The Alvin and the Chipmunks house may not be the most memorable in movie history. However, anyone who has seen the live-action ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks’ movie from 2007 will likely remember the quaint bungalow community that songwriter David lives in.
Accompanied by his three chipmunks, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. The four of them live in a small bungalow in what looks like an idyllic setting, however, the history of these bungalows tells a different story.
THE HISTORY OF THE HOUSE
Originally built in 1919, St Andrew’s Bungalow Court is a small community of 16 bungalows located just off Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.
Now you may be forgiven for assuming that these properties were always expensive and sought after, given the location. However, in the 1990s, after falling into disrepair, the bungalow community was actually set to be demolished.
Despite coming close to being demolished, in 1996 the bungalows at St. Andrew’s was saved and renovated. It now provides housing for “formerly homeless individuals and households living with disabilities”.
The site was even added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. The site also received numerous renovation awards, including a 1996 Preservation Design Award from the California Preservation Foundation.
THE HOUSE IN THE MOVIE
While the exterior scenes were shot on location at St Andrew’s Court, the interior shots of the Alvin and the Chipmunks house were all done on a soundstage at Sunset-Gower Studios in Hollywood.
Every interior house scene you see in the movie was simply a movie set, much like The Sopranos House and the Home Alone House.
Brian, the assistant to the animation director on this movie said:
“The entire interior and walkway in front of the house was built on a soundstage at Sunset-Gower Studios in Hollywood. The director, Tim Hill, did a great job of mixing the exteriors shot at the apartment complex with the footage shot on stage.”
THE HOUSE TODAY
The Alvin and the Chipmunks house exterior today still looks much like it did during filming back in 2007 (and 2009 for the sequel). Because the community is gated, it’s hidden away from the passing public and impossible to get a good photo. However, you can still see the entrance to the community.
You can see from the numbers above the gate that the addresses are 1514 to 1544, St Andrews Place. However, in the movie, you may have noticed that David lives at number 1958. This is a reference to the year 1958, the year the Chipmunks song was written.
For those who don’t know ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks’ were originally ‘David Seville and the Chipmunks’. An animated virtual band created by Ross Bagdasarian Sr. for a novelty record in 1958. The group consisted of three animated anthropomorphic chipmunks, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, managed by their adoptive father David Seville.
“The Chipmunk Song” was highly successful, selling 4 million copies in just 7 weeks. It also spent 4 weeks at number one, winning 3 Grammys. Off the back of the success of their album, which would see two more Grammy wins, the ‘Alvin Show’ was created. This animated TV show featuring all three chipmunks, not just Alvin, ran between 1961 and 1962.
However, it wasn’t until 1983, when a second animated TV show ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks’ was released that the trio found their greatest on-screen success. This, of course, would lead to two live-action movies also being created.
