Hermosa Beach Community Center is a public building at 710 Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach, California. The building was originally part of the city’s school system before later becoming a community centre, and its institutional look made it suitable for one of the most famous high-school horror films of the 1970s. With its gymnasium, school-like layout and plain exterior, the location has the kind of ordinary public-building atmosphere that makes the horror in “Carrie” feel more grounded.
In Carrie (1976), Hermosa Beach Community Center is used as part of Bates High School. The building appears at the beginning of the film, where Carrie White is bullied by the other girls after gym class. The girls’ shower and gym areas connect the location directly to Carrie’s humiliation, which becomes one of the emotional triggers for the rest of the story. The school environment is important because the horror does not begin in a haunted house or isolated mansion, but in a normal gym class, surrounded by classmates and teachers.
The film also uses the rear side of the building, by the parking lot, as the entrance to the school prom. In reality this is more of a back entrance than the building’s main entrance, but in the film it is treated as the main doorway for the event. Before prom night, the students decorate the area and place the words “Love Among the Stars” in large letters above the door. This makes the rear façade of Hermosa Beach Community Center especially recognisable in the film, even though it is not the side of the building visitors might first expect to see.
The Community Center is tied to the film’s prom setting, although the actual prom destruction was largely filmed on a set. The exterior and school material connect the real Hermosa Beach building to Bates High, while the major interior prom sequence was created elsewhere. This makes the location important both as the real-world school setting that introduces Carrie’s social isolation and as the exterior used to establish the prom before the film moves into its final nightmare.
Carrie
Carrie is a 1976 supernatural horror film directed by Brian De Palma and based on Stephen King’s first published novel. Sissy Spacek…
Tavern on Main
In 8 Million Ways to Die, Tavern on Main is used as The Keg Bar. The exterior of the bar is shown on Main Street, with Scudder’s apartment located behind it.
Pann’s Restaurant
Pann’s Restaurant has appeared in several films and television productions, like xXx, Bewitched, Next and the TV series Based on a True Story.
Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica Pier appears in numerous productions, including The Sting, Forrest Gump, Ruthless People, Cellular, Iron Man, Her, Modern Family, and Seinfeld.
Griffin Club Los Angeles
Griffin Club Los Angeles appears in the dark comedy thriller series Based on a True Story, where it is used as the private club attended by the characters.
City National Bank Building
In Dexter: Original Sin (2024–2025), City National Bank Building, on 11 Golden Shore in Long Beach, is used as the exterior of Miami Metro Police headquarters.
O’Neill House
The O’Neill House is best known as a filming location in two feature films: Breathless (1983) and 8 Million Ways to Die (1986).
Sam’s Hofbrau
Sam’s Hofbrau is best known from Quentin Tarantino’s "Jackie Brown" (1997) and "Kill Bill: Vol. 2" (2004). In both films, the location is used as a strip club.
Beverly Hills City Hall
Beverly Hills City Hall in Beverly Hills was used in the "Beverly Hills Cop" films, where it appears as part of the Beverly Hills Police Department.
The Mayan
The Mayan has appeared in many films and television productions, including Sally of the Scandals, Refinements in Love, Save the Tiger and many more.
Leave a Reply