milwhcky: Pics and Stories

North America's tallest flag pole

High Banks Hall of Fame and National Midget Auto Racing Museum

Belleville High Banks

Chicago Blackhawks practice facility

I visited this rink for the first time a few hours before a Blackhawks/Penguins preseason game in 2013. Considering it is a new building used by the Hawks, I was a considerably underwhelmed. Of the dozens of community rinks I've seen, this one is in the bottom third. Drab, uninviting entranceway. Not a lot of seating, or room in general. Absolutely no character. But hey, it's close to the United Center.

Sprint car chassis

"Call Me Maybe" video location

Like millions of other people, I have been tortured by this song. After seeing the house number clearly visible in the video, I made it my mission to find the location in Street View.

The director of the video mentioned in an interview that it was filmed in Vancouver. A few more google searches later, and I found a YouTube comment mentioning that it was filmed in Langley (near Vancouver). I simply bounced around from street to street until I found the match.

I was hoping to stumble across either the Camaro or the Mustang used in the video, but they are not around. The old VW Jetta in the next-door neighbor's driveway does appear in the video.

Ryan's house from "Wilfred"

The location of this map was particularly hard to find. When I first watched the episodes of Wilfred in 2011, I remember searching online for a clue to the show's main filming locations, but all I could find were general references to Venice. I took several stabs at stumbling across it, but so many Venice neighborhoods look alike, and I eventually gave up.

Almost a year later, the FX network began showing reruns of the first season a few weeks before the debut of the second season. Then I saw my lucky clue in one of the early episodes (#3?). A garbage can in the alley behind Ryan's house had an address painted on it (house number and street name). I compared the neighborhood in Street View to scenes from a few episodes to confirm the location.

I recently read that the show's location manager, Briana Burke, won an industry award for her excellent work with the residents of this neighborhood during filming. While I wouldn't blame a fan of the show to swing by here to see the neighborhood in person, I would hope that you do so on your best behavior.

Indy's Victory Podium

Gasoline Alley

Indy's Yard of Bricks