# Normal Places Made Famous by an Arts and Entertainment Thing **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 6, 2023, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803 "2023-03-06T20:37:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2023, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803/121 "2023-03-08T22:11:06Z")
Did you have to slow down because you moving way too fast? ---
**Author:** ![TwoCarrotSnowman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twocarrotsnowman/32/15879_2.png) [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2023, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803/122 "2023-03-08T22:51:22Z")
[This car park](https://www.dezeen.com/2014/09/14/brutalist-buildings-trinity-square-get-carter-car-park-owen-luder/amp/) in Gateshead, in the North East of England became famous after featuring in the movie _Get Carter_. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803/123 "2023-03-09T01:13:42Z")
We were married less than a year later, so I guess not. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803/124 "2023-03-09T01:28:13Z")
I probably would never have heard about Greyfriars Church in Edinburgh, Scotland, if Disney hadn’t made a movie about it: > **[Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a Dog (1961) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054944/)** > > Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a Dog: Directed by Don Chaffey. With Donald Crisp, Laurence Naismith, Alex Mackenzie, Duncan Macrae. The remarkable veritable story of a terrier named Bobby and the enduring friendship he forges with a... ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803/125 "2023-03-09T01:31:28Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Other famous Zevon locations include the Hollywood Hawaiian Hotel, Gower Avenue and the Pioneer Chicken Stand on Alvorado Street Sadly, it’s actually Gower _Street,_ but I forgive him because it’s a great song. You really need that Avenue for the rhythm. Oh, and it’s Alvarado. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803/126 "2023-03-09T01:57:31Z")
A lot of memorable Chicago locations in _ **The Untouchables** _: > **[The Untouchables - filming locations](https://www.sceen-it.com/movie/152/The-Untouchables)** > > Sceen it! The filming location of The Untouchables (credits: Paramount) #sceenit #filming #location ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803/127 "2023-03-09T02:24:50Z")
There’s a bench in the Boston Public gardens that was used for a conversation between Robin Williams and Matt Damon in _Good Will Hunting_ that is moderately famous. It became an impromptu shrine for Williams after his death. > **[The Boston Public Garden Bench from "Good Will Hunting" — Live the Movies](https://www.livethemovies.com/home/the-boston-public-garden-bench-from-good-will-hunting)** > > The park bench where Robin Williams delivers his memorable monologue in "Good Will Hunting". ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803/128 "2023-03-09T02:33:26Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Sadly, it’s actually Gower _Street,_ but I forgive him because it’s a great song. You really need that Avenue for the rhythm. Oh, and it’s Alvarado. Yeah, “Look away, down Gower Street” just will not do. Also, from what I understnd (never been there) you can’t actually see Gower from the HHH, so Zevon took some liberties. Still my favorite song, though. And if California slides into the ocean, Like the mystics and statistics say it will, I predict this motel will be standing, Until I pay my bill. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803/129 "2023-03-09T16:36:35Z")
My favorite verse, too. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803/130 "2023-03-10T05:53:36Z")
Windsor Ontario was made famous by that Journey song _Don’t Stop Believin’_. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803/131 "2023-03-10T06:25:35Z")
I live near Golf n’ Stuff, the miniature golf course featured in Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend” video. The date scene in “The Karate Kid” was also shot there. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803/132 "2023-03-10T07:04:55Z")
Unless you lived in Hawaii, you probably never would have known about the 'Iolani Palace before 1968. It’s where McGarrett’s office supposedly was in the original _ **Hawaii Five-O** _. [![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c5eaf7_c0bb5b312a8540f6b6f9951182b9806a~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_600,h_347,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/121a%20(4).jpg) ](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c5eaf7_c0bb5b312a8540f6b6f9951182b9806a~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_600,h_347,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/121a%20(4).jpg) The Five-O HQ moved to the Kekuanaoa Building at the start of Season 9 because the Palace was undergoing renovations. [![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipOMFOKNyCuBMiEKd7SNACScBCAvjR1XkxwEgb7g=s680-w680-h510) ](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipOMFOKNyCuBMiEKd7SNACScBCAvjR1XkxwEgb7g=s680-w680-h510) A lot of other locations in the series would have been recognized by Hawiian locals too. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803/133 "2023-03-10T07:05:52Z")
**Speedy’s Sandwich Bar** , at 222 Baker Street, aka _Sherlock_. [![](https://media.izi.travel/f105cbe5-d929-4349-ab4d-63579d006919/3a231f9c-9c9c-41b7-9542-18a78308b3b6_800x600.jpg) ](https://media.izi.travel/f105cbe5-d929-4349-ab4d-63579d006919/3a231f9c-9c9c-41b7-9542-18a78308b3b6_800x600.jpg) The **Lloyd Rees fountain** in Martin Place, Sydney, from _The Matrix_. [![](https://tokyofox.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/screen-shot-2019-02-15-at-22.52.55.png) ](https://tokyofox.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/screen-shot-2019-02-15-at-22.52.55.png) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803/134 "2023-03-10T07:13:28Z")
Żagań, Poland (formerly Sagan, Germany) is a tourist stop because of a little movie that came out in 1963: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/g1DvynXMZF8/maxresdefault.jpg "'The Great Escape' site in Żagań, Poland") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1DvynXMZF8) It was also the subject of a book written by Paul Brickell, who was himself an inmate. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803/135 "2023-03-10T09:41:35Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > The Bull & Finch Pub in Boston which was the bar Cheers was based on. I’ve read that it was based on Dirty Dave’s Gay '90s bar/pizzeria in Redlands, CA, which the Charles brothers were regulars at while attending college in the area. The original location is now defunct, but its founder moved to Olympia in the early '70s and opened a new restaurant by the same name that’s still in business today. > **[Gay 90s was popular local hangout](https://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/2010/03/27/gay-90s-was-popular-local-hangout/)** > > REDLANDS – Gay 90s was a mainstay for University of Redlands students and other locals for more than 30 years. Gus and Claudia De Roos bought the restaurant in 1973 and drew many local studen… > **[Saying Goodbye To Friend, Dirty Dave's Restaurant Owner Dave Wilson -...](https://www.thurstontalk.com/2013/09/19/dirty-daves-pizza-dave-wilson/)** > >   By Gail Wood Dave Wilson was just like the name of his restaurant, a little different. Long-time friend, Jerry Farmer, wonders not only who would ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803/136 "2023-03-10T10:37:46Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > The **Lloyd Rees fountain** in Martin Place, Sydney, from _The Matrix_. Similarly, several locations in Derby, England are in the video to Your Woman by White Town, including a fountain that looks a lot like that one. Unfortunately according to Derby locals, including the song’s artist, whatever fame may or may not attach to the places, the modernist Assembly Rooms as seen in the video’s beginning are closed and will be torn down, and the city shut off the water to the fountain as a cost saving measure. Which would have the opposite effect on me, however, because if I were ever in the area, I would want to stop and see the buildings partly because of them being in the video, but not if the fountain is off. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lVL-zZnD3VU/maxresdefault.jpg "White Town - Your Woman (Official HD Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVL-zZnD3VU&t=80) ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803/137 "2023-03-10T10:53:44Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Oh in London there is Battersea power station is arguably famous as the backdrop to Full Metal Jacket. Its arguable as the whole point is Kubrick spent an enormous amount of effort to make it NOT recognizable as somewhere other than Hue, Vietnam. Kubrick succeeded in disguising Battersea Power Station by the simple expedient of filming at Beckton Gas Works instead. > **[Full Metal Jacket at Beckton Gas Works - filming location](https://www.sceen-it.com/sceen/5787/Full-Metal-Jacket/Beckton-Gas-Works)** > > Sceen it! The filming location of Full Metal Jacket in London (United Kingdom) at Beckton Gas Works (credits: Natant, Stanley Kubrick Productions, Warner Bros. Pictures) #sceenit #filming #location ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803/138 "2023-03-10T11:44:04Z")
(If you are a member), you can play 18 holes of golf at the Grande Oaks Golf Club in Davie, Florida, where Caddyshack was filmed (back then it was called Rolling Hills). > **[‘Caddyshack’ turns 40: Here’s where they filmed it in South Florida](https://www.local10.com/sports/2020/07/24/caddyshack-turns-40-heres-where-they-filmed-it-in-south-florida/)** > > “Caddyshack” was released 40 years ago Saturday, and South Florida locals may remember that much of the movie was filmed at what is now Grande Oaks Golf Club in Davie. > **[Grande Oaks Golf Club – Fort Lauderdale, FL](https://www.grandeoaks.com/)** > > Grande Oaks Golf Club is a private golf club in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Learn more about Grande Oaks, South Florida's premiere private golf destination. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803/139 "2023-03-10T12:22:36Z")
Ten years ago, my wife and I visited three sites in Baltimore from “The Wire.” The outdoor space with the orange couch in front of those apartments really was a sketchy area; we took our picture and left quickly (and we’re not naively over-skittish about such things). More obscurely, I posed with my toddler son in front of the same trees, in Primrose Hill park, London, on the album cover for one of my favorite Rolling Stones albums, “Between the Buttons.” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803/140 "2023-03-10T13:46:42Z")
The entire island moved north a couple of miles from tidal action on the notoriously soft bottom of the Hudson river. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/normal-places-made-famous-by-an-arts-and-entertainment-thing/980803.md?page=8)