Gainesville · Ocala · Tulsa · Van Nuys · Hollywood · P is for Petty
A bank in Ocala where a ten-year-old saw Elvis. A stone church in Tulsa. A room in Van Nuys. A dollar he refused to let a record cost. A house set on fire, and the song that came out of it. A last night at the Bowl, and a park a few streets from where he grew up.
Silver Springs Boulevard, Ocala · July 1961
Petty, then 10, met Presley on the set because his uncle worked on the film.
In July 1961 Elvis Presley came to Florida to film Follow That Dream. The bank scenes were shot in Ocala, at the Commercial Bank & Trust Co.
A hot street in Ocala. Nobody has come yet.
Wait in the heat first.
Here come the cars first.
Go home and start collecting first.
117 East Silver Springs Boulevard, Ocala
Finish the day to see what Ocala did about it.
Private and empty. See the old bank from Silver Springs Boulevard; the marker is to go on the corner of Northeast Osceola Avenue.
304 South Trenton Avenue, Tulsa · 1974–1976
Denny Cordell of Shelter Records met the band in Tulsa and called them the next Rolling Stones.
In 1974 Mudcrutch’s demo was turned down by labels, mostly in Los Angeles. He gave them a $3,000 advance and booked a session here, across the street from the diner where they met.
The board is empty.
304 South Trenton Avenue, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Sent back to Tulsa, they recorded I Can’t Fight It, Lost in Your Eyes and Solomon Burke’s Cry to Me, for free, because Cordell owned the studio.
A working studio and museum. Tours Monday to Saturday, 10am to 3pm; general admission $15.
304 South Trenton Avenue, Tulsa · $15
The stone church where Shelter Records recorded Mudcrutch for free in 1974, now a studio and museum. Tours Monday to Saturday, 10am to 3pm; $15 general admission, children 12 and under free.
Book a tourVan Nuys · 1979 and 1993–94
A twelve-string has six pairs: each low string doubled by a thinner one tuned with it. Pluck each pair.
Six pairs of strings, all quiet.
Not plucked yet.
Not plucked yet.
Not plucked yet.
Not plucked yet.
Not plucked yet.
Not plucked yet.
MCA · Backstreet · 1979–1981
The record company wanted a dollar more for Hard Promises. Take the pricing gun and knock it off, a dime at a time.
The sticker says $9.98. MCA’s price.
Still on the sticker.
Still on the sticker.
Still on the sticker.
Still on the sticker.
Still on the sticker.
Still on the sticker.
Still on the sticker.
Still on the sticker.
Still on the sticker.
Still on the sticker.
Encino · 17 May 1987
The house is a private home, rebuilt, and is not on our map. This is a drawing, room by room, of what the reports say happened.
Kitchen: shut.
Upstairs: shut.
Back staircase: shut.
Basement studio: shut.
The house is shut. Open a room.
7 October 2017 · Gale Lemerand Drive, University of Florida, Gainesville
The stadium holds more than 90,000 people, and they all sang.
On 7 October 2017, days after his death, the stadium played I Won’t Back Down at the start of the fourth quarter. In October 2022 the university held its first Tom Petty Day, which ended with the same sing-along from a sell-out crowd. The estate gave the proceeds from Tom Petty Day merchandise to two Gainesville charities, Kids Count and Family Promise.
Inside on game days with a ticket; the outside from Gale Lemerand Drive any day.
It called him Gainesville’s No. 1 son.
On the Tuesday after he died, part of the mural along SW 34th Street was repainted for him. Photographs of his youth are kept at the Matheson Library and Archives on University Avenue.
A long painted wall beside SW 34th Street. Panels are repainted all the time, so look for his.
2301 North Highland Avenue · 25 September 2017
The 40th-anniversary tour ended here with three sold-out nights, in a bowl that holds 17,500. The last of them was on 25 September 2017.
Petty had told Rolling Stone the tour could be his last big one. The last song of the last night was American Girl.
He died a week later, at 66.
The Bowl is a public park, managed by Los Angeles County, open 8am to 3pm when no event is on.
A county park as well as a venue: the grounds are open 8am to 3pm on days without an event.
2301 North Highland Avenue, Hollywood · Free
The Bowl is a county park as well as a venue: the grounds are open 8am to 3pm on days without an event. The last Heartbreakers show was here on 25 September 2017.
Check access
1805 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco
In 1997 the band played twenty nights at the Fillmore. Six of the shows were professionally recorded, and the estate has released them.
A working music hall. Buy a ticket for any show and you are in the room.
35000 West Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu
The rocky shore in the Mary Jane’s Last Dance video was filmed here.
Day-use parking 8am to 10pm, $12 a car. Go at low tide for the pools and caves.
10700 West Escondido Canyon Road, Santa Clarita
The You Got Lucky video was filmed out here.
Open Tuesday to Sunday from 8am, to 7.30pm from March to October and 5pm in winter. Closed Mondays.
501 NE 16th Avenue, Gainesville · 2018
Tom Petty Park, a few streets from where he grew up. Pick a flower for the marker; each one is a line about home.
The field is full. Pick one.
Singer, songwriter, guitar
Born in Gainesville; he left for California in 1974. City of GainesvilleWPTV
He died in October 2017, a week after the last night at the Hollywood Bowl, at 66. Ultimate Classic RockRelix
Lead guitar
Kept on by Shelter at Petty’s request when Mudcrutch was dropped. The Church Studio
The twelve-string on the Damn the Torpedoes cover was his. Far Out
Keyboards
He grew up in Gainesville too. Los Angeles Times, 27 April 2008
Organ and piano on Damn the Torpedoes; at Sound City again for Wildflowers. Best Classic BandsThe Ringer
10 places you can visit. The Encino and Malibu houses are private homes, so they are named and left off the map; Sound City is a working studio with no public door, so it is off the map too.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A city park, open dawn to dusk every day. The historical marker stands among the pines.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Inside on game days with a ticket; the outside from Gale Lemerand Drive any day.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A long painted wall beside SW 34th Street. Panels are repainted all the time, so look for his.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. The university’s arena, open for games and concerts.
General reference · Restricted access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Private and empty. See the old bank from Silver Springs Boulevard; the marker is to go on the corner of Northeast Osceola Avenue.
501 NE 16th Avenue, Gainesville
Tom Petty was born in Gainesville and lived a few streets away from this park.
A city park, open dawn to dusk every day. The historical marker stands among the pines.
Gale Lemerand Drive, University of Florida, Gainesville
On 7 October 2017, days after his death, the stadium played I Won’t Back Down at the start of the fourth quarter.
Inside on game days with a ticket; the outside from Gale Lemerand Drive any day.
SW 34th Street, beside the University of Florida
On the Tuesday after he died, part of the mural along SW 34th Street was repainted for him.
A long painted wall beside SW 34th Street. Panels are repainted all the time, so look for his.
Gale Lemerand Drive, University of Florida, Gainesville
Petty left Gainesville for California in 1974.
The university’s arena, open for games and concerts.
117 East Silver Springs Boulevard, Ocala
In July 1961 Elvis Presley came to Florida to film Follow That Dream.
Private and empty. See the old bank from Silver Springs Boulevard; the marker is to go on the corner of Northeast Osceola Avenue.
Stay
A state-park campsite on the Malibu shore of the Mary Jane’s Last Dance video.
35000 West Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu
Tent and hike-and-bike sites under giant sycamores, a short walk from the rocky shore of the Mary Jane’s Last Dance video. Book through Reserve California, online or by phone; same-day reservations are possible.
Plan a stayGo there
The Tulsa studio where Shelter recorded Mudcrutch, the Bowl’s open grounds, and marketplace music tours in Los Angeles.
304 South Trenton Avenue, Tulsa · $15
The stone church where Shelter Records recorded Mudcrutch for free in 1974, now a studio and museum. Tours Monday to Saturday, 10am to 3pm; $15 general admission, children 12 and under free.
Book a tour2301 North Highland Avenue, Hollywood · Free
The Bowl is a county park as well as a venue: the grounds are open 8am to 3pm on days without an event. The last Heartbreakers show was here on 25 September 2017.
Check accessLos Angeles
Live marketplace results for rock and music history tours in Los Angeles. Check each itinerary for its stops; none is run by the estate or the band.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursWhat’s on
Tom Petty Weekend in Gainesville this November.
Checking current event dates…
Take it home
Three books and five records tied to these places. We hold no original Tom Petty posters, so there are none here.
Warren Zanes
The full biography, from Gainesville to the last tour.
Find the bookPaul Zollo
Petty in his own words, song by song.
Find the bookTom Petty and the Heartbreakers
The band’s own illustrated history.
Find the bookTom Petty and the Heartbreakers · LP, Shelter SRL-52006, 1976
The first album, with Luna on it, partly recorded in the Tulsa church.
Live marketplace search · listings and condition change
Find a copyTom Petty and the Heartbreakers · CD, MCAD-5105, 1984
The Sound City album of 1979, here on an early CD.
Live marketplace search · listings and condition change
Find a copyTom Petty and the Heartbreakers · LP, Backstreet BSR-5160, 1981
The album he would not let cost $9.98.
Live marketplace search · listings and condition change
Find a copyTom Petty · CD, MCA DMCG 6034, 1989
With I Won’t Back Down, written after the fire.
Live marketplace search · listings and condition change
Find a copyTom Petty · CD, Warner Bros. 9 45759-2, 1994
Built up at Sound City in the Torpedoes room.
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.
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
13 of 13 places · 20 of 20 Moments
501 NE 16th Avenue, Gainesville
Northeast Park takes his name.
Gale Lemerand Drive, University of Florida, Gainesville
Days after his death, the stadium sings I Won’t Back Down.
The university’s first Tom Petty Day.
SW 34th Street, beside the University of Florida
The 34th Street Wall is repainted for him.
Gale Lemerand Drive, University of Florida, Gainesville
Petty leaves Gainesville for California.
The Heartbreakers play the O’Dome on the 30th-anniversary tour.
117 East Silver Springs Boulevard, Ocala
His uncle works on Follow That Dream; Tom Petty meets Elvis Presley on the set.
Ocala votes to mark the place he met Elvis.
304 South Trenton Avenue, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Denny Cordell signs Mudcrutch to Shelter and books them into his Tulsa studio.
On a third trip to Tulsa, Mudcrutch cut the song that would be a hit five years later.
Petty and Stan Lynch record tracks used on the Heartbreakers’ first album.
1805 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco
The band plays twenty nights at the Fillmore; six are recorded.
Van Nuys, San Fernando Valley
The breakthrough album, made at Sound City after a fight to get free of his contract.
Home demos built up at Sound City with Rick Rubin, in the Torpedoes room.
Encino, San Fernando Valley
An arsonist sets the Encino house alight; the basement studio survives.
Written partly out of defiance after the fire, for Full Moon Fever.
Malibu
The first band reunites at the Malibu house.
2301 North Highland Avenue, Hollywood
The 40th-anniversary tour closes at the Hollywood Bowl with American Girl.
35000 West Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu
The video’s rocky shore.
10700 West Escondido Canyon Road, Santa Clarita
The video’s desert rocks.
