Where Top TV Characters Go to High School

Torrance High School opened in 1917 for classes, as the first school in the Los Angeles public school system. In 1983, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and today it still serves the areas residents as a school, and is one of the oldest high schools in California. Architecturally striking and beautifully maintained, Torrance High School isn't just recognizable to the citizens of Torrance though. Even people who have never set foot in California are likely familiar with Torrance High School's magnificent façade. Since the 1980s, Torrance High School has become a prime location for productions based out of nearby Hollywood. In the 1990s, video crews on the school grounds became such a regular occurrence that the image of Torrance High School is now almost as well-known as some of the movies and television shows that have been filmed there.

It all started with Beverly Hills, 90210. When this popular 1990s teen drama hit Hollywood, the show's creators needed a school to serve as one of the main outdoor sets, and one of the show's most visited locations during its early years, West Beverly High School. While there were schools closer to the Beverly Hills, 90210 sets, none of them had the grandeur or Torrance High School, so when it came time to film outdoor at West Beverly, actors and crew packed up and headed to Torrance, where Torrance High was transformed into West Beverly High.

When the kids of Beverly Hills, 90210 graduated from West Beverly, the last main character in 1995, its real life counterpart didn't stay off the small screen for very long. In 1997, the gang of Buffy the Vampire Slayer moved into Torrance High, which served as the exterior for Sunnydale High School, where Buffy, Willow, and Xander went to school for the show's first three seasons.

Though weekly sightings for almost the entire decade of the 90s brought Torrance High School's unique architecture into the national spotlight, the school hasn't been solely relegated to TV. A number of popular teen movies during and after the era of Buffy were filmed at the high school as well, including She's All That with Freddie Prinze, Jr., Bring It On with Kirsten Dunst, Not Another Teen Movie, Whatever It Takes, Less Than Zero, The Hot Chick, Bruce Almighty, and Wild Things 3.

If you're taking a trip to Los Angeles, and want to see popular movie and television filming sites, take the twenty mile trip to the south, and visit the school at 2200 West Carson Street in Torrance, California.