Brick and stucco storefronts line a main street with steep hills rising behind the roofline.
What Downtown Santa Paula looks like
Storefronts on Main Street are one or two storeys of brick and stucco, set against the sidewalk. Asphalt roadways run between concrete sidewalks and curbs, with overhead power lines strung on wood poles along the street.
The at 1003 East Main Street has two storeys of red brick and stone. A domed corner tower and projecting bay windows mark its corner, and arched upper windows repeat along the facade.
Street trees line the sidewalks, and hanging flower baskets are strung from the light poles. Low roofs run along the blocks, with steep hills rising just behind them.
The landmarks named here date from 1887 to 1917. The at 963 East Santa Barbara Street is a red wood building with white trim and a hipped roof. It remains unaltered on its original site.
Within six blocks of the depot, the at 134 North Mill Street has half-timbered walls and brown shingles. The at 829 Railroad Avenue, built in 1900, remains unaltered.
The at 125 South Seventh Street is a 1917 shingle style building. Its brown shingles sit behind a black iron fence.
Shot in Downtown Santa Paula
The 1989 film Disorganized Crime was partly shot on Main Street. The 1990 film Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael used Main Street and other locations in town. Main Street was blocked off for almost a week for the giant coffee cup scene of the 1997 film Leave It to Beaver. Scenes for season three of the series Mayans M.C. were shot on Main Street in October 2020 and February 2021. A good portion of the 2001 film Joe Dirt was filmed downtown. Some of it was shot at the restaurant Mary B's. The city's commercial list names Main Street for shoots from 2010 to 2022. It includes the Super Bowl commercial The Human Bridge for Budweiser in 2010. A Carl's Jr. commercial was shot on Main Street between 8th and Davis Streets in 2022.
The Thorn Birds, 1983
Santa Paula Depot
Played a rural Australian train station, rural Australia
The depot appeared as a rural Australian train station in the miniseries The Thorn Birds. Portions of the season 3 finale of Glee, titled Goodbye, were filmed here as well. Street View
Old Towne Orange is a one-square-mile historic district built around a traffic circle. Its turn-of-the-century commercial blocks, such as the Cuddleback Building on Glassell Street, sit at a similar small-town scale to Santa Paula's Main Street. Old Towne Orange's traffic circle and tiled fountain have no match in Santa Paula, so a plaza shot needs a street anchor. Overhead power lines on wood poles and the hills behind the roofline give Santa Paula away in a wide shot. Try searching turn-of-the-century commercial blocks now.
The Doty Block is a Victorian red brick building from 1887, with bay windows and a turret on its corner. The turret is similar to the domed corner tower on the Union Oil Company Building. Taller blocks and later Colorado Boulevard frontages give Old Pasadena away in a wide shot, so frame one block of Victorian brick. Try searching Victorian red brick block now.
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