Los Angeles film and TV locations

Castle Green

99 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena

(626) 793-0359

The landmark Ambassador Hotel’s demolition happened soon after filming began on “Bobby,” a movie about the day Robert F. Kennedy was killed at that hotel. The next best thing? This historic Pasadena site, opened in 1899. Castle Green has had screen time in “The Sting,” “The Last Samurai” and “We Were Soldiers.” TV credits include “Brothers & Sisters,” “Numb3rs,” “Heroes,” “CSI” and “CSI: Miami.”  (Beatrice de Gea / Los Angeles Times)

Cicada Restaurant

617 S. Olive St., Los Angeles

(213) 488-9488

Walls rich in texture are key to filming in restaurants, says FilmLA’s Smith, and this Art Deco-designed Italian restaurant has the detail down. “If it’s just a plain white wall, you don’t see anything,” says Smith, who also mentions Kendall’s Brasserie and Bar at the Music Center as another example of a restaurant with interesting detail. “If you’re going for a close-up, all you see is a head and that’s not very interesting.”

Pictured: Producer David E. Kelley attends the “Boston Legal” series wrap party at Cicada, Nov. 15, 2008.  (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

Ennis House

2655 Glendower Ave., Los Angeles

(323) 660-0607

Built in 1924 for Mabel and Charles Ennis, Frank Lloyd Wright’s one-of-a-kind concrete block house was featured in 1959’s “House on Haunted Hill” and 1982’s “Blade Runner.” It was also a vampire lair in the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” TV show. The exterior is photogenic, but the interior is not open to the public.  (Dale Kutzera / For The Times)

Formosa Cafe

7156 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood

(323) 850-9050

This was once an after-shooting hangout for stars such as Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart, so it’s probably no surprise the Chinese-themed red-and-black bar and restaurant is where characters played by Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce find the “real” Lana Turner in “L.A. Confidential.” The landmark, which opened in 1939, also appears in the Jim Carrey drama “The Majestic” and in the opening scene of “Beverly Hills Cop II.”  (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

Griffith Observatory

2800 E. Observatory Road, Los Angeles

(213) 473-0800

The domes and telescopes will always be associated with James Dean’s iconic “Rebel Without a Cause” knife fight in 1955. Though it’s featured in major motion pictures such as “Transformers,” restrictions and fees make the observatory difficult for television shoots, according to “Entourage” location manager Bob Lepucki.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Hollywood Sign

These statuesque white letters, part of a 1923 ad campaign for Hollywoodland, show up in such films as 1974’s “Earthquake.” Film highlights since then: “Superman,” “Bugsy,” “Ed Wood” and “The Truman Show.” Mere mortals cannot drive to the sign, but there are several spots in Hollywood to get a good camera angle. (Personal favorite: Gower Boulevard, heading toward Franklin Avenue.)  (Richard Derk / Los Angeles Times)

Hotel del Coronado

1500 Orange Ave., Coronado

(619) 435-6611

This is the “Miami hotel where Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis hide out in drag with Marilyn Monroe in the classic ‘Some Like It Hot,’ ” author Reeves writes, in an e-mail, of the San Diego-area luxury hotel, which has offered high rollers a bit of R&R since 1888. This is also where L. Frank Baum wrote at least three of his “Wizard of Oz” books. (The novelist also designed the chandeliers in the hotel’s Crown Room.)  (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles City Hall

200 N. Spring St., Los Angeles

(213) 473-3231

The center of city government was also center stage as the “Daily Planet” in the 1950s TV show “Adventures of Superman.” The rotunda and steps also make City Hall a popular stand-in for other government buildings. It has shown up in TV dramas such as “West Wing” and “Alias.”  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Millennium Biltmore

506 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles

(213) 624-1011

The elegant downtown hotel is a favorite of many location managers because of what Smith describes as its “spectacular central hallway” and “grand ballroom.” “The hotel relocated to New York, as the haunted Sedgwick Hotel in ‘Ghostbusters’ and the venue for the presidential dinner in ‘Splash’ ” Reeves writes in an e-mail.

Pictured: The Millennium Biltmore’s lobby  (Rick Meyer / Los Angeles Times)

Santa Monica Pier

200 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica

Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, the whimsical tourist-attracting wharf that houses an arcade and amusement park has had its share of screen time in films such as “Forrest Gump,” “The Sting,” “Fletch” and “Thank You for Smoking.”  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Shoreline Drive

Long Beach

If it’s a freeway chase scene, chances are it’s this quarter-mile stretch in Long Beach, says “Criminal Mind’s” Spellman, who recently used Shoreline Drive for a freeway in Orange County and as a location for a pivotal freeway driving lesson scene in the Alicia Silverstone movie “Clueless.” It’s also credited in the movies “Speed” and “Iron Man.” Spellman says it helps that the city is so cooperative with film crews. It should be used to them: “CSI: Miami” and “Dexter” both shoot in Long Beach.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Union Station

800 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles

Opened in 1939, the historic Mission-style building has an extensive résumé. It set the scene for the William Holden-Nancy Olson film “Union Station” and masqueraded as a bank in the Leonardo DiCaprio-Tom Hanks caper “Catch Me if You Can.” Noteworthy TV appearances include “Alias,” “24” and “Prison Break.”  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Warner Grand Theatre

478 W. 6th St., San Pedro

(310) 548-7672

If the script calls for a classic, old-time movie theater, Smith recommends this remodeled and restored Art Deco theater that opened in 1931. It’s where Kate Beckinsale chokes up during a newsreel in the World War II tear-jerker “Pearl Harbor” and is Kate Bosworth’s date-night spot of choice in “Win a Date With Tad Hamilton!”

Pictured: Olga Garay, head of L.A.’s Cultural Affairs Deptartment, with Warner Grand Theatre director Lee Sweet  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)