Imagine my excitement when I saw a real estate listing declaring, “The Father of the Bride house is for sale!”
I love that house and have written about it several times over the years.
But then I saw this photo of the exterior below and they didn’t quite match up…
The “Father of the Bride” House
As you can see when comparing it to the Father of the Bride house above, they are similar, but there are key differences from the door to the windows to the addition on the left.
Then I remembered hearing that they had used two houses for the movie, filming along the side and back of a different house for those outdoor scenes when Steve Martin plays basketball with his daughter Annie, etc.
(Source: Iamnotastalker tells all about it!)
The other house that was used for the movie is located in Pasadena on El Molino Avenue.
You can see that the front of it looks just like it did in the movie right down to the white picket fence today.
According to Zillow, the house at 843 S. El Molino was built in 1913. It has 4,339 square feet with 8 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. It last sold for $950,000 in 1999.
But the one that’s for sale is listed at 500 North Almansor Street in Alhambra, California.
This House Also Appeared in the “Guess Who” Movie
The siding was painted a darker shade for the movie, and some landscaping was done:
Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher in the driveway:
So. Bottom line is that it would be more accurate to say that the side and back of the house from Father of the Bride and the front of the house from Guess Who is for sale.
Check the listing for photos and information.
Update: The house is on the market again. See the interior photos!
For more information, read my posts about Father of the Bride and Father of the Bride II.
Visit my Houses Onscreen page to see the others I’ve featured, listed from A-Z.
Wow! This is so interesting, Julia! incredible!
Are you enjoying “Father’s Day”? I hope you and your family can make beautiful memories today.
xo
Luciane at HomeBunch.com
I was so bummed when I saw the real interior of the house. I LOVED Father of the Bride’s house, and would LOVE to have the same home! I’m not liking the real thing at all. You were right about the kitchen. Yuck.
I agree. The FotB house is my favourite of all houses and loved the decor in the movies. The real interior is such a let-down.
The pergola is so fancy schmancy!
Can’t get enough of the FOTB house/pictures/trivia!
You keep influencing my movie choices! Now I’m just going to have to get out my Father of the Bride DVDs and watch them this afternoon! Pretty house but I’m with you on the kitchen – not much style there!
Too bad about the kitchen AND that fountain in the sunroom!!!
Thank you for this post. I so enjoyed it. I’ve watched FOTBover and over mainly because I love the feel of the home so much. It is a great movie. I’ve added you to my blogroll and hope you will stop by for a visit at joyofnesting.blogspot! Shiree’
Are those fake books on the bookshelves in the study? The shelves seem too narrow for real books. How disappointing for a book lover like myself that they would do this!
I hope someone with some imagination buys this house. It needs some soul.
Great post Julia. The movie photos are very inspiring!
Julia you ARE a super sleuth when it comes to these movie homes for sale!! This is a great example of a classic American home! Love all the light annd the room sizes! Adore the sun porch!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
Come and join my Giveaway from the Novica Artisans!
That kitchen is tragic! In such a rectilinear house, I’d be interested in seeing the floorplan so I could understand just how that trapezoidal space fits in! I have always loved the Father of the Bride house!
Love it! And LOVE that you mentioned Veronica Mars. I still miss that show.
Wow! I love your article! Very interesting! I love to see movie locations which are really there (in “real life”) and not just built in the stuidos!!
P.S. Have you seen Glen Campbell’s Malibu Estate he recently put on the market?
It’s 6,540 Mediterranean beauty.
Great work, Nancy Drew! I think the home for sale has some great bones…just needs some updating, especially in the kitchen. Not a fan of the fountain/water feature in the upstairs…seems like a water accident waiting to happen!
Great post!
I can’t believe how bland that kitchen is!
That kitchen is HORRIBLE!!! Wisky Tango Foxtrot were they thinking? I have ADORED the FOTB kitchen since the first time I saw the movie and am STILL trying to get that feel.
You ARE such a great movie super-sluth!!!
The kitchen is pretty weh, but I love that sunroom, and the backyard of course that arbor. It’s funny, we were watching Father of the Bride the other day and I came here just to look at the house again. If I were in a movie, I would totally want Diane Keaton as a mom and Steve Martin as a dad, even if he was a little nutty. 😉
well, i really liked the study (not the furniture so much)……
on a side note, i LOVED veronica mars!! i can’t believe it had such a short run.
nanne cutler in columbus, indiana
I really love the staircase but that’s about it. That kitchen is horrendous!!
What a great post. That house is gorgeous! The interior and property are nice except for the kitchen. I too hope that someone will restore it someday. I hope that the actual house will be forsale someday.
i love all the research that goes into your posts. thanks for doing that julia. it has to take you forever to track all that down. it always makes for an interesting read and makes yours one i rarely miss. hope you have a great weekend.
You aren’t kidding when you compare yourself to Veronica Mars!!! Dang, Julia! That’s a lot to keep straight for one real estate listing with movie ties…..
I love this post because I loved the house in Father of the Bride. That is the cutest movie, and Kimberly Williams was adorable in it. Thanks for all the hard work that went into this post!
(((hugs))),
Ricki Jill
Good job on keeping those stories straight! I like these movie posts, and FotB was one of my favorite “house movies.”
I just watched the original Father of the Bride with Liz Taylor and Spencer Tracy, and it’s amazing how much that house mirrors the Steve Martin movie. It is laid out exactly the same although the kitchen mirrors that time. I just lOVE the priscilla curtains used in the dining room in that movie. I love those curtains sooooo much better than the straight hanging cheaper ones today.
Nita, saw your comments on the “priscilla” curtains on this site and am wondering why do you like them so much and if you know a good source of them? My wife and I have been looking for priscilla curtains with the drawstring instead of tiebacks for our home that has 2 floor to ceiling bay windows in the front. We think they would be awesome but we have been looking for five years and can’t even find a used set of them! Please if you have any ideas please HELP!!! Thank you Celeste and John
John – See if you have a Curtain Exchange in your town. It’ll be an investment purchase I must tell you but one you won’t regret. I.e., years of enjoyment….. perfect workmanship…… they won’t quit until you’re completely satisfied, etc. Good Luck
I love it! what a great detective you are!!
Rather massive and a bit dated. Who would buy this house in this day and age?
This is my real dream home .. I remeber watching this movie trying to get every particular of the house… THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU :-*
The real kitchen looks similar to Julia Child’s kitchen.
Love Hooked On Houses! I was looking for film locations of “Its Complicated” when I found this site and it is tailor made for me (and the rest of you too!).
I have another film suggestion: “A Good Year” It isn’t a bad movie (a weirdly romantic Russell Crow) but the house, complete with vineyard, enormous sycamore tree and lovely village in France, is SPEC-TAC-U-LAR. It’s even more fun if you drink some wine while you watch it.
That is a good one! Thanks, Molly.
Thanks Julia! My favorite things about the FOTB movies: the house and Steve Martin.
I’ll take all the houses, so beautiful. I was watching this on tv last night and thought of you. It’s about a history Oklahoma home. The aunt of the woman in the clip help her with the design of the old house. Despite having alzheimers the aunt was able to draw a map of the home. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvwVL0jiKN8
Have a great day.
What a wonderful story! Thanks for sharing that clip. I love that it has a secret underground tunnel!
That kitchen is hideous! Love the rest of the house, though. And you are quite the detective, Julia 😀
love, love the FOTB movies, love the house “in the movie” not so much in it’s current state, the kitchen is so sad…but the house has great “bones” just needs someone with good taste to do some terrific interiors 🙂
great share, thank you!
Great work Columbo :o)
I should say Inspector Clouseau!
Awesome work Veronica Mars/Nancy Drew! I never knew the FOTB house was the same as the one in Guess Who. Well, sort of the same house. Very confusing, but a lovely house nevertheless! I agree, that kitchen needs a lot of work. I loved the kitchen in FOTB. I just love that house in general, so I was very excited to read the title of your post. Fantastic pictures as per usual. I’ll have to fwd this onto my mom, who is also a huge fan of the FOTB house.
ewww, that kitchen in the real house!!
wait, that movie Guess Who!! Yes, I saw that movie and I knew that house looked familiar!! Loved the “house” (set?) in that movie, too. I’d love a 2nd floor sunroom…!
i’ve never watched “guess who.” gonna have to find some screencaps of it for that bedroom alone – great color scheme.
i’d like a house something like this. the kind that were featured in ’80s movies. lots of light and space inside. but i’d also like a front porch.
Hi. I’m so excited, I love the movie “Guess Who.” I assume you realize it’s a play on “Guess who’s coming to Dinner”, one of my other faves. I love the decor inside in Guess Who. The master bedroom has a sunroom off of it, it’s in one of the scenes towards the end, awesome….. I also thought the exterior was more of a sand color house, not white. I would love to see more about it. I love Bernie Mac, Ashton and Zoe, and the actress who played the Mom was beautiful, real classy. Such a cute movie! Thanks….
Wow! Thank you for all of the information! The house is beautiful!! The FOTB is one of my favorite movies!
Why, oh why do you do this to me Julia???? Now I must buy 3 movie houses.
1.) ‘Sleeping With the Enemy’ cottage in Abbeville SC for a quick summer vacay
2.) Christmas in Home Alone house in Illinois
And now……
3.) As much time possible at the Father of the Bride house in Cali.
You are costing me a lot of money, girl! But $1.3 mill is nothing for that house! 😉
This is an amazing post. I always loved the house from Father of the Bride and it is a great example of an American house. The house you found is so similar and beautiful in its on way but it certainly is no FOTB house. I actually found my lake norman luxury home using this website and it has a very similar interior to the FOTB house. I’m sure you would absolutely love the home. Keep up the good blogging!
Julia, I adored your previous posts about the FOTB homes because I grew up watching it and was enamored with the homes.
I was beyond thrilled when I found out that the Pasadena and Alhambra homes were less than a10 minute drive away from my fiance’s home. I was even more excited when you wrote the post about the Alhambra home being the same one in Guess Who. [Oh, aaaaand super happy with the post about the Brothers & Sisters home in Pasadena (beeeaautiful!) because that was like a 2 minute drive from the FOTB Pasadena home!]
My fiance and I visited both FOTB homes and he happily took pictures of my giddy self in front of them (stealth mode, of course). I’m happy to say that both homes are in neighboring cities and are so close-by, making it all too easy not to drive by. Both homes are GORGEOUS in person. The interior of the Alhambra home definitely needs upgrading, though! The kitchen is a nightmare.
Love your posts, Julia!
Shame they tore down that neat old garage 🙁
You piece was really awesome. I love the entire architectural design of this house, even the color combination it was great. I was amazed with the fire place and kitchen area, they are all fabulous. Thank you for sharing this cool post.
Charles A
Thank you for being a House Fanatic (like me) … This was Awesome.
I just bought said house, and if you were to look closely you will see that a lot of the interior of the house was used in the movies, esp. Look Who. They framed in doorways to make a solid wall where necessary, but all of the molding etc is the same. The one piece of the house not used in any of the movies is the very outdated, and in need of refurbishing…kitchen.
FOTB was much warmer/better decorated. Its amazing how current it still looks. Classic never goes out of style
I came across your site while searching for a picture of the Father of the Bride hosue to show my 10 year old. Loved all your comments about the house. 🙂 I coud be wrong, but the picture of the kitchen looks a lot like the kitchen in Adventures in Babysitting!
So I guess the “house” in FOTB is just sets mainly (interior)? It struck me odd that the living room in the movie has three windows which is not possible because there are only two windows from a front view of the house.
Ooh , thanks , Julia ! I loved “Guess Who”, the movie and the house. I’ll never forget that sun room off the bedroom–Wow! Bernie Mac could always crack me up, also. Just a thought… have you ever posted anything from the original Meet the Parents movie? I love that house, especially the kitchen floor. It was stencilled and sort of worn, really pretty. I may have asked you this before, forgive me, but I know you like a good treasure hunt 😉