-
Image Credit: Lindsay Blake Unfortunately, aside from thick foliage and a massive accumulation of outdoor furniture, little of the Swan House can currently be seen from the street. As evidenced above, much of the 0.68-acre lot is overrun with chairs, tables, and benches. Poor Frances is probably rolling over in her grave at the state of it! PropertyShark does note the place as being zoned as a home for the aged, though, which would explain the onslaught of outdoor appointments.
-
Image Credit: Myriad Pictures Photographs of the interior leave quite a bit to be desired, as well. The Home Edit girls would seriously have a field day in there! Though to be fair, when the property was last sold in 1998, per Redfin it needed quite a bit of TLC (the heating system wasn’t even functional!), and the Altadena Blog reported in 2012 that the Swan House owners were restoring the place back to its original glory “bit-by-bit.” So it seems to be a work in progress. With intricate woodwork, stained glass pieces throughout, an ornamental plaster ceiling, a whopping seven fireplaces, and an oval-shaped dining room, the Swan House has incredible bones, as showcased in “Van Wilder.” There’s even a pull-rope elevator on the premises!
-
Image Credit: Myriad Pictures For the “Van Wilder” shoot, the Swan House was given a lodge-like feel, befitting the pretentiousness of the Delta Iota Kappa brothers.
-
Image Credit: Myriad Pictures It was also cleaned up quite a bit, which seems almost counterproductive considering it portrayed a college frat house!
-
Image Credit: Myriad Pictures The residence actually pulled double duty in the movie, with one of the upstairs bedrooms masquerading as the home of Richard’s girlfriend, Gwen Pearson (Tara Reid). Her pink floral wallpaper still hangs in the space today!
-
Image Credit: Myriad Pictures Only the interior of the Swan House appeared in “Van Wilder.” For Delta Iota Kappa exteriors, two different properties were utilized. Front establishing shots were lensed at the Tudor-style George F. Kneller Residence, located across from UCLA at 372 Hilgard Avenue in Westwood. Its use makes logistical sense being that the UCLA campus widely represented Coolidge College, where Van Wilder (Ryan Reynolds) has been in school for “the better part of a decade,” in the movie. Per the university’s housing website, the structure provides “luxury accommodations for upper-level faculty or staff” in real life.
-
Image Credit: Myriad Pictures Delta Iota Kappa’s sprawling rear lawn, where Richard and his fellow brothers play croquet with the pledges standing in as wickets, can be found about 25 miles away on the grounds of an oft-filmed Pasadena estate known in location circles as the “Beaches” Mansion thanks to its prominent appearance in the 1988 tearjerker. The rear entrance of the stately pad, located at 880 La Loma Road, is also where Jeannie (Emily Rutherford) picks up some specialty eclairs left at the Delta Iota Kappas’ doorstep in “Van Wilder.” And just to confuse matters even further, the interior of the mansion appears onscreen as well, not as anything having to do with Delta Iota Kappa, but as the home of Gwen’s wealthy parents! Talk about a mish-mash. Perhaps this explains why “Van Wilder’s” locations have been left unchronicled all these years!
-
Image Credit: Vertical Entertainment But back to the Swan House, which is actually no stranger to the screen. The pad is also featured as the Tremo, Texas home that Sarah (Haley Webb) and Billy (Josh Henderson) infiltrate in the 2013 crime drama “Rushlights” (available to stream for free with ads on Vudu).
-
Image Credit: Image Entertainment And that same year, it popped up as the residence of Leena Miller (Sianoa Smit-McPhee) in the great American classic “All Cheerleaders Die” (streaming now on Amazon Prime).
-
Image Credit: Image Entertainment The horror-comedy beautifully highlights many of the Swan House’s unique features, including the carved staircase and stained glass window that frames its landing!
-
Image Credit: Image Entertainment The home’s two resident goats even made a cameo in the film!
-
Image Credit: Lindsay Blake Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: The Swan House, aka the Delta Iota Kappa fraternity house from “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder,” is located at 2162 North Holliston Avenue in Altadena. Disclaimer: Please remember this is a private home. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the property in any way.
For more Dirt on the property, click back to the main page.