Where was American Pie filmed?
1999
City Locations
Los Angeles, California
Location Types
American, NatureScapes, House
Location Styles
Contemporary Modern, School
About American Pie
As a film that guided a lot of us haphazardly through our teenage years, American Pie is a legendary series of films that has been quoted and referenced ever since the first film came out in 1999.
Launching the careers of stars like Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Natasha Lyonne, Seann William Scott, and many more, we could all see people we knew in the gang of characters that went to East Great Falls Highs. It’s a cult classic and a rewatchable favorite for a reason!
The plot of the first American Pie film is that a group of four friends – five if you count Stifler (Seann William Scott) – make a pact to lose their virginity on prom night. Sounds simple enough, but with some of them in relationships and some of them without a single prospect, it gets more and more out of hand the closer they get to the big day.
Add in plenty of unsupervised parties, some terrible pastry-based comparisons, and a lot of wayward decisions, and you’ve got yourself an entertaining, cringeworthy and hilarious teen movie. With support from seasoned funny people like Eugene Levy and Jennifer Coolidge, you know that it’s going to be a fun couple of hours.
With American Pie 2 taking place at a lake house, American Reunion and American Wedding detailing the gang as they try and be actual functioning grown ups, the characters grow up with us and it’s really fun to see what kinds of scrapes the guys are going to get themselves into. And more importantly, how they’re going to get themselves out of it!
It’s a relatable look at growing up and trying to stay connected with your friends as you grow up and become different people. Add in a bucket load of jokes, a lot of pranks and a ton of embarrassing moments, and you’ve got yourself an American Pie film.
American Pie Locations
So, East Great Falls doesn’t actually exist so the American Pie production team mostly used sites around the Long Beach area of Los Angeles for their filming locations.
The great thing about this film is that very little was shot in a studio. Even the interior scenes of the high school and house parties were in real-life locations, often in a completely different location to the exterior filming locations. Even when creating East Great Falls High, the production team filmed in a real school during the summer break in order to get that authentic vibe without a ton of set dressing.
In fact, we see the different guys' houses quite a lot throughout the film, and they’re all within a couple of blocks from each other. The American Pie production team probably did this not only for ease of shooting, but so that it looks like a real world neighborhood – just different enough so that you know whose house it is from the outside, but not different enough that it looks like it’s in another town. Smart.
Even in the second film where the gang heads to the lakes for a summer vacation, it’s supposed to be set in Michigan, but in fact, the production stays just a few blocks from the original shooting locations in Long Beach. With California having such a varied landscape and a ton of different location styles, it was the perfect place to film the entire franchise. Movie magic in action.
The diner discussion scene in American Pie
Basin 141 Social Bar & Kitchen
Towards the start of the first film, we see the guys discussing their love lives–- all with varying degrees of success from long-term relationships all the way to entirely non-existent.
The most unlucky in love is Jim (Jason Biggs) who despite his lack of love life is teasing Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) about his girlfriend, Vicky (Tara Reid). In response, Kevin says:
“At least I know what third base feels like!” Solid comeback, peak high school vibes straight away from Kevin.
This conversation takes place in the Dog Years diner, a popular hangout spot, where they also talk about their pact to lose their virginity and about planning the party of all parties to seal the deal. Until a few years ago, this diner didn’t actually exist as it was built for the movie in an unused retail unit.
Now you can actually have a drink and some food at the location, as it’s a restaurant called Basin 141 Social Bar & Kitchen, at 402 S. Myrtle Ave, in Monrovia. Pull up, grab a corner table, order a drink with your buddies and reminisce.
If you’re traveling on public transport the 270 bus stops a block over from Basin 141, but unless you’re staying in Monrovia, you’re probably going to need to drive out there.
The pie scene in American Pie
4153 Cedar Drive
This is one scene from the American Pie films that you know even if you haven’t seen them. Following Oz (Chris Klein) telling Jim that third base feels like warm apple pie, Jim gets a little bit curious.
Seeing that his mom has recently baked a fresh apple pie and left it on the counter, a home alone Jim decides to put this theory to the test. It soon gets x-rated and Jim doesn’t notice that his dad (Eugene Levy) has pulled up outside.
After catching his son in an awkward position, an understandable shocked and confused Mr. Levinson says, “Well, we’ll just tell your mother that we ate it all.” We’d have screamed and run away, but there we are.
This major scene takes place in Jim's house as do some other famous scenes including the Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth) accidental dancing webcast incident. If you’re looking to hit up an American Pie filming location, you can find Jim’s house at 4153 Cedar Drive, Long Beach, California.
The 51 bus stops a couple of streets away if you don’t mind the walk. It’s a suburban area and there are people actually living there so you can’t just rock up and ask to look inside, but you can have a drive by or walk by.
This one time at band camp scene in American Pie
Long Beach Polytechnic High School
After pretty much the entire school saw Jim dancing in his boxers in front of Nadia on the accidental webcast, he’s resigned himself to not having a chance of losing his virginity on prom night.
He’s glumly sitting in class when a band girl, Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) starts off on another one of her “this one time at band camp” stories. There are loads throughout the franchise so it’s kind of a running joke.
As she goes on with her story, it’s clear that she hasn’t seen the video, and Jim sees an opportunity to keep the pact alive.
All the interior shots of East Great Falls High were done at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, 1600 Atlantic Ave in Long Beach. This is still a functioning school, so if you have kids or are looking to transfer, it’s an extreme fan move but possible!
The exterior shots of the school are in a different location, but if you did want to visit this school during the holidays or for an event, there’s plenty of parking and the number 61 bus stops outside.
Finch and Stifler’s Mom scene in American Pie
410 Lake Sherwood Drive
In a teen movie couple that no one saw coming, we have the motherlode (excuse the pun). Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) looks to have struck out at the after-prom party at Stifler’s mom’s (Jennifer Coolidge) house. It doesn’t look like he’s going to achieve the pact.
Dejected, he wanders around the house alone. He stumbles across a room with a pool table and doesn’t see the lady of the house standing in the corner, smoking.
She asks “Are you lost?” and the rest is late 90’s movie history and the thing of teenage boy folklore.
To find this amazing party house you’ll have to journey all the way out to Lake Sherwood, 410 Lake Sherwood Drive, in Westlake Village to be precise. As it’s out of the way a bit, you’re going to have to drive there. Once you’re there, enjoy the beautiful lake and neighboring hiking trails.
Stifler’s party scene in American Pie
1090 Rubio Street
In the lead up to prom, the guys who don’t have girlfriends plan on laying the groundwork for their plan at one of Stifler’s infamous house parties. Everyone knows that the guy is not great, but everyone comes to his parties.
An ongoing bit is between Stifler and Sherman (Chris Owen) who desperately want to be cool and like Stifler, but who Stifler has no time for.
Stifler: “Sherman!”
Sherman: “Hey!”
Stifler: “What the f**k are you doing here!”
This is Stifler’s actual house, unlike the post-prom house which is Stifler’s mom’s place. This American Pie filming location is made up of two places. The exterior is 3644 Lombardy Road on the line between Pasadena/Arcadia.
The interior shots and the partying scenes were shot at 1090 Rubio Street, in Altadena. This place has been used for other teen movies and shows, including 7th Heaven. Both of these locations are residential houses, so while you can pass by them both, please be respectful.
You can either drive to the interior location or get the 662 bus which stops around the corner.
Jim needs to get some practice scene in American Pie
4165 Country Club Drive
Let’s pop over to American Pie 2, where the guys and the girls head up to the lakes for a summer getaway. Jim and Michelle are going steady but it seems like Michelle, being more experienced, is less than satisfied with Jim’s performance.
As Jim and Kevin are helping to paint up a house they start talking about what’s going on with both of them.
Jim dejectedly says, “Well Michelle has confirmed it, I suck”. Poor Jim.
If you’re looking to find this place, it’s nowhere near Michigan where the sequel is set. It’s actually at 4165 Country Club Drive, Long Beach, California – just a couple of streets away from where the guys live in the first film!
It’s no longer the vibrant yellow that the group painted it and it is a residential house, so be respectful. You can drive by it pretty easily while you’re exploring the many American Pie filming locations in the Long Beach area.
Conclusion
So, there’s a reason why American Pie has stood the test of time and paved the way for many crude but hilarious teen comedy films. Launching the careers of pretty much all its stars and even some of the side characters, it was a smash hit that is replayed by TV channels all over the world.
It’s the quintessential coming-of-age film and really captures how cringey being in high school and trying to seem grown-up can be. We’ve all been there and that’s probably why the films are so beloved – it's relatable. Although not many people will have slept with a friend’s mom or defiled a pastry, we know people who would do that kind of thing or have done something equally cringey.
All in all, it’s an easy-to-watch comedy, with quotes that you’ll be saying to your friends for years to come.