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| The house known as Halliwell Manor from the "Charmed" TV series |
This is the house that was used for the exterior of Halliwell Manor in the television series "Charmed", which ran from 1998 through 2006. In the series, the three young Halliwell sisters used their witchcraft to battle evil.
It is a real house, not located in San Francisco where the TV show was set, but rather it is at 1329 Carroll Avenue in Los Angeles.
The roof sports a weathervane shaped like a whale. The roses and hollyhocks in the front garden were out of bloom on the day I visited (Valentine's Day 2011.) The house was built in 1887 and was the first of several Victorian houses in the neighborhood to be designated as a historical landmark. Locally, it is known as the Innes house, as it was built for shoe store magnate Daniel Innes, who was also a Los Angeles city councilman.
The "Charmed" TV series starred Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs, and Shannon Dougherty. Here's a still shot from the series showing Shannon looking out the door:
The same front door on the real house:
The house was used on the cover of this "Charmed" book, which is more than I can say for Shannon; she was eventually replaced by a new character played by Rose McGowan:
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| The house is shown faintly in the background on this book cover |
The house is only 2 doors down from
the "Thriller" house:
The house in between the "Charmed" and the "Thriller" houses is this yellow one at 1337 Carroll Ave. It was used in Season 2 of "Charmed" as the home of next-door neighbor Dan Gordo, who became Piper's (Holly Marie Combs) love interest:
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| 1337 Carroll Ave, known locally as the Foy house |
Here's the spooky house to the right of "Charmed", at 1325 Carroll Ave- and it's for sale! The cost is about a half-million dollars:
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| 1325 Carroll Ave |
If they were filming "Thriller" these days, they'd probably pick that house. Only a small part of it seems to have been rehabbed. And it has two lovely poisonous white Angel's Trumpet (
datura) plants in front.
The street has had a variety of hitching posts installed in front of the houses, including this swan-styled one in front of the "Charmed" house:
Only the exterior of the house was used for filming. The interior was shot on a sound stage and does not match the floor plan of the real house. The current owner has been quite accommodating, letting people see the interior on occasion. Once a month, the Los Angeles Conservancy conducts walking tours in the neighborhood (make reservations
here) and sometimes the "Charmed" house has opened its doors as part of that 2 and a half hour tour.
Some other houses in the 'hood:
But not all of Carroll Avenue is so picturesque. Consider the flat-looking paint scheme on this poor house, and think of how you would re-invent it:
Carroll Avenue is in an area of Los Angeles called Angelino Heights. There is a small lake within walking distance called Echo Park Lake, or just Echo Lake, that has tall geyser-like fountains, paddleboats and a lot of geese, ducks, and palm trees. One of the geese (named Maria or Orange Bill, depending on who you talk to) has bonded with a few humans, including members of the band OK Go when they filmed
this music video entirely at the lake. She can be seen following them around, especially in the video's last half. Echo Park Lake is to be drained for a $64-million makeover soon. Frequent lake visitor Dominic Ehrler has also bonded with the goose, and he says of her: "They're supposed to collect the birds and truck them to another lake. I plan to follow her there, because when you have a friend like this you don't want to lose her."
Awww!
So that is our lucky "Charmed" house- hope you thought it was magically delicious.
In honor of St. Patrick's Day (and because my Dennis officially became an Irish citizen a few weeks ago -14 months after he applied), here are a few pics of
Halloween Town's latest holiday window display:
Unknown, found on eBay 
