Q. What is it supposed to be on the show?

A.  A lavish party held before the annual Newport fashion show fundraiser.

Q. Where is it supposed to be on the show?

A. Unspecified, but probably the country club.

Q. When did we see it on the show?

A. In Season one, Episode 1, "Pilot", when the Ryan goes with the Cohens to the annual Fashion Show fundraiser (where Marissa and Summer appear as models).

Before the fashion show, there is a lavish poolside party (contrast this with the teenage party at Holly's beach house), with lots of alcohol and gossip. As they enter the party, Seth whispers to Ryan: "Welcome to the dark side."

Q. What is it actually in real life?

A. They filmed the party scenes near the pool on the patio of a private mansion.

Q. Where can I find it in real life?

A. The (17,700 square foot) mansion is located at 28824 Cliffside Drive, in Malibu.

It's perched on a cliff, on the south side of the Point Dume peninsula, at the west end of Cliffside Drive. It's the next-to-the-last house on Cliffside, on the southwest side of the cul-de-sac.

Here is a map link to the exact location. And here is an interactive aerial photo of the area.

You can see in the photo below that the swimming pool, stairs, and glass entrance perfectly match the screenshots from the show.





Warning: Remember that this is a private home. Do not trespass on their property,
knock on their door, or do anything else to disturb the residents.

Other O.C. locations in the Malibu area include Julie & Caleb's mansion,

the Cohen House,

Marissa Cooper's house,

and Holly's beach house.

Q. How the heck did you figure out where it was?

A. I didn't. It was one of the locations I had overlooked. Fortunately, Nicola, one of a group of O.C. fans from Italy, found it by Googling for phrases like "Malibu luxury home". They emailed me (in June 2006) to let me know where it was. Thanks, guys. (Grazie!)