Beverly Hills Cop: Detroit to Beverly Hills

Axel Foley is a Detroit detective whose latest unauthorized sting operation goes sour, leading to a high-speed chase through the city. The film's opening sequence was shot over several days in Detroit and nearby Wayne, Michigan. The sting itself, though, was filmed in an alleyway off Palmetto Street in the old industrial area of downtown Los Angeles, now being redeveloped as the Arts District.

Location precision: The scene is set in Detroit; the pin marks the Palmetto Street area of Los Angeles where the sting was filmed, not the exact alley.

Axel comes home to find that his childhood friend Michael "Mikey" Tandino has broken in. Later two men, Zack and Casey, knock Axel unconscious, confront Mikey about the bonds, and murder him. That killing sends Axel to Beverly Hills. The apartment is meant to be in Detroit, but the building used is on Witmer Street in the Westlake district of Los Angeles.

Location precision: The story places the apartment in Detroit; the pin marks Witmer Street in Westlake, Los Angeles, not the building.

In Beverly Hills, Foley bluffs his way into the fictional Beverly Palms Hotel. The real building is the Biltmore in downtown Los Angeles, which opened on 1 October 1923, and the film's lobby is now its Rendezvous Court. Foley also pulls off the banana-in-the-exhaust-pipe gag opposite the Biltmore, on Pershing Square.

Visitor guidance: The Biltmore at 506 South Grand Avenue is a working hotel; Pershing Square is across the street.

Axel meets Beverly Hills Police Department Lieutenant Andrew Bogomil, Detective Billy Rosewood and Sergeant John Taggart. Building and film belong together: City Hall, built between 1931 and 1932, is the police department building in Beverly Hills Cop. Billy and Taggart are soon assigned to follow Axel, who humiliates them with pratfalls.

Visitor guidance: The building is still Beverly Hills City Hall; the exterior can be seen from the street.

Axel is arrested after a scuffle with Zack at Maitland's country club. The scene was filmed at the Athenaeum, a dining club at 551 South Hill Avenue in Pasadena. Many scenes set in Beverly Hills were actually shot in Pasadena. Today the Athenaeum is Caltech's Faculty Club, with a restaurant, bar and private hotel rooms.

Taggart tracks Axel and Billy to Maitland's estate, where they kill four of Maitland's men, including Zack. Axel kills Maitland with Bogomil's help. The estate in the film is a private property in Santa Monica Canyon, Los Angeles, so it is not open to visitors and has no pin here.

Location precision: The estate is private and could not be pinned reliably; it is in Santa Monica Canyon, Los Angeles.