Earlier this year, the Reality Bites cast reunited at Tribeca Film Fest to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the iconic gen X film. Set in Houston, filmmakers shot most of the interiors in LA, however, many exteriors were actually shot in Houston, including the house where Lelaina and Vickie rent.
On that note, let’s get started.
Here are the Houston area filming locations featured in Reality Bites.
Alden Place / North Montrose
Located in the shadow of downtown, the North Montrose neighborhood of duplexes and four-plexes were relatively affordable back in the early 90s. Despite renovations and additions to the hood, the actual house from the film still exists and is located at 409 W. Clay St.
Tranquility Park
When Troy is educating Lelaina on the many job he’s been fired from over the years, he takes her to Tranquility Park, where the newsstand was fictitiously located. You can see the cylinders of the Wortham Fountain as they walk, talk and sip coffee. The park is located on Rusk Street at Walker Street, east of Smith Street in Downtown Houston.
Downtown Houston / 712 Main St.
I’m not sure exactly where the opening credit scenes were shot, though it’s obvious they’re on a roof in Downtown Houston. Those art deco buildings in the background are the JPMorgan Chase Building (known originally as the Gulf Building) and the tower of the Esperson Buildings.
According to Wikipedia, a Bollywood film called Sirf Tum shot scenes at the top of the Niels Esperson tower, so there’s that.
Unfortunately, I was not able to locate where the Weinerschnitzel is where David Spade’s character so proudly works. Nor could I find a locale for the gas station featuring the infamous “My Sharona” scene. I do know that the bar where Hey That’s My Bike plays is located in Cali and called Café-Club Fais Do-Do (it’s also the karaoke bar from the Britney Spears classic film Crossroads). And while I found a site online saying the coffee shop is actually Johnie’s Broiler, now Bob’s Big Boy Broiler, in Downey, it looks spot on like the 101 Coffee shop to me.
Know of any other Reality Bites filming locations? Please post a comment or send us a note. We’d love to add it to this list!
Looking for more filming locations?
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