| Address |
| 966 Mission St, South Pasadena, CA 91030, USA (South Pasadena, California)
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| Information |
Nichol's Hardware Store
The corner-store of this historic building in South Pasadena, California played a small, but important role in the classic 1978 horror film, Halloween. The entire building dates back to 1923 when it opened as the Mission Arroyo Hotel. Following its closing, the building was subdivided to serve various local storefronts. In recent years, the corner-store has played host to a clothing store, The Frame Shop LLC, and the Mission Meridian Information Office. In July 2003, the city of South Pasadena opened a Gold Line station at the intersection of Mission and Meridian, which turned the area blocks into prime real estate for local merchants.
In March 2007, respected Los Angeles-based restaurateur Steven Arroyo purchased 966 Mission Avenue and converted it into the wine bar, 750 ml. (the name is a reference to the volume of wine in a normal bottle), which lasted just over a year. After flagging sales and interest, he shut the doors in October 2008 and changed the concept. In November 2008, he reopened the store lot as the Little Parlor Pizzeria (or Lil' Parlor Pizzeria), which serves as an upscale pizza joint. The entire building that once served as the Mission Arroyo Hotel (the addresses range from 950-966 Mission) has been designated as a local City Landmark by South Pasadena, which guarantees preservation and protection for the years to come.
Halloween (1978)
Despite its history and heritage, the building is perhaps most recognizable from its fairly brief appearance in the 1978 horror classic, Halloween, directed by John Carpenter. In the film, the exterior of the store takes on the role of Nichol's Hardware store. It is first seen as the characters of Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Annie Brackett (Nancy Kyes) are driving down the connecting Meridian Avenue (being tailed by Michael Myers) and notice a couple of police cars parked outside the building. Here they stop and speak with Annie's father, Sheriff Brackett (Charles Cyphers), and discover that someone (presumably Myers) has broken into the hardware store and taken "...some Halloween mask, rope, and a couple of knives." It is also here that Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) arrives and introduces himself to the sheriff.
According to a later account by Carpenter, the Halloween production team set-up outside the building during rush hour. The shoot forced them to improvise their camera angles and timing to avoid the Los Angeles commuters that were none too pleased about being delayed by a film production.
For the 2007 remake of Halloween by director Rob Zombie, he opted to dump the concept of Myers robbing a hardware store and instead offered an alternate route for Myers to secure his mask (see Halloween (2007): The Myers House). In an interesting bit of irony, the storefront is located directly across the street (Meridian) from the original Myers House (see Halloween (1978): The Myers House), which was moved to its current location several years after the production.
The Location Today
Due to the subdivision from its early days as the Mission Arroyo Hotel, there has been some confusion as to the actual address of the corner-store seen in the movie. Some sources list the address as 964 Mission Street, which is actually the shop next door. The actual address of the storefront seen in Halloween is 966 Mission Street. As of this writing, that address is still home to the Little Parlor Pizzeria and continues to serve patrons to this day. Visitors to this location should remember to show respect to the business and their customers. |
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| Related Sites |
HalloweenMovies.com
The official Web site of the popular Halloween series, including information on all of the sequels, as well as the recent Rob Zombie remake. |
The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations
A thorough guide to movie locations around the world. |
Horror's Hallowed Grounds
Official Web site for Sean Clark's "Horror's Hallowed Grounds" - A comprehensive collection of actual locations that appeared in various notable horror films. |
Seeing Stars: Halloween Filming Locations
Seeing Stars's page dedicated to locations used in the making of the 1978 horror classic, Halloween. |
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| See Also on TheCabinet.com |
| There are no other pages on this site associated with this location. |
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| Available from Amazon.com |
Halloween: 30th Anniversary Box Set |
The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations (NEW updated edition) |
Creepy Crawls: A Horror Fiend's Travel Guide |
Halloween (Divimax 25th Anniversary Edition) |
Halloween [Blu-ray] |
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