Sacred Heart was a real hospital: the North Hollywood Medical Center, opened in 1952 and closed in 1998. For eight seasons the production worked inside it, and every floor had a job. Pick a floor and swap its kit.
Riverside Drive
ground
Fourth floorWhat goes where?
Pick a floor, then swap its hospital kit for what the show used it for.
0 of 5 floors redressed
The props are our drawing. Which floor did what is from the studio-history page below.
The penthouse was in the basement.
Dr Cox lived in a penthouse; the set for it was built underneath the hospital. Somewhere on the ward floors stood J.D. and Turk’s apartment, and part of the first floor held the offices of the writers, editors and casting directors.
Where we read it
Which floor held what: wards on one, two and four with J.D. and Turk’s apartment; wardrobe and make-up on three; writers, editors and casting on one; Dr Cox’s penthouse in the basement.
2001 to 2009: a closed hospital, working as Sacred Heart.
Valley Village · the real Sacred Heart
The old North Hollywood Medical Center on Riverside Drive in August 2011, stripped to its frame during demolition. Photo by Gabel Guagliumi. Gabel Guagliumi · CC BY-SA 3.0
12629 Riverside Drive, Valley Village, Los Angeles
Sacred Heart: the old North Hollywood Medical Center
The first eight seasons were filmed at the North Hollywood Medical Center, a decommissioned hospital at 12629 Riverside Drive in Valley Village.
It opened in 1952 as Valley Doctors Hospital, with 160 beds, and closed in August 1998.
On screen it was Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital.
It was demolished in mid-2011, and an apartment complex opened on the site in February 2013.
The hospital is gone; an apartment complex stands on the lot. See it from the Riverside Drive pavement, and do not go in.
Where we read it
Denver Street on the Universal Studios Hollywood backlot, June 2002, while Scrubs was in its second season. Photo by Cliff. Cliff · CC BY 2.0
Out of the building · the Valley, downtown, the coast
Off shift.
Most of Scrubs happened indoors on Riverside Drive. When it went out, it mostly stayed in the San Fernando Valley: a 1926 theatre, a lake, a high school, another hospital. One-off sets went up at Universal, a wedding went downtown and a triathlon went to the beach. Most of these come from fan location guides; the season is on each card.
7 places on the rota.
Seasons 1 and 2 · a date and a film
El Portal Theatre on Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood, November 2014. Photo by Junkyardsparkle. Junkyardsparkle · CC BY-SA 4.0
5269 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood
El Portal Theatre
Fan location guides list it for Elliot and Sean’s date in the first season, and for J.D. and Turk running into Kelso at the movies in the second.
It opened in 1926 as a 1,400-seat vaudeville house, then became a cinema.
A working theatre with three stages. Buy a ticket for a show, or look at the marquee and box office from Lankershim.
Where we read it
Season 3 · by the lake
Cherry blossom at Lake Balboa Park, March 2014. Photo by Nandaro. Nandaro · CC BY-SA 3.0
Lake Balboa Park (Anthony C. Beilenson Park), 6300 Balboa Boulevard, Encino
Lake Balboa
Fan location guides list the lake for one of J.D.’s fantasies about Elliot, in the third season.
The park covers 80 acres; the lake, 27 acres, is filled with reclaimed water from the Tillman plant.
A public park with a path round the lake, pedal boats and cherry trees. No swimming.
Where we read it
Season 3 · the wedding
The Park Plaza Hotel, the 1926 Elks Lodge on Park View Street, February 2008. Photo by Downtowngal. Downtowngal · CC BY-SA 3.0
607 South Park View Street, Westlake, Los Angeles
The Park Plaza Hotel (The MacArthur)
Fan location guides list it for Turk arriving at the wrong wedding, and for his wedding to Carla, at the end of the third season.
It was built as Elks Lodge No. 99 and finished in 1926, to a design by Claud Beelman.
An events building across from MacArthur Park. See the front from Park View Street.
Where we read it
Viator · Ad / affiliate
Tours in Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Live marketplace results for tours in Los Angeles. None is about the series.
Denver Street on the Universal Studios Hollywood backlot, June 2002, while Scrubs was in its second season. Photo by Cliff. Cliff · CC BY 2.0
100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City
Universal Studios Hollywood
Before season nine, one-off sets for single episodes were shot at Universal Studios Hollywood.
A fan location guide puts Molly Clock’s apartment on the backlot’s New York Street, in the fourth season.
A theme park and working studio. The tram tour runs through the backlot.
Where we read it
Viator · Ad / affiliate
Universal Studios Hollywood tickets and tours
Universal City
Live marketplace results for Universal Studios Hollywood, whose tram runs through the backlot where Scrubs built its one-off sets. None is about the series.
Fan location guides list it for J.D.’s triathlon in the fifth season.
The park has 1.5 miles of beach and was established in 1953.
A state beach with tide pools and sea caves; day-use parking is charged.
Where we read it
Culver City · 2009 and 2010
Season nine.
For its last season on ABC the show became a medical school, moved out of the old hospital and onto a studio lot founded in 1918. The lawns and the old office bungalows played Winston University.
The Culver Studios from Washington Boulevard, November 2007. Photo by Termer. Termer · CC BY-SA 3.0The Mansion at the Culver Studios, the lot’s first building, November 2013. Photo by Rclick-wiki. Rclick-wiki · CC BY-SA 3.0
Where Sacred Heart has lived
2001–2009The old North Hollywood Medical Center, Riverside Drive, Valley Village.
2009–2010Culver Studios, for season nine: Winston University and a new Sacred Heart.
2025–2026A studio in Vancouver for the revival, the set rebuilt from the old one’s blueprints.
Where we read it
Season nine at Culver Studios, Winston University and the new Sacred Heart.
Bill Lawrence’s best friend from college, Jonathan Doris, became a doctor. Watching him through his residency gave Lawrence the show, and Doris advised on it. He and two other medical advisers lent their surnames to characters. Press a key to emboss each name.
Adviser: DORIS
······
The tape is blank.
Where we read it
Advisers Jonathan Doris, Jon Turk and Dolly Klock gave their names to John Dorian, Chris Turk and Molly Clock; the show is loosely based on Doris’s residency at Brown.
The Wren Building at William & Mary in the snow, January 2005. Photo by benuski. benuski · CC BY-SA 2.0
111 Jamestown Road, Williamsburg, Virginia
William & Mary: the Wren Building
Bill Lawrence graduated from the College of William & Mary with a degree in English.
In the show, J.D. and Turk met at William & Mary, where they were first roommates.
First built between 1695 and 1700, the Wren Building is the oldest college building in the United States.
On a working campus. The Wren Building stands at the head of the College Yard.
Where we read it
Providence · the residency
Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School on Richmond Street, Providence, January 2018. Photo by Kenneth C. Zirkel. Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0
Warren Alpert Medical School, 222 Richmond Street, Providence, Rhode Island
Brown’s medical school, Providence
The show is loosely based on Dr Jonathan Doris’s years as a resident in internal medicine at Brown Medical School.
Brown first taught medicine in 1811; its four-year programme was re-established in 1972. The school took the Warren Alpert name later.
A working medical school. Look at the building from Richmond Street.
Where we read it
The people · during the run, 2005–2009
Who made it.
Bill Lawrence at the Peabody Awards luncheon, 4 June 2007. Photo: Peabody Awards. Peabody Awards · CC BY 2.0
Bill Lawrence created Scrubs. NBC aired it from 2 October 2001, seven seasons to May 2008; ABC took the eighth in 2009 and a ninth that ended in March 2010: 9 seasons, 182 episodes. It was shot with one camera, on film, rather than as a studio sitcom. The 100th episode, My Way Home, directed by Zach Braff, won a Peabody in 2007; the photograph shows Lawrence collecting it in New York that June.
Zach BraffJ.D. Dorian
Donald FaisonChristopher Turk
Sarah ChalkeElliot Reid
John C. McGinleyPerry Cox
Judy ReyesCarla Espinosa
Ken JenkinsBob Kelso
Neil FlynnThe Janitor
Where we read it
Creator, networks, dates, seasons, episodes, single camera on film, cast and roles, and the Peabody for My Way Home.
Zach Braff backstage at Live Earth, 7 July 2007. Photo by AdamJaz. AdamJaz · Public domain
Donald Faison at Hollywood Life’s Breakthrough Awards, December 2007. Photo: lukeford.net. lukeford.net · CC BY-SA 2.5
Sarah Chalke in Los Angeles, December 2008. Photo by Photo Larry. Photo Larry · CC BY 3.0
John C. McGinley at the UCD Law Society, Dublin, October 2008. Photo by Tom Morgan. Tom Morgan · CC BY 2.0
Judy Reyes at the Race for the Cure in Pasadena, March 2009. Photo by Kristin Dos Santos. Kristin Dos Santos · CC BY-SA 2.0
A hospital, and the streets around it.
Where it is now
11 places: six in the Valley, three in Los Angeles and on the coast, and two back east where the story began. The hospital itself is gone; its lot is marked.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
General reference · Restricted access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. The hospital is gone; an apartment complex stands on the lot. See it from the Riverside Drive pavement, and do not go in.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working theatre with three stages. Buy a ticket for a show, or look at the marquee and box office from Lankershim.
General reference · Restricted access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working hospital. Look from Vanowen Street; do not go in to sightsee.
General reference · Restricted access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working school, not open to visitors. The front faces Cedros Avenue.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public park with a path round the lake, pedal boats and cherry trees. No swimming.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A theme park and working studio. The tram tour runs through the backlot.
1The old North Hollywood Medical Center on Riverside Drive in August 2011, stripped to its frame during demolition. Photo by Gabel Guagliumi. Gabel Guagliumi · CC BY-SA 3.0
12629 Riverside Drive, Valley Village, Los Angeles
Sacred Heart: the old North Hollywood Medical Center
The first eight seasons were filmed at the North Hollywood Medical Center, a decommissioned hospital at 12629 Riverside Drive in Valley Village.
The hospital is gone; an apartment complex stands on the lot. See it from the Riverside Drive pavement, and do not go in.
Where we read it
2El Portal Theatre on Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood, November 2014. Photo by Junkyardsparkle. Junkyardsparkle · CC BY-SA 4.0
5269 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood
El Portal Theatre
Fan location guides list it for Elliot and Sean’s date in the first season, and for J.D. and Turk running into Kelso at the movies in the second.
A working theatre with three stages. Buy a ticket for a show, or look at the marquee and box office from Lankershim.
Where we read it
3Valley Presbyterian Hospital on Vanowen Street, Van Nuys, March 2008. Photo by Cbl62. Cbl62 · CC BY-SA 3.0
15107 Vanowen Street, Van Nuys
Valley Presbyterian Hospital
Fan location guides list it as the other hospital Elliot works at in the fifth season.
A working hospital. Look from Vanowen Street; do not go in to sightsee.
Where we read it
4Van Nuys High School on Cedros Avenue, 2008. Photo by Cbl62. Cbl62 · CC BY-SA 3.0
6535 Cedros Avenue, Van Nuys
Van Nuys High School
A fan location guide lists it for the Janitor’s hurdling flashback in the fifth season.
A working school, not open to visitors. The front faces Cedros Avenue.
Where we read it
5Cherry blossom at Lake Balboa Park, March 2014. Photo by Nandaro. Nandaro · CC BY-SA 3.0
Lake Balboa Park (Anthony C. Beilenson Park), 6300 Balboa Boulevard, Encino
Lake Balboa
Fan location guides list the lake for one of J.D.’s fantasies about Elliot, in the third season.
A public park with a path round the lake, pedal boats and cherry trees. No swimming.
Where we read it
6Denver Street on the Universal Studios Hollywood backlot, June 2002, while Scrubs was in its second season. Photo by Cliff. Cliff · CC BY 2.0
100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City
Universal Studios Hollywood
Before season nine, one-off sets for single episodes were shot at Universal Studios Hollywood.
A theme park and working studio. The tram tour runs through the backlot.
Where we read it
Stay
By the last lot.
A 1924 hotel a short walk from where season nine was made.
The Culver Hotel
The Culver Hotel
Downtown Culver City · Rates for your dates on the hotel’s booking page
A 1924 landmark with 46 rooms and suites at 9400 Culver Boulevard, a short walk from the Culver Studios lot where season nine was made.
Live marketplace results for Universal Studios Hollywood, whose tram runs through the backlot where Scrubs built its one-off sets. None is about the series.
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 chart
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
11 of 11 places · 13 of 13 Moments
Sacred Heart: the old North Hollywood Medical Center
12629 Riverside Drive, Valley Village, Los Angeles
A real hospital, playing one
For eight seasons a closed hospital on Riverside Drive is Sacred Heart, and the production works inside it.
Who had which floor
Hospital scenes on the first, second and fourth floors, with J.D. and Turk’s apartment; dressing rooms, wardrobe and make-up on the third; writers, editors and casting in part of the first; Dr Cox’s penthouse in the basement.
The building comes down
The empty hospital is demolished in mid-2011; apartments open on the lot in February 2013.
El Portal Theatre
5269 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood
Elliot and Sean’s date
Elliot and Sean go to El Portal on a date; in season two J.D. and Turk meet Kelso at the movies here.
Valley Presbyterian Hospital
15107 Vanowen Street, Van Nuys
Elliot’s other hospital
Valley Presbyterian is the hospital Elliot works at in season five.
Van Nuys High School
6535 Cedros Avenue, Van Nuys
The Janitor’s hurdles
A flashback to the Janitor hurdling is filmed at Van Nuys High School.
Lake Balboa
Lake Balboa Park (Anthony C. Beilenson Park), 6300 Balboa Boulevard, Encino
By the lake
One of J.D.’s fantasies about Elliot is filmed at Lake Balboa.
Universal Studios Hollywood
100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City
Molly Clock’s apartment
One-off sets go up at Universal; Molly Clock’s apartment is on New York Street.
The Park Plaza Hotel (The MacArthur)
607 South Park View Street, Westlake, Los Angeles
Turk and Carla’s wedding
Turk turns up at the wrong wedding before his own to Carla, at the end of season three.
The Culver Studios
9336 West Washington Boulevard, Culver City
Winston University
Season nine moves to Culver Studios, where the historic bungalows and lawns play Winston University and the new Sacred Heart.
Leo Carrillo State Beach
Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu
J.D.’s triathlon
J.D.’s triathlon is filmed on Leo Carrillo State Beach.
William & Mary: the Wren Building
111 Jamestown Road, Williamsburg, Virginia
Where J.D. met Turk
Bill Lawrence studied at William & Mary, and gave it to J.D. and Turk as the college where they met.
Brown’s medical school, Providence
Warren Alpert Medical School, 222 Richmond Street, Providence, Rhode Island
The real J.D.
Jonathan Doris, Lawrence’s college friend, trains in internal medicine at Brown; his residency becomes the show.
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