Ever wonder how accurate Hollywood Land in Disney’s California Adventure park is to the real thing?  If so, then today’s post is for you. Following are the real-life places that inspired Hollywood Land in Disney California Adventure park.  Some of the resemblances are going to blow your mind!

A little History on Disney California Adventure Park

But first, a little history… Disney California Adventure theme park (or DCA as it’s affectionately known amongst fans) opened its doors to the public on February 8, 2001. It was the first park expansion since Disneyland’s inception a little less than 50 years prior. And as you can imagine, the excitement levels were off the charts! Since that time, many visitors have traveled wide and far to experience this unique one-of-a-kind Disney Park.

DCA was meant to be a celebration of all things California.  From the most iconic cities to the state’s greatest commodities, DCA provided a little taste of Californian culture, all within a 72-acre space.  For one of its themed-lands, Disney Imagineers decided to pull inspiration from Hollywood’s Golden Age; the time in which Walt Disney was just coming up himself within the industry and Walt Disney Studios was positioning itself for domination in animation.

To achieve this old-Hollywood feel, Imagineers took extensive scouting tours around the city of Los Angeles including Hollywood and its surrounding areas, such as Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Downtown, and even Pasadena. They studied some of LA’s oldest buildings and created a compilation of icons that were distinctly different enough to provide depth to DCA’s Hollywood Land yet complimentary enough for it to feel cohesive.

Many of the buildings that inspired various areas of Disney California Adventure Park no longer exist, but there are several that are still around today!

Buildings in Hollywood Land Inspired by Real-Life Los Angeles Locations

The Hyperion Theatre

Los Angeles Inspiration: the Los Angeles Theatre

Address: 615 S Broadway, Los Angeles

First up is one of the most iconic buildings in Hollywood Land is the Hyperion Theater.  This 1,984 seat theater has been home to several Broadway caliber shows over the years and provides the perfect respite for park-goers on a hot summers day or in the middle of the afternoon when the kids are cranky and your feet are barking. 

The façade for this beautiful building was based off of the famous Los Angeles Theatre found in downtown Los Angeles. Funded in the 1930s by Charlie Chaplin, this became of the most important theaters during Hollywood’s Golden Age.

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Off the Page

Los Angeles Inspiration: Chapman Market

Address: 3465 West Sixth St., Los Angeles

Next is one of my favorite buildings in Hollywood Land: Off the Page. This little shop is where visitors can stock up on the latest in Disney animated art and sculpture. They sell everything from framed prints to custom artwork and character sketches to ceramic figurines and collectibles, and much more.  

The exterior of Off the Page was modeled after the famous Chapman Market in Koreatown in Los Angeles.  Chapman Market has been around since 1929 and has been an instant hit with Hollywood ever since, providing super easy parking for patrons. When it opened, it served high-end neighboring communities including Hancock Park and Windsor Square.  In 1988 it was officially named a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.  Today you can expect to find lots of super yummy Asian eats here.

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Playhouse Disney

Los Angeles Inspiration: former ABC Radio building 

Address: 1533-41 N. Vine St., Hollywood

Playhouse Disney, home to the Disney Junior Dance Party, has undergone many changes since it opened in 2001.  When the park first launched, this building served as a table service dining experience and was called ABC Soap Opera Bistro.  It celebrated all of the greats: All My Children, One Life to Live, and my personal favorite, General Hospital.  But sadly it closed after only 1 year. Now it’s a great destination for preschool kiddos to let off some steam while their parents rest their feet.

This building’s façade was modeled off of the real ABC Radio building in Hollywood.  From the 1940’s-50’s Hollywood was Radio City.  But as we’ve since with almost every other historic area of Los Angeles, this too is no longer what it once was.  While the building itself still exists on Vine, much of the signage has been removed.  You wouldn’t even know that this building is historic in any way as it’s nestled nicely near a CVS and Bed, Bath & Beyond. If you live in Los Angeles, you’ve probably driven by it a million times and thought nothing of the structure!

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Schmoozies!

Los Angeles Inspiration: Crossroads of the World

Address: 6669 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles

Oh Schmoozies, how do I love thee…  DCA’s premo smoothie shop has my heart (and way too many of my calories) completely.  It’s my favorite place to get a sweet snack in the middle of the day and sit down for a few minutes to enjoy it.  Disney also keeps the menu fresh with seasonal specials!

The exterior of Schmoozies was modeled after the real-life Crossroads of the World on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. You can see it in the structure of the building but also in the use of tiles to accentuate the floor and walls around Schmoozies. Crossroads was established in 1936 and became a hub of entertainment activity in the 50’s. Alfred Hitchcock even rented office space here!

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Fairfax Market

Los Angeles Inspiration: L.A. Farmers Market

Address: 6333 W 3rd St, Los Angeles

If there’s one thing we Angelinos LOVE, it’s a good farmers market, and none is more famous than the Original Farmers Market at 3^rd and Fairfax. Given its name for being one of the first official farmers markets in the city (it opened in 1934), this sprawling space features over 100 vendors.

Given the popularity of farmers markets in the city (both now and then), it makes perfect sense that Hollywood Land should have its own too. Enter Fairfax Market. The design of the stalls and awnings are heavily influenced by the Original Farmers Market. Now that I think about it, I could really go for one of Disneyland’s fresh pickles from Fairfax Market right about now!

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Gone Hollywood

Los Angeles Inspiration: Bullocks Wilshire

Address: 3050 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

Gone Hollywood is one of the most expansive buildings along Hollywood Blvd. Currently a specialty shop for Marvel, Star Wars, and classic Mickey/Minnie merchandise.  This building with its art deco style really ties the whole street together.

This façade was based on the former Bullocks Wilshire department store in Mid-city, Los Angeles; one of the most luxurious department stores in the city in its heyday.  Bullocks’s flagship location opened in 1929 and was a fixture in the Hollywood community.  My Hollywood legends were patrons of this exact location, including Mae West, John Wayne, Joan Crawford, and Walt Disney himself.  Throughout the ’70’s Bullocks started to experience a decline and in 1989, all Bullocks locations were incorporated into Macy’s.  Bullocks on Wilshire is currently owned by Southwestern Law School.

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Façades in Hollywood Land Inspired by Real-Life Hollywood Buildings

The Beverley 

Los Angeles Inspiration: The Wiltern Theater

Address: 3790 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles

My favorite façade in all of DCA is the Beverly on the corner of Sunset & Hollywood in Hollywood Land.  I absolutely love the art deco flair of the turquoise tiles and the shape of the façade.  I’ve been running all around LA this summer trying to figure out which building inspired this. And then finally as I was driving down Wilshire one day, I saw it. While I have no evidence that this is for sure the inspiration for the Beverly, I do know that the turquoise tiles found on several art deco buildings throughout the city deserve some credit.

The Wiltern Theater on corner of Western and Wilshire.  It’s almost an exact replica, only a lot LOT bigger.  Originally this was the Warner Bros. Western Theatre upon opening in 1931, and is one of the few buildings from this era that has actually been reimagined for the better!  Today the Wiltern holds concerts for huge names like Maren Morris and Little Big Town but offering fans a more intimate concert experience.

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The Whitley Building

Los Angeles Inspiration: Baine Building (now the Station Food Market)

Address: 6601 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood

This façade in Hollywood Land was based on the famous Baine Building in Hollywood.  While a shell of its former 1930’s self, one can still see the top exterior detailing that influenced the Whitley Building façade in Hollywood Land. And it also influenced the name of the building! The Baine Building is located at Hollywood Blvd and WHITLEY Ave. Crazy, right?

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Flowers, Sweets, Pets

Los Angeles Inspiration: the Pantages Theatre

Address: 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood

This next façade is one of the most recognizable Los Angeles locations on our list – the Pantages Theatre.  Built in 1930, this theater is still the most glamorous theater experience in Hollywood and plays host to the biggest touring Broadway musicals in the world.  The exterior detailing on the theater was the inspiration for the Flowers, Sweets, Pets decorative façade along Hollywood Blvd in DCA.

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Role Models

Los Angeles Inspiration: the old Max Factor Building

Address: 1660 North Highland Ave., Hollywood

Hollywood’s famous Max Factor Building inspired the aptly named “Role Models” façade on Hollywood Blvd. The story of Max Factor (the man) is a fascinating one.  A self-made beauty titan, he became the authority on cosmetics in filmmaking in the 1920’s.  And by Hollywood’s Golden Age anybody who was anybody (Judy Garland, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis… the list goes on and on) could be seen coming and going from his salon here on Highland Ave.

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Cahuenga Building

Los Angeles Inspiration: the old Owl Drug building

Address: 6382 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood

Next up, is the old Owl Drug store on the corner of Hollywood & Cahuenga was one of the most famous buildings in the area in its heyday.  The popular drug store chain aligned itself to the entertainment industry in the 1920’s & ’30’s with its regular “Beauty Week” promotions which often included an opportunity to win a Hollywood screentest!

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Façade adjacent to the Hyperion Theater

Los Angeles Inspiration: Beverly Wilshire Hotel

Address: 9500 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills

Last on the list is the façade adjacent to the Hyperion Theater.  I’m not sure that this façade even has a name but the architecture is definitely worth remembering because it’s modeled after one of the most notorious hotels in Beverly Hills: the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. (Ya know? The hotel from Pretty Woman! :))

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And that concludes my tour of the real-life places that inspired DCA! How accurate do you think Hollywood Land in Disney California Adventure park is? 

I hope you learned something new today.  If you know of other buildings throughout the Los Angeles area that have inspired various elements of DCA, please let me know in the comments below. This has been an ongoing discovery process for me, based on tons of internet research and there’s always a chance that I could have gotten something wrong.

If you’re visiting the Los Angeles area and visiting these iconic locations on your own feels a bit daunting, consider taking a bus tour or “star tour” of Hollywood and the surrounding areas instead!

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For more Disney Inspired Los Angeles ideas, check out some of these posts:

• The Places in Los Angeles that Inspired the Tower of Terror
• Visit the Los Angeles Filming Locations from Hocus Pocus

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