Part 2

 The Southern California locations where
"Inception" was filmed.

A gunfight then breaks out on the street (within the dream), as the kidnap victim's
subconscious begins to fight back, creating an squad of armed defenders.

The shot below was filmed at the intersection of 7th Street & Broadway, in downtown L.A.
(The camera is looking southwest, from 7th St, just east of Broadway.)

That rounded jewelry store seen behind the gunman is Royale Jewelry Co, at 701 S Broadway,
at the southwest corner of Broadway & 7th.

The marquee reading "Catedral" (with the red heart) is the old State Theatre,
at 703 Broadway - which is now used as a church.

         

(Here's a matching Google StreetView - for the shot above)

In the shot above, where a gunman gets crunched by a taxicab, we've moved farther east on 7th Street,
and the camera is now looking east/northeast up W. 7th Street, from just west of Spring Street.

Here's a matching Google StreetView
(The awnings appear to have been removed.)

In the shot above, as the shoot-out continues, you can clearly see the number 215 on
the wall behind the gunman. That shot was taken at 215 W. 7th Street, in downtown L.A..

(Here's a matching Google StreetView)

In the screencap above, Leo's wife is about to jump to her death from a window, because
she believes that she is still in a dream, and that the only way to wake up is to "die".

That building is located at 215 W. 5th Street, at the northeast corner of 5th & Broadway, downtown.
The 12-story hi-rise was built in 1926, and originally known as the "Chester Williams Building".

Her 6th floor window is on the north side of 5th Street (so she is facing south).

The building has seen a lot of filming in the past

(Here is a Google StreetView panorama of the same building.)

In the photo above, Leo walks with his wife through a deep dreamworld they have created together.

In the real world, they are walking south along the west side of the Music Center's Ahmanson Theatre,
on the east side of Hope Street, just south of Temple Street, in downtown. The official address
of the Ahmanson Theatre is 135 N. Grand Avenue (it's east side). The camera is looking southwest.

The tall tower you see across the street is the well-known Department of Water & Power building
(AKA: the John Ferraro Office Building), which is on the west side of the street, at 111 N. Hope Street.
But be warned: they've messed with it. The actual Water Company building is only 15 stories high -
they have used CGI to add many floors to the top of the building, making it look taller than it really is.

(Here is a matching Google StreetView panorama.)

An extended scene plays out on a drawbridge, where a white fan falls from the bridge in slow motion
(part of a "free-fall kick" strategy designed to shock the dreamers awake.)

That bridge is real. It's the Commodore Schuyler F. Helms Draw Bridge, and it bridges the
south end of the Los Angeles River, on the border which connects Terminal Island
to the mainland of Long Beach and Wilmington.

(Here is a matching Google StreetView panorama.)

In a memorable dream sequence (used in the posters), Leo walks along a beach while
cliff-like buildings crumble into the sea.

This scene was shot at the same place as the opening scene of the beach in Japan:
on the beach below the rocky cliffs of Abalone Cove Shoreline Park,
at 5970 Palos Verdes Drive South, in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.

Of course, the CGI is used so heavily here that it's impossible to tell where
the actual location ends and the computer graphics begin...

In the scene above, we're back in the deep dream world created by Leo and his wife,
only this time, Ellen Page is with him.  They walk along the same corridor where we
saw him walk with his wife before.

(Here is a Google StreetView panorama of the view above.)

Once again, they are walking south along the west side of the Music Center's Ahmanson Theatre,
on the east side of Hope Street, just south of Temple Street, in downtown.

The camera is looking southwest. The tall tower you see across the street is the well-known
Department of Water & Power building, at 111 N. Hope Street.

But this time, they get deeper into the dream, and we see more of its surrealistic details,
such as homes and buildings partially submerged in a pool of water.

For that scene, they crossed over to the west side of Hope Street, where the Water Company
building sports a large reflecting pool and fountains. The reflecting pool is real, but
(as you might expect) the partially-submerged houses in the pool are fake CGI inserts.

(Here is a Google StreetView panorama of the view below.)

Finally, at the end of the film, we make it to Leo's family home,
where he is reunited with his children. (Or do we?)

This is an actual house, located at 215 S. Grand Ave, in Pasadena, CA.

(That's about three blocks southwest of the corner where the annual
Rose Parade begins, and it is about a mile south of the Rose Bowl.)

[ Warning: This is a private home.  Do not trespass on their property,
knock on their door, or do anything else that might disturb the residents. ]

The photos on this page are stills from "Inception"
(which you can buy by clicking here) and are copyright Warner Bros.

The rest of the page is Copyright © 1999-2024-Gary Wayne / Seeing-Stars.com