio Four building, 5515 Melrose Avenue.
The Paramount Studio Tour starts here: two hours, daily, $71. Book ahead; children must be over 10.
On the record
Stay
A room on the boulevard.
The 1927 hotel down the road from Musso & Frank.
The Hollywood Roosevelt
The Hollywood Roosevelt
7000 Hollywood Boulevard
Not in the film, but on the same boulevard as Musso & Frank and the Pussycat sign. The 1927 hotel hosted the first Academy Awards on 16 May 1929.
Check roomsGo there
The lot and the ranch.
Paramount’s studio tour from the “Columbia Studio” door, the trails at Corriganville, and Hollywood location tours.
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Studio Tour
Hollywood · Daily · $71 · ages 10 and up
Starts at 5515 Melrose Avenue, the building the film calls “Columbia Studio”, where Cliff collects Rick. Two hours on the lot; book ahead.
Book the tourRancho Simi Recreation and Park District
Corriganville Park trails
Simi Valley · Free public park
Walk the old movie ranch that stood in for Spahn Ranch: set foundations, rocks and placards on its film history.
Plan a visit
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Hollywood film-location tours
Los Angeles
Live marketplace results for Hollywood movie-location tours. Check each itinerary for the boulevard, Musso & Frank and the Cinerama Dome.
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Compare toursWhat’s on
On at the Pantages.
The Who’s Tommy, at the theatre Cliff drives Rick past.
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Take it home
The posters, the novel and the radio.
Original 2019 posters from our store, Tarantino’s novel, and the soundtrack with its KHJ breaks.
Printed Originals · Our poster store
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) — US one-sheet, Steve Chorney art
An original 2019 US one-sheet, 27 × 40 in, painted by Steve Chorney. Mint, rolled.
In stock
View poster
Printed Originals · Our poster store
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) — US one-sheet
An original 2019 US one-sheet, 27 × 40 in. Mint, rolled.
In stock
View poster
Printed Originals · Our poster store
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) — French petite
An original 2019 French petite poster, 15.7 × 21.2 in. Mint, rolled.
Check availability on the store
View poster
Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: A Novel
Quentin Tarantino
Tarantino’s own novel of the film, with more of Rick, Cliff and 1969.
Find the book
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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Various artists · CD, Columbia, 2019
The soundtrack album, put together with KHJ airchecks of the era between the records.
Live marketplace search · listings and condition change
Find a copyDates, 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 whole log
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
16 of 16 places · 17 of 17 Moments
Musso & Frank Grill
6667 Hollywood Boulevard
Marvin Schwarz
Rick meets his agent in the New Room bar and hears his career is sliding.
The car park
Rick breaks down in the car park behind the restaurant.
The Pussycat Theatre sign, 6656 Hollywood Boulevard
6656 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard, 1969
The boulevard dressed back to 1969, carrying the Pussycat sign again.
The Frolic Room
6245 Hollywood Boulevard
The flashback
The Frolic Room’s neon behind the story of Rick’s drunk-driving tickets.
The Pantages Theatre
6233 Hollywood Boulevard
The drive home
Cliff drives Rick home past the Pantages, showing Three in the Attic.
The Cinerama Dome
6360 Sunset Boulevard
The signs come on
At dusk, a montage of signs flickers on across the city, the Dome among them.
Paramount’s Studio Four building, the film’s “Columbia Studio”
5515 Melrose Avenue
“Columbia Studio”
Cliff collects Rick outside the studio at the end of the day.
El Coyote
7312 Beverly Boulevard
Dinner at El Coyote
Sharon Tate and her friends eat at El Coyote.
The Bruin Theater
948 Broxton Avenue, Westwood Village
The Wrecking Crew
Sharon Tate watches herself on screen in Westwood.
The Oviatt Building
617 South Olive Street, downtown
“Rome”
Marvin calls about Europe; later Rick dines in “Rome”.
Casa Vega
13301 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks
The last night
Rick and Cliff get drunk together to end their partnership.
Chili John’s
2018 West Burbank Boulevard, Burbank
Chili John’s lights up
Chili John’s sign is part of the dusk montage.
Corriganville Park, the film’s Spahn Ranch
7001 Smith Road, Simi Valley
Spahn Ranch
Cliff drives Pussycat home to the ranch and insists on seeing George Spahn.
93 KHJ, Boss Radio
930 on the AM dial
Boss Radio
KHJ plays through the film, almost a narrator.
Cielo Drive, Benedict Canyon
Benedict Canyon
The hairpin
The car turns up the real Cielo Drive at Bella Drive.
Rick’s house, Alta View Drive
Studio City
Rick’s house
Rick lives next door to the Polanskis.
The Playboy Mansion
Holmby Hills
The party
Roman and Sharon at the Playboy Mansion, with Steve McQueen.