The historic Ambassador Hotel (which is now vacant) is the location for the
training exercise in which the trainees slide down ropes from helicopters
and storm a series of rooms. Look closely, and you'll see that they enter under
the red awning of the legendary "Cocoanut Grove" night club (featured in
"The Aviator"). The Ambassador Hotel is located at 3400 Wilshire Blvd,
just west of downtown Los Angeles.

The SWAT team has another simulation aboard an old jet airliner, in which they attempt
to rescue "hostages" from "hijackers". That strange area (housing 350 old airliners) is actually
the "Airport Graveyard" in the Mojave desert (near Edwards Air Force Base)
about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles.  (map to Edwards AFB)

After their victory in the airliner simulation, the SWAT team parties at a BBQ shack.
(They sing the "SWAT" theme, and one of the guys pulls up his shirt and shows his abs.)
That scene was shot at an actual BBQ shack called "Leo's BBQ", located at
2619 Crenshaw Blvd., in South Central Los Angeles.

(Alas, after after 48 years in business, Leo's closed its doors in May of 2004,
about a year after this film was made. But the building now houses Phillips’ Barbecue.)

While the police are moving the villain in a prison bus, a group of Montel's men
take over the bus . This leads to a shoot-out with SWAT, and the escape attempt fails.
This filmed was shot at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Wilcox Avenue.

You will notice a large mural on the wall of one building, on the southeast side
of this corner. That mural is titled "You Are the Star," and was
painted by Tom Suriya.