Shelter - San Pedro locations

Ok, I'm not really sure whether anyone else will be interested in this, but I thought I'd post a few pics of some of the locations used in San Pedro for Shelter (even if this does reveal my total geekiness over this movie) :-[. When I first started, my original intention was just to find out where San Pedro was in relation to LA, but as the search engine I used took me directly to the Vincent Thomas Bridge, it was pretty easy to locate Zach and Jeanne's home, and once I found that, well, one thing led to another... LOL!





The bridge



And here's Zach skateboarding across the bridge in the movie. He may be on his way home, but he's going the wrong way!



Zach and Jeanne's home:



in bird's eye view:



and in the movie:



The store wall where Zach does his mural:





and watches it being painted over:



McCowans Supermarket (which has now been demolished) where Zach and Jeanne work:







Tori's home:





And finally, The Pacific Diner where Zach holds down his second job:







and finds out that Gabe really is the best friend he could ever wish to have.

Oh! just noticed the forum has cropped the pics rather than expand its width to accommodate them. Not sure if there's a way around that, as it now means that Zach's home has been cut off the map altogether.

Awesome work! I was curious about the locations also and found Zach and Jeannie's house (and posted the location on YouTube) but you did a much better job -- thanks!

PS. I am amazed that you were able to find Tori's house!

When I was trying to locate Zach's house, I was using the bridge as a reference of course. I think one of the best non-dialogue scenes is one we see near the beginning of the film -- where Zach is drawing outside at night. Jonas has done incredible camerawork -- to make that scene look so magical. Not that it's a horrible view, but he makes the entire scene (only a few seconds actually) transcend the actual surroundings -- part of it is the lighting and the expression captured on Zach's face.

Sorry to be 'off topic' here a bit.

Don't worry Bailey -- I am a geek for this film too....

Ok, at the risk of people thinking I'm totally obsessed and a complete and utter loon, I decided to revisit the map of San Pedro to see if I could find any of the other locations we get fleeting glimpses of in the film. Most appear during the opening credits, so i took that as a starting point and went hunting. They're very minor finds but I've updated the map with the new locations anyway.

First we have Zach skateboarding past a car park



which is here:





Then he passes a small Mall...





some wasteland...



and a warehouse...





all of which are next to each other, though we don't actually get to see them in quite the right order in the movie:




Zach is also seen skateboarding down a back lane:



which is here:



just off South Pacific Ave and just along the street from the market wall where he paints his Tree of Life mural.




Another street we see Zach passing is this one:



which is quite a few blocks further south and a clear indication that he really gets around on his skateboard!




And finally back onto South Pacific Avenue where Zach stops off to buy Cody some new footwear



just down from the Thrift Store...



and across the road from the Pacific Shopping Mart.






Right, in the words of Zach... I'm done!



PS: I don't think the forum expands to accomodate wide pics so if you can't see the whole thing, just click on it to get the full version.

wow!! just wow!! )
great job indeed!!

Awesome! Love it!! Thanks....

Hi - I visited San Pedro last summer and found most of the locations you have tagged. I also found the beach location where Shaun and Zack threw the frisbee and had the night shoot beach fire scene. It's called Cabrillo Beach Park and its entrance is off Stephen P While Drive. There's a circular parking lot with a monument, beach house pavillion and snack bar, etc. The other beach scenes were in Malibu. I met JD Disalvatore, the very funny and talented director, in L.A. during my trip. I begged her to make a sequel and offered seed money but she wasn't interested. She told me she was stunned at Trevor's acting abilities early in the shooting of the film...

Many thanks for that little snippet, jimandersatl. Any news about the movie, no matter how small, is welcome in my book. Well done on finding the beach site... I bet that was a lot harder than just locating streets and buildings, like I did.

At one point I thought about looking for Shaun's house too, as we do get a good view in the movie of the garden and grounds that lead onto the beach, but short of trawling along the whole of the Californian coastline, I wasn't really sure where to begin!

Hey Bailey - I think in the commentary about the film it was mentioned that the actual location of Shaun's house was Santa Barbara -- although it is supposed to be in Laguna in the film (which would make a lot more sense in the context of the movie). Thanks again for your great work!

Thanks baileybat for your expert location scouting. But please don't call it quits yet! What about finding the point on the coast where Zach and Tori have their "talk?" I think there's also a scene in the same location where Zach reflects on his life/situation. And what about the surfing locations? Maybe there's too little information, but who knows? And what about the "Shack" (or whatever it's called) where Zach and Shaun eat after surfing?

And to jimanderstal's post, maybe we fans of the film need to approach Jonah Markowitz about doing a sequel? J.D. seems to have moved on.

Hello fellow Shelter fanatics!
1. My take on why JD didn't want to produce the sequel is:
a) no one made any money on the project except some of the crew and the caterers. I think she said her dog Charlie (in the frisbee throwing scene) ate better and was better compensated than her.
b) Paul Colichman, head of here! tv films, is a real jerk. Just look at him and you'll see.
c) Jonah Markowitz and/or here! tv films owns the rights and both may have been difficult to work for.
2. The ocean overlook point where Tori and Zach had their little comin' to Jesus chat is stunning. I stood at the point last year. It is along W Paseo Del Mar near the intersection of S Weymouth Ave. You'll see a baseball diamond on the beach side of W Paseo. There's a footpath on the ocean side of the baseball field leading to the point. Yeow!
3. The Pacific Diner only has 2 booths in the front beside the counter. The place and kitchen are tiny. It does have a large enclosed patio with many tables in back of the kitchen towards the parking lot.

I though both Katie Walder and Ross Thomas were perfectly cast and performed very well. They added authenticity and depth to what could have been stereotypes.

Thanks for your interesting observations jimandersatl. I've read in the past about how tiny the Pacific Diner really is. I think Trevor and/or Jonah even mention it on the film commentary at one point. I was a little surprised to read the other comment about Jonah though.

Thanks too, for giving out the directions to the ocean overlook point. I don't think I would have ever sussed out that spot from just simple map-looking. Here it is in relation to the rest of San Pedro and specifically the Pacific Diner (6) (remember to click on pic for full width).



In Birds eye view:



the perfect place for Zach to reflect on his life...



and open his heart to Tori.



as seen in this behind-the-scenes shot.





Shaun's and Gabe's house proved a little more problematic, especially as the front view used in the film was from a house in Bel Air, while the courtyard, interiors and grounds were from this Spanish styled mansion in Santa Monica...



In Birds eye view:



from a different angle...



err... with some (probably uneeded) pointers



and in the movie...





And finally, a pic of Zach looking rather cute in the courtyard (any excuse! )



Cheers also eric85 and striver! Who would have thought this geeky thread of mine would become so popular?!

Looks like I have more planning to do before I go and visit San Pedro... Gotta figure out the best way to hit all the spots without going in circles.

Dear Baileybrat: Great work! Again! I can't believe you actually found Shaun's house, especially because in the film it's actually three locations. It's been super fun to see you pinpoint first one location, then another, and then another. Five Gold Stars!!!

Thanks for the additions, you guys -- I've loved this post!! Sorry about a previous post of mine -- I meant Bel Air, not Santa Barbara as the actual location of Shaun and Gabe's house (the 'driveway view' as I call it)... but I see you figured that out, baileybrat! Amazing work!!

Just did more checking on the house used as Zach's place (400 North Palos Verdes Street).... From the aerial view, it looks huge! I found out that a lot of those houses are multi-family dwellings (zillow.com shows the one two doors down is for sale -- a 'triplex'). A street view on GoogleEarth shows two additional entrances on the side of Zach's house from West O'Farrell Street.

Jonas did a great job of making the house seem small and cramped in the film --- even when they were at the back door at the end, it still felt like a small single family house. He could not have found a more perfect location -- Zach's outdoor studio and the view he had were perfect for this film.

I think we need to probably do the whole mapping of locations out on Google Maps. Just to make it easier to have everything on one map.

fantastic -- loved all of this! It also goes to show what a great director can do with locations that look so 'ordinary' in real life. Jonas and the actors made these places come alive and look different in the context of the film. Guess that's what great movie-making is all about....

Wow! This thread really has taken on a life of its own now, hasn't it?! Great stuff! And nice to see another new site added too (the frisbee/beach area). I agree with striver, the various locations really do look different in the film.

Btw, I did do some grabs of CalArts, but seeing as that location isn't particularly difficult to find, I haven't bothered adding the pics here. The location may still be worth adding to the Google map though Incidentally, I think Shaun was telling Zach a little white-lie when he said he lived close by... CalArts isn't exactly city-centre!

I've added in CalArts onto the map. I think I got everything onto it. If I'm missing something let me know.

You may all hate me after I make this comment...I went inside the triplex at 400 N. Palos Verdes Street. Yep. I met the landlord and she let me into the unit on the back with the view of the Vincent Thomas bridge. It has Zack's bedroom still which still has Ryan Graeff's wallpaper mural. I had my photo snapped in front of the mural and in the back driveway area. The unit was tiny and a mess. I don't know how they fit a film crew in it. A very poor family with small children lived there and it was heartbreaking to see those kids who were about the same age as Cody. Zack and Jeanne's living room, still painted yellow, was on the front unit facing O'Farrell St.

OMG - That must have been surreal.... especially to see the mural in the bedroom. I remember during the film commentary Trevor and Jonas saying that the house was not in the 'best' condition -- especially the bathroom where Zach was 'showering' (I put that in quotes because there was really no water running at all in that shower).

In the film, Jonas does such a great job of making the house look like one small house -- only at the beginning when Zach is skateboarding to the house do you get a good look at how deep it is, but you really don't notice it all that much. All the scenes shot inside the house (which I'm assuming were a combination of the three units) really felt like one small house.

It gets kind of confusing if you try to figure out the layout of the house just based on the film alone. For example, Zach is seen entering the front of the house off of Palos Verdes (from the outside) at the beginning of the film. Maybe it is then shot from the inside of the house with him entering off of O'Farrell, because the kitchen door that Jeannie enters would be in an odd place otherwise. Fun to think of this behind the scenes stuff...

Just goes to show the magic that was created by an excellent director and stellar cast.

Actually, as I watched it again, it does make sense. Jeannie is entering the kitchen through a door that faces the neighbors. I didn't know that alley/driveway was there until now.

Was the landlord nice? I'm thinking about asking them when I come visit San Pedro...