Revel in the GLORY of the Kennicut home in the Columbo locations map!
Columbo fans know that the series’ epic and intricate locations contribute greatly to its authentic drama and sense of place.
From the Lieutenant sitting alone amidst the seats at the LA Coliseum and the stately grounds of the Carsini Winery to the many grand estates of California’s richest and most devious killers, Columbo’s producers and crew didn’t treat locations and backgrounds as an afterthought; instead the series revelled in the detail and personality of Los Angeles and its surrounding region, providing a wonderful snapshot of mid-century life in one the world’s most iconic cities.
In an effort to help organize, share, and relive the magic of Columbo’s legendary and lesser-known locations alike, I’m delighted to be able to present an interactive Google map of nearly 200 Columbo locations from the series’ original run from Prescription: Murder in 1968 to The Conspirators a decade later.
Ken Franklin’s lakeside cabin is still alive and well!
I’d like to take the credit for this, as I believe it’s an invaluable resource for fans, but I must doff my cap to Jason Clarke – a regular reader of the blog who pitched this suggestion to me several weeks ago. Jason is the project lead here, and I was happy to play a support role in using my spare time to find locations and source images in order to make this map as useful as possible. Jason, you’re an absolute hero!
The ultimate Columbo locations map – key features
The lovingly created map includes:
- Addresses, photos, and detailed notes on the locations and the scenes in which they appear
- In some cases, the current state of the 40+ year old locations (some of which no longer exist or have changed)
- Colour-coded icons to indicate type of location (residence, business, etc.)
- Both plot-specific locations (such as the Travel Town museum, where Columbo meets the CIA director inside a train in Identity Crisis) as well as real-life filming locations (such as The Citadel in South Carolina, a stand-in for Haynes Military Academy in By Dawn’s Early Light). We even include locations used in London and Mexico for Dagger of the Mind and A Matter of Honor
- Miscellaneous points of interest, including Peter Falk’s former home in Beverly Hills and the Columbo statue in Budapest
The Columbo locations map is a great way to relive some of your own favorite scenes from the show, or can even be used as a travel guide if you’re visiting or live in the LA area (or some of the other regions provided) and want to take a real-life tour of Columbo’s world.
“Being able to explore the show’s stunning locations via Google Maps 3D has been addictive and endlessly entertaining.”
Personally, I’ve found this project fascinating. Being able to explore the show’s stunning locations via Google Maps 3D has been addictive and endlessly entertaining. It’s pleasing that many of the show’s original locations can still be recognised today. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do. It’s even just interesting seeing where locations are in relation to each other, and noting how many hang-outs of the rich and famous were actually used for shooting.
The map will also be accessible in the Resources section of this site. If you have verified information for some of the many locations we still haven’t added, please contact Columbophile so we can keep the map updated. In particular, we can’t find the Van Wick residence from Playback, thought to be in the Holmby Hills area of the city.
And of course, if we’ve erred in the positioning of any of these locations please also drop me a line and we can update accordingly.
The map is mobile responsive, but may best be viewed in a separate browser tab / window. You can access the standalone map right here. Happy viewing!
Jason and I would also like to pass on our sincere thanks to French ace Jean-Pierre Ghera, who has tracked down hundreds of locations for the show and was invaluable in pinpointing many elusive locations for us. Merci beaucoup, Jean-Pierre!
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Who lives in a house like this?
And of the home in Undercover.
Filming location of house that was being renovated in Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo.
I have been a huge COLUMBO fan all my life. The infos on this page and the map with all the filming locations are just amazing. It feels so surreal to see those places today. Thank you for your work!
I was just in LA (I live on east coast) and my husband and I looked for and found “the corner of Valley and Magnolia”. I have a picture of me posing by the street names. LOL
I wish I had known about this map. I would have had a blast looking for these locations.
Did Columbo ever shoot at the Ambassador Hotel?
This is amazing! TY
I’ve added quite a few locations that were not on this map to IMDb in the past year or 2. Also, some locations on here are incorrect and need to be fixed as well
Death Lends a Hand – When Columbo is pulled over by the bike
cop and then gets escorted, this is much farther south on Lankershim and is close to the Caheunga bridge near Universal. He initially gets pulled over at Lankershim and Alcama Street. Later on, you can see the old Universal City sign on the hill in the background as they cross over the LA River bridge there as well as the Toyota dealership just north of that bridge.
Publish or Perish – Eileen McRae’s penthouse
Murder Under Glass – the outdoor restaurant patio where Columbo and Gerrard enjoy a meal at is The Castaway in Burbank.
Do you know the exact location of the Hayward residence ( not the beach House) in Candidate for crime? Thank you.
In case anyones interested… Eugene’s beauty salon in the episode Lady in Waiting is the original site of Ports o call, Pasadena on Lake street. They tore it down in the late 70’s.