Paul Veres Posted October 27, 2022 Report Share Posted October 27, 2022 (edited) #Pain&Gain @Tom @airtommy you guys are incredible! Yes, some locations are easily found online, and I was more interested in those that are not! Especially the residential buildings which I struggled to find and you did - the mansion in Coral Gables, Hulk Hogan's double mansion in Bayshore, detective's house and Adrian's house just a couple blocks away (sorry for being a smartass... it's not Miami Shores town, but still just Miami, small neighborhoods called Davis Harbor and Belmar, respectively). Seven Seas motel is actually called the same in the movie, and what a classic to have the pool basically on the sidewalk, few feet from the road Watching the cars and pedestrians go by, relaxing... Judging from Google Maps street view the welcoming manatees are still there! An observation as Rock is running north on James avenue - one small tree from the movie grew significantly, while the other one apparently did not survive and that tree pit was removed altogether. There is also a goof in one shot of that scene where a bunch of onlookers can be seen clearly watching the filming, and cameramen, sound guys can be also seen. Those few goof frames are even of different quality, so that must be some other type of camera and maybe no original intent to put it in? Weird. Do you think the plane flying right above Schlotzsky's deli was a CGI, or the crew really caught one on the way to MIA?? Can't be real! Funnily enough, the building houses a Jimmy John's now it seems @airtommy how did you get a Google Maps link with specifically not current but 2011 street view to show Johnson's Firearms store which is no longer there? Bahama's bank building I recognized immediately and even the Coral Way street as detective is aiming at Lugo through the window! @airtommy in one of your screenshots you captured perfectly the very recognizable monstrosity of a building 550 Biltmore Way which houses Florida branch of UBS bank (Coral Gables made a lot of architectural mistakes which they now regret). Mark's Dry Cleaners is there per Google Street view, but the building looks completely different. I think they did something to the building in 2014 and it now looks unrecognizable (with no drive-through or roller skating attendants). Finally, as an update on the Deauville Beach Resort (I originally mentioned it because it is at 7:26-7:30 in the movie), despite it been a designated historic site, apparently it's gonna be demolished as it is unsalvageable. The hotel and especially its huge ballroom were famous for performances by stars like Frank Sinatra and the Beatles, as well as a John Kennedy speech. It will not be restored as I originally thought observing the site in person just a couple of months ago. It will be razed to give way to two residential/hotel towers by Frank Gehry. I do love Gehry's buildings generally, but wish this hotel was restored instead, there are plenty of less notable buildings on the beach that could be demolished for this, though maybe smaller lots. On the other hand, if the restoration was completely unviable, almost anything is better than a permanent construction site with a dilapidated building. It appears there was even a petition to support the new project https://yesforasafeandstrongfuture.com/. I still have just a couple of locations I'd like to decode, but what you did covers 95% of the movie! Edited October 27, 2022 by Paul Veres 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airtommy Posted October 28, 2022 Report Share Posted October 28, 2022 (edited) 23 hours ago, Paul Veres said: @airtommy how did you get a Google Maps link with specifically not current but 2011 street view to show Johnson's Firearms store which is no longer there? Mark's Dry Cleaners is there per Google Street view, but the building looks completely different. I think they did something to the building in 2014 and it now looks unrecognizable (with no drive-through or roller skating attendants). Mark's Quality Cleaners is currently located at 1745 Alton Rd, but in 2013 it was at a totally different location: 1201 20th St. A few days ago I could link a specific year for Google Street View. But now, when I open the time slider the link feature disappears. I don't know what's going on?!?! There was a church in the movie which we haven't located. I don't recall at what point in the movie it is seen. Edited October 28, 2022 by airtommy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Veres Posted October 28, 2022 Report Share Posted October 28, 2022 1 hour ago, airtommy said: Mark's Quality Cleaners is currently located at 1745 Alton Rd, but in 2013 it was at a totally different location: 1201 20th St. A few days ago I could link a specific year for Google Street View. But now, when I open the time slider the link feature disappears. I don't know what's going on?!?! There was a church in the movie which we haven't located. I don't recall at what point in the movie it is seen. Weird about Google Street View! The church is interesting. The main exterior shots is definitely Robertson Memorial Church at 261 NE 23rd St in Edgewater, it's just one block away from the Bacardi building, so they kept the locations close. The main building is recognizable, and you can see some blue wall paint in the first screenshot (bottom right). Here is another matching shot, in the movie the gates are open. Same blue paint, and of course the arches. The reason I call out that blue paint, is because that's the only thing in the other two scenes that connects to this building, but other details don't match. In the first one, where is this door? From Street View, the similar main door is actually not too similar - it's much simpler design, and whether the stick on the left in the still is some awning support or some kind of pole, there is nothing like that around Robertson Memorial Church door. There is another door we can see in the courtyard, but (even disregarding the door color which could change), it doesn't have enough wall around it for this shot. And the second one, where is this backyard? Note that the color scheme of the wall is not white and blue anymore, but light blue and blue. We do have some serious clues though. The gates and fence, different from the above shots: Then here, some building on the right, and that's what gives it away - there is no such building currently around the church. Well, it is possible it was demolished, there is lots of new construction in Edgewater. But it looks like a Little Haiti building to me. Finally, highrises in the back, which can confirm Edgewater, but I can't match the skyline. Note the same gate, so at least we know this is the same location as the two shots above, cause who knows. So so far I'm inclined to think the church is two separate locations, though I can't yet place the other, while the highrises in the back and the orange building are great clues, just a matter of time. Still entirely possible that it is one location and the church building and its surroundings were modified over the last 10 years. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airtommy Posted October 28, 2022 Report Share Posted October 28, 2022 (edited) "A Miami Beach condominium building was evacuated Thursday, with residents given just hours to leave following a structural inspection of the property, which sits less than two miles from site of last year’s deadly Surfside condo collapse." https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/28/us/miami-beach-condo-evacuated This is 6969 Collins Ave at the corner of 71st St in Miami Beach. We see it in "Golden Triangle Part 2" as C&T drive to Dale Menton's place. It's the "Flynn's" building here: Edited October 28, 2022 by airtommy 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Veres Posted October 30, 2022 Report Share Posted October 30, 2022 (edited) #Pain&Gain Adding some identified locations I cared to figure out. Lugo picking up Paul - 41st St bridge in Miami Beach. Easy find given notable buildings in the background: Cadillac hotel on one side of the bridge, crowned Akoya condo building (one of the tallest built in MB before new height rules) way out on the other side, and also unique blue mosaic on the bridge itself. Failed kidnapping attempt: a shopping mall at 591 NE 79th Street in Miami. @airtommy sorry I previously forgot to react to your note about Mark's Quality Cleaners. Indeed that address change can confuse. And it appears they didn't move too far, just a couple of blocks down Alton Road. They gave way to Palau Sunset Harbor condo building (built in 2016) which ironically includes a dry cleaning place. What is interesting is that the fountain you see in the movie in some real bad shape (yet working!) appears to have been recently rebuilt, you can catch on Google Maps a view with foundation being laid, but now it's there. Lugo's downtown apartment is 1100 Biscayne Blvd. Adrian is stealing the dog from the Flagler Dog Track west of Little Havana. Is that the one also used in Miami Vice intro?? Apparently the 80s was the heyday of dog racing in the US with over 50 tracks across the country and Florida the epicenter of the sport. But by the end of this year there will be only 2 left, in West Virginia. In Florida, a constitution revision in 2018 included Amendment 13 banning dog racing in the state. There is a corresponding Facebook page with some cute greyhounds, facebook.com/VoteYesOn13. The Flagler track is still functioning, but just as a gambling house. Parking lot where the gang is trying to murder Victor is under a spaghetti of ramps leading off I-95 into downtown. An establishing shot I found interesting, with single family homes on the water in the foreground and highrises in the background, is a Miami Beach view from beyond the rich La Gorge island, moving south. By the way, though you might know, the diamond-topped twin highrises in the Google Maps shot above are the taller sisters of the crowned Akoya mentioned earlier, which was supposed to be the White Diamond in addition to these two Blue and Green Diamonds, but then the developer changed. The three are very recognizable whether you are on the beach or driving along Collins Ave, real emblems of Miami Beach to me (the blue and green diamonds glowing at night are like a beacon to orient you ), but were built unfortunately too recently to feature in Miami Vice. Now onto Paul's quick and not quite successful robbery job, we already know that the run starts at Lincoln Rd and James Ave, then magically shifts 50 blocks north to Deauville Beach Resort entrance. Then Paul scares patrons in a hair salon at 6644 Collins Ave nearby. But then he makes it quite more north, running on Bonita St and towards 71st Street bridge, where he jumps off a building into the water (many buildings changed color since 2013). Only then we see cops on the pedestrian bridge from One Way Ticket, and Paul appears from the water between the Ankara motel and this bridge, the cops shooting. All some 47 blocks south (24th St) from where he just dived in. After dodging the bullets, Paul appears above the water again at 71st Street bridge! Quite a swimmer Next shot is him limping away in what I believe is inside the dilapidated Ankara motel, so he again teleported 47 blocks south. Finally, another location of interest, very obvious though, is Miami Marine Stadium on Rickenbacker causeway where detective meets with Victor. Still have few location to chase Edited October 30, 2022 by Paul Veres 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Veres Posted October 30, 2022 Report Share Posted October 30, 2022 (edited) #Pain&Gain Few more. Identified Adrian’s girlfriend apartment complex. She was at 1155 103rd St on Bar Harbor Islands. Broke down some driving sequences. As @Tom mentioned before, MacArthur Causeway was used extensively for driving shots, and it is very easily recognizable so I focused on less obvious one. After the gang visits Seven Seas motel, there is a nice shot with a condo building in the background. That's Coral Sea tower on Bay Harbor Islands, a block away from the building above (10300 W Bay Harbor Dr). Santa Maria condo building in the back as Lugo and Paul are driving off the southeast end of Rickenbacker Causeway bridge. They are going to dead Griga’s house to get into his safe. Even though the house (the Hulk Hogan house) is in in the middle of Miami Beach, they were going toward Key Biscayne. Also a goof, the passenger doesn’t look like bald Dwayne Johnson at all. @Kalci check out that 1988 Porsche 930 (911?) Slant Nose. On the way out of the house Lugo in his Diablo is on Julia Tuttle Causeway heading west, which for once in driving sequences makes perfect sense directionally (the Welcome to Miami Beach sign helps identify). You can see him entering Miami, note The Hamilton – an old apartment building designed to resemble a ship and built by Carnival Cruise founder. It is built in 1984 so might be in MV too. However, in the very next shot, he is driving back away from Miami (The Hamilton again). I am also fairly sure that filming of these consecutive shots took place at different times of day, at sunrise and sunset. The scene itself is happening in the morning. Then they load the bodies and move out of Adrian’s home to the warehouse (which was a set). They drive on Collins Ave, near 67th street (we’re back to Deauville Beach Resort, 3rd time in the movie). Then they are in downtown, as can be determined by Metromover in the window, I’m fairly sure this is moving north on Biscayne Blvd. Then they are under the pedestrian bridge (which gave away the shot) of the Adrienne Arts Center on Biscayne Blvd further north, however they are moving south now. The last shot of this driving sequence I could not identify. Looks like some small bridge in Miami Beach, but I went over all of them, I believe, and didn't find it. Now here is a weird shot. After Lugo is caught in Bahamas, they are bringing him back in a helicopter. As two choppers are flying into Brickell (from the wrong side) we can see Brickell arch (left) and Four Seasons hotel (right) still under construction. They were finished in 2004 and 2003, respectively. So this shot is something else recycled from 10 years before Pain & Gain was filmed! Edited October 30, 2022 by Paul Veres 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airtommy Posted October 31, 2022 Report Share Posted October 31, 2022 Excellent work! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Veres Posted October 31, 2022 Report Share Posted October 31, 2022 (edited) #Pain&Gain another update. In the scene of cops chasing Paul I still had few blanks, and I finally pieced it all together. It took me a while to figure it out, but what helped is understanding that they wouldn't make The Rock film too far from the two locations they jumped back and forth between already (71st St bridge area/Deauville resort, and the Ankara motel area), especially once he already has the green paint on his face. Between the hair salon and jumping off the building into the water, I finally figured out where he was. After appearing at Deauville and running into the hair salon, he indeed runs through some back door of the hair salon into a back alley. We don't have Street View access to the alley, but Google Maps overhead matches fairly well the couple of seconds they show there. Then he in reality enters through the back kitchen door into a Chinese restaurant, which most probably existed there in 2013 and wasn't set up just for the movie. Hair salon is different now but it's still a hair salon, and the Chinese restaurant space is still a restaurant - commercial real estate is expensive to repurpose for another kind of business. The final glue point was a Walgreens outside. You can't see it is Walgreens in the movie, but there are so many clues even though they appear only for a second: shape of the building, awning shape, illumination lamps above awning, square windows, light poles, tree, Citi bike and payment station, residential buildings in the background... That's it, after that is the jump-into-water scene on the 41st St bridge described before. Edited October 31, 2022 by Paul Veres 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Veres Posted October 31, 2022 Report Share Posted October 31, 2022 53 minutes ago, airtommy said: Excellent work! Thanks @airtommy, this movie really hooked me on figuring out locations because when I came to this site you guys already had all (bar ~10) MV locations figured out, so here I get to do some mental work I only have 3 left that I want to do! The "fake" 2nd church location discussed before. Looked all over Overtown which was my best guess given the rundown building and highrises in the background, but no cigar. This establishing shot. This one is probably super easy, it's gotta be Miami Beach/Surfside/Bal Harbor or Key Biscayne... They didn't film anything outside of this area, I just can't put my finger on it quickly enough. And finally, my grand prize - Adrian's apartment building. I know two apartment complexes of exact same architecture, near Jose Marti Park: same balconies (same triangle holes, railing, and water drain pipes in the corner), and same art deco eyebrows of exactly the same shape. While paint color could have changed, other elements clearly shows it's not the same building. It must be the same designer/architect, whose name I cannot find. I also suspect the building is in the same vicinity, but haven't been able to find it yet. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted October 31, 2022 Report Share Posted October 31, 2022 vor 6 Stunden schrieb Paul Veres: Thanks @airtommy, this movie really hooked me on figuring out locations because when I came to this site you guys already had all (bar ~10) MV locations figured out, so here I get to do some mental work I only have 3 left that I want to do! The "fake" 2nd church location discussed before. Looked all over Overtown which was my best guess given the rundown building and highrises in the background, but no cigar. This establishing shot. This one is probably super easy, it's gotta be Miami Beach/Surfside/Bal Harbor or Key Biscayne... They didn't film anything outside of this area, I just can't put my finger on it quickly enough. And finally, my grand prize - Adrian's apartment building. I know two apartment complexes of exact same architecture, near Jose Marti Park: same balconies (same triangle holes, railing, and water drain pipes in the corner), and same art deco eyebrows of exactly the same shape. While paint color could have changed, other elements clearly shows it's not the same building. It must be the same designer/architect, whose name I cannot find. I also suspect the building is in the same vicinity, but haven't been able to find it yet. Great work and it took us only days to find 99% of all locations of this movie! This research also shows the erratic filming style of Bay for viewing and for production logistics. I mean who would split up one physical chase to 2-3 distinct locations and cutting back and forth between these locations for the same chase? What´s the logic of this, especially when each cut is so short that you cannot grasp any detail at all anyway? I haven´t done specific stats on this yet, but they seem they have used 100 different locations in this movie for 20 different locations as per script Now you are pretty much warmed up and can use your newly-developed skills for finding the last 10 MV locations unknown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airtommy Posted October 31, 2022 Report Share Posted October 31, 2022 21 hours ago, Paul Veres said: This establishing shot. This one is probably super easy, it's gotta be Miami Beach/Surfside/Bal Harbor or Key Biscayne... They didn't film anything outside of this area, I just can't put my finger on it quickly enough. That's around 5700 Collins Miami Beach: https://www.bing.com/maps?osid=31025fdf-42d6-49c8-87cd-38469cd40828&cp=25.834981~-80.120657&lvl=19&dir=270&style=g&v=2&sV=2&form=S00027 Adrian's apartment will be very tough to find. There are a zillion buildings like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Veres Posted November 1, 2022 Report Share Posted November 1, 2022 2 hours ago, airtommy said: That's around 5700 Collins Miami Beach: https://www.bing.com/maps?osid=31025fdf-42d6-49c8-87cd-38469cd40828&cp=25.834981~-80.120657&lvl=19&dir=270&style=g&v=2&sV=2&form=S00027 Adrian's apartment will be very tough to find. There are a zillion buildings like it. But of course... thank you @airtommy. It's especially ridiculous I didn't find this fast enough because I stayed more than once in the building center-left, the Castle Hotel! It's really not a hotel but a collection of privately owned blocks of apartments, rented out through different businesses, all of which have offices in the ground floor, pretty interesting setup. You get great bang for the buck, and uniquely for Miami Beach 1st line properties, the parking is free! Well, there is valet service so you might need to tip, but there is no overnight charge. But most interestingly, its whole underground area and theater are abandoned - my buddy and I sneaked inside in 2018, see photos attached, it's creepy like it's a shooter-horror computer game. Don't know if anything changed since. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpaul1 Posted November 3, 2022 Report Share Posted November 3, 2022 On 10/31/2022 at 3:12 AM, Paul Veres said: maybe i'm the only one to notice this, but that a pretty cool shot 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakespyder Posted November 5, 2022 Report Share Posted November 5, 2022 On 11/1/2022 at 12:50 PM, Paul Veres said: I picture Agent 47 walking through this corridor... On his way to kill those creepy twins from the Shining Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airtommy Posted November 5, 2022 Report Share Posted November 5, 2022 Biscayne Times October 2014 http://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/UF/00/09/96/44/00096/10-2014.pdf page 26 - various plans to develop Watson Island (Bernay's Cafe not in the plans) page 75 - Dr. Paul George on the Venetian Pool page 80 - The Barnacle (where Crockett shoots Hackman) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadrian Posted November 5, 2022 Report Share Posted November 5, 2022 36 minutes ago, airtommy said: page 26 - various plans to develop Watson Island (Bernay's Cafe not in the plans) Let’s revolt 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted November 5, 2022 Report Share Posted November 5, 2022 vor 4 Stunden schrieb Dadrian: Let’s revolt Ok. You for the cafe, I wanna have the telephone booth back! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airtommy Posted November 20, 2022 Report Share Posted November 20, 2022 (edited) Miami skyline in 1957 The camera was positioned about where the Rusty Pelican restaurant stands today, where the Rickenbacker Causeway hits Virginia Key. [edit: WRONG!] The Dade Courthouse is in the middle. Freedom Tower is on the right (greenery in front of it is undeveloped Brickell Key). (click photo for larger view) Edited November 21, 2022 by airtommy 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airtommy Posted November 20, 2022 Report Share Posted November 20, 2022 I don't know what that tallest building is - white, left of center, with a spire on top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miamijimf Posted November 20, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2022 Looks like the ol' Everglades Hotel. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airtommy Posted November 21, 2022 Report Share Posted November 21, 2022 2 hours ago, miamijimf said: Looks like the ol' Everglades Hotel. Well, that changes everything! I was totally wrong. The camera is on Watson Island around where Crockett's boat was often docked. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted November 23, 2022 Report Share Posted November 23, 2022 very good early 1950s pics of Ocean Drive and the Clevelander 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Veres Posted December 9, 2022 Report Share Posted December 9, 2022 On 11/19/2022 at 10:33 PM, airtommy said: Miami skyline in 1957 The camera was positioned about where the Rusty Pelican restaurant stands today, where the Rickenbacker Causeway hits Virginia Key. [edit: WRONG!] The Dade Courthouse is in the middle. Freedom Tower is on the right (greenery in front of it is undeveloped Brickell Key). (click photo for larger view) Just by the way then, here's a modern view from Rusty Pelican, took this a couple of weeks ago (a little overexposed, used night sight mode on the phone). 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pahonu Posted December 9, 2022 Report Share Posted December 9, 2022 6 minutes ago, Paul Veres said: Just by the way then, here's a modern view from Rusty Pelican, took this a couple of weeks ago (a little overexposed, used night sight mode on the phone). Dramatic photo no matter the exposure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miamijimf Posted December 21, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2022 (edited) The historic Paris Theater signage at 550 Washington Ave is being brought back. Looks wonderful! You see the Theater in Tale of the Goat. Legba is actually sleeping on the popcorn and candy counter. It is also in Borrasca where Tubbs and Stan are working on the case. Recent photo by the MDPL: Two older shots showing what it looked like in the past. The first is probably before Vice and the second, I think, is early 80s. Edited December 21, 2022 by miamijimf 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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