Low storefronts along Hawthorne Boulevard and the Bagdad Theatre, the cinema Portlandia used as itself.
What Hawthorne looks like
Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard runs as a wide, streetcar-era street lined with one and two storey storefronts in painted wood and brick. Painted signs and a few neon marquees hang over the storefronts from block to block. Cars park along both curbs, and awnings shade the sidewalk in front of most shops. and sit within a few doors of each other near 36th Avenue.
The stands on the boulevard near 37th Avenue, its height stepping from three and a half storeys at the north end to five at the south under a red tile roofline. Stucco walls in Mission Revival style carry arched windows and a vertical marquee reading BAGDAD, dating from 1927. Storefronts continue at street level along both of its street faces.
Farther west, occupies a two storey stucco corner building. Powell's Books runs a branch a few blocks east near the theater. Storefronts along the boulevard keep original glass and transom windows, with apartments visible in the floors above some of them.
The side streets running north from the boulevard, including , are wood-frame houses with porches close to the sidewalk. Cars park along both sides of these residential blocks, and mature street trees shade the fronts.
Shot in Hawthorne
Portlandia used the Bagdad Theatre as itself for the season two episode Cat Nap. The marquee and the corner entrance both appear on screen.
Portlandia, Cat Nap (S2E6), 2012
The Bagdad Theatre
The Bagdad's marquee and entrance appear as the venue for a show by a local band that gained fame from adding their cat to the act. The same episode follows the band being taken hostage by an obsessed fan. Street View
Ballard Avenue's landmarked storefronts run at the same one and two storey scale as Hawthorne, with brick piers and painted wood fronts from the same early building boom. The blocks work for a similar low rise commercial strip without a chain store in the frame. Ballard's storefronts sit flatter to the sidewalk with less awning coverage, so a wider lens gives away the different block rhythm. Try searching landmarked brick storefronts now.
Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, California
Piedmont Avenue keeps a similar run of one and two storey brick and wood storefronts from the same early twentieth century period, with a small theater on one of its blocks much like the Bagdad on Hawthorne. Awnings and painted signage carry a similar low key commercial feel. Palm trees and Mediterranean roof tiles on some storefronts give away California in a wide shot. Try searching small theater storefronts now.
Solano Avenue in Berkeley, California
Solano Avenue has a similar scale of low storefronts along a long straight commercial strip, with houses close behind on the side streets. Its buildings run a little newer than Hawthorne's overall. Diagonal parking and a wider median on parts of Solano give away the street in a wide shot. Try searching long straight commercial strip now.
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