Recurring locations in Police Academy

Side view of the building that served as the Police Academy in Parts 1, 3 and 4

The Recurring Locations in Police Academy are the locations that play a central role in the Police Academy film series . All Police Academy films and series are set in a fictional US city ​​and its police academy. In the latter there are some striking locations that appear repeatedly in the films. There is also the bar The Blue Oyster , which was used as a running gag in the first 4 films .

The town

Toronto Nightly - Used as background in the opening credits of some of the films

Toronto skyline by day. See in a similar form in Police Academy 3

The films and series are set in a fictional US city. The German version of the first film specifically names the New York Police Academy , which the film is supposed to be about. However, it is an invention of the translators, as this is missing in the American original. In addition, corresponding identification features such as B. famous buildings of the city, uniforms of the NYPD or corresponding license plates.

None of the films mention the name of the city in which the police officers are on duty. The portrayal of the city, especially the ubiquity of crime, is, however, a clear allusion to the conditions in Detroit and New York City in the 1980s . In the opening credits of all films (with the exception of the seventh) you can also see the skyline of a big city, but it lacks prominent buildings. Hints are never given in the dialogues. It is only clear that the films are set in the USA, as the American flag and the colors red-white-blue often appear.

The building

Front view of the academy building. Above the entrance is Lassard's office in films 1, 3 and 4.

Forecourt of the academy (decorated with the Police Academy logo in the middle in the films)

The Academy building seen in Movies 1, 3 and 4 is in Toronto. It is a building that was built in the 1880s and originally housed the Mimico Lunatic Asylum (later Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital ), a mental hospital (location of the building 43 ° 35 ′ 47 ″  N , 79 ° 30 ′ 46, 8 ″  W ). The facility was discovered by Trevor Williams from the production team for the first film. Police Academy was the first film to be shot there. Subsequently, it was used as a location for various other productions. The building has since been bought by Humber College , a technical university, but is currently empty.

In the seventh film there is again an exterior shot of the academy, but another building is shown, the location of which is not known.

Lassard's office

A recurring location in all of the films except the sixth is Commander Lassard's office, which is primarily used for meetings.

It has a view of the forecourt of the academy. Lassard is sitting with his back to the window and has a large desk in front of him. Since the location of the films changed several times, you can see clear differences in the appearance of the office. While the office in films 1, 3, 4 and 7 is very similar, in the second film it has a completely different view without the forecourt. The office in the 5th film is even completely different from the interior design.

The forecourt of the academy

The forecourt of the academy is also often shown. It is adorned in the middle by a large flowerbed that represents the academy's emblem. The forecourt can be seen in films 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7, but in the 5th and 7th part it looks a little different. In the third film, Zed crashes into the flowers on his motorcycle; in the fourth film, Carey Mahoney and Larvell Jones end up there by car.

The Blue Oyster

A running gag of the first four films is the gay club The Blue Oyster . It is characterized above all by the fact that those usually present there wear leather clothing or police disguises that are reminiscent of the village people . Tango is danced in the bar . The music is a piece called "El Bimbo". The actors who unintentionally land there are forced to dance along.

The "visitors" are in detail:

• Copeland and Blankes land there twice in the first film. The first time, they fall for a deception by Mahoney who let them know that the Cadets' party was there. At the end of the film, they end up there again when they flee from an angry mob. The address gives Mahoney as Howl Street .
• In the second case, Sweetchuck escapes from Zed's gang and accidentally ends up there. He has to join in the dance, but shortly thereafter a fight breaks out because his pursuers come in too. Mahoney, Vinnie Schtulman, and most importantly Hightower resolve the situation and arrest everyone involved in the brawl.
• Proctor seems to be a connoisseur of the bar. In the second film he knows their address by heart: 629 Cowan Avenue. However, you can see house number 655 later when the other police officers arrive there.
• In the third movie, Proctor ends up stark naked in the club after being tricked by the prostitute . What happens next remains open.
• In the following film, Harris and Proctor go there on a tip from Mahoney - he told them there was a restaurant there with the best salad bar in town.

The "real" Blue Oyster Club of the first film was located in a blues club called the Silver Dollar Room in Toronto (position 43 ° 39 ′ 29.2 ″  N , 79 ° 24 ′ 1.4 ″  W ).

Places outside the city

In contrast to the city , places outside the city are clearly named. In three films, parts of the plot take place outside the city :

• In the fourth film, Lassard is sent to a seminar in England , which means that part of the action takes place outside the city for the first time . However, the only scene set in London is less than 2 minutes.
• In the fifth film, Lassard and his people go to Miami for an honor . As a result, the entire story is largely moved out of town . Overall, around two-thirds of the film takes place in Miami and the surrounding area.
• It is similar in the seventh film, where Lassard and his people are called to Moscow to stop a gang boss. Only the first 10 minutes play here in America.

Locations

Model license plate from 1982 from the Canadian province of Ontario . Similar signs can be seen in the first film released in 1984 because it was made in Ontario.

1980 license plate from the state of California . Similar signs can be seen in the second film, released in 1985, as it was made in California.

The State House in Boston in the fourth film as a court of - town to see

Although the colors of the US flag and other USA-typical elements can be found numerous in the films, most of them were not shot in the USA, but in Canada , more precisely in Toronto in the province of Ontario . The locations are in detail:

• The skyline used in the opening credits mostly belongs to Toronto.
• The first film was made in Toronto . The Canadian location is revealed in some details. The cars have Ontario license plates (blue on a white background). There is also a scene in which a sign reads “center” (Canadian / British spelling) instead of “center” (US spelling). In addition to Toronto, it was filmed in Brampton in the Toronto area.
• The second film was shot largely in Los Angeles . This is how you see the Californian license plates that were common at the time (yellow on a blue background). The mentioned beach is also there. Some of the labels are in Spanish , which is not uncommon in California because of the large number of Spanish-speaking immigrants. The outside of the Academy building cannot be seen in this film. The view from Lassard's office is also very different.
• The third film was made almost entirely in Toronto. The skyline is clearly visible towards the end of the water scenes, sometimes even with the striking CN Tower . Some scenes were shot in Long Island Sound near New York.
• The fourth film is set almost entirely in Ontario. The Massachusetts State House in Boston , Massachusetts was only used for the exterior shot of the court . The scene set in London was therefore most likely filmed in Ontario.
• The fifth film was made almost entirely in Miami and West Palm Beach , Florida . There are also no exterior shots of the Academy and Lassard's office looks significantly different than in the previous films. However, the chase scenes on the water at the end of the film were shot on Lake Ontario near Toronto.
• The sixth film, like the second film, was shot in different parts of Los Angeles . However, there are some details that seem to reference previous films. Like in the first film, the license plates are again blue on a white background. However, they are labeled “Drive Safely”. There are also the place names "Oakdale" and "Wilson Heights" - Toronto, which was often used as a filming location in previous films, has districts with these names.
• The seventh film was made largely in Moscow , but a few scenes also take place in the Academy. The building shown is not that from the first films.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.flickr.com/photos/asylumbythelake/5806668616/in/set-72157603560412274/
2. ↑ http://www.15q.net/on.html
3. ↑ http://www.15q.net/ca.html