Pee-Wee's Big Adventure





Pee-Wee's Big Adventure was released into theaters on August 9th, 1985. Filming locations include Cabazon, Santa Clarita and S. Pasadena, Ca. and San Antonio, Tx. It was directed by Tim Burton, in his feature film directorial debut. Burton is a very prominent director and some of his films include Batman, Batman Returns, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Planet of the Apes (2001) and Sleepy Hollow. Paul Reubens played Pee-Wee Herman, whom was undoubtedly his career defining character. He would also play the part of Pee-Wee Herman on The Pee-Wee Herman Show (1981), Back to the Beach, Big Top Pee-Wee and Pee-Wee's Playhouse. The bicycles in the movie were built by Pedal Pusher Bike Shop in Newport Beach. They were offered $10,000 and no screen credit or screen credit only. They chose the money. The score was composed by Danny Elfman, in what was the first of many collaborations between he and director Tim Burton. The films first DVD release was on May 2nd, 2000.


Pee-Wee Herman's house - 1848 Oxley St. S. Pasadena, Ca. 91030

The 1,298 square foot house was built in 1922.


2018


Pee-Wee hitch-hiking - south of* 24000 The Old Rd. Santa Clarita, Ca. 91321

He's hitching a ride in the north bound lane.


All "Now" pictures taken in 2021.



Wheel Inn Restaurant - 50900 Seminole Dr. Cabazon, Ca. 92230

The restaurant was in operation from 1958 to 2013. It was demolished in late 2016. I ate at the restaurant numerous times prior to it's closing and enjoyed it's good food and old school charm. I was extremely disappointed to hear of it's demolition. At the time of my last visit (2021) the sign was still standing and the lot remained vacant. Directly behind the former restaurant's location are the dinosaurs seen in the film, Dinny and Mr. Rex. They were constructed by Claude Bell in order to attract more customers to the Wheel Inn Restaurant, which he also owned. Dinny, a Brontosaurus, was constructed in 1975 and Mr. Rex was constructed in 1981. The restaurant and dinosaurs can also be seen in Paris Texas, The Wizard and the Tears for Fears music video Everybody Wants to rule the World.


All "Now" pictures taken in 2021.





Everybody Wants to Rule the World music video.

2021


Apache Bar - 17529 Sierra Hwy. Santa Clarita, Ca. 91351

The structure has been there since at least 1959. At the time of my visit it was the Mi Tierra Market.


All "Now" pictures taken in 2021.



Alamo Mission - 300 Alamo Plaza San Antonio, Tx. 78205

It was built in 1718 as Mision San Antonio de Valero. It was the site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, where American folk heroes James Bowie and Davy Crockett died. On December 19th, 1960 it was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark. On October 15th, 1966 it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Today it is a museum in the Alamo Plaza Historic District and a part of the San Antonio Missions World Heritage Site.


2022

4 comments:

  1. I visited the dinosaur area last just in the beginning of Oct 2021, only to find it was too much of a political propaganda anymore for me to properly enjoy it very much. I did manage to go inside the TRex and it was way different than what was seen in the movie. There are youtube videos of the wagon wheel inn on youtube as well for those who were not able to eat there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. One scene was filmed at the original Los Angeles airport. It is located on Airway drive in Glendale, California. The original terminal and tower are on the Historical Register. That area is now all owned by Disney studios.

    ReplyDelete
  3. R.I.P Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is one location I managed to hit back in 2000. A friend and I did the continential 48 and hit a lot of spots when the internet didn't have sites like this. My friend walked in and literally said "Large Marge sent me" which got a chuckle out of the staff. They said someone does that at least once a week. Sad to see itZ been demolished.

    ReplyDelete