Bradbury Building, 300-310, South Broadway, Gallery Row, Historic Core, Downtown, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, 90013, United States of America
Pasadena Civic Center District, East Union Street, Old Pasadena, Pasadena Council District 3, Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California, 91129, United States of America
Roman Polanski’s noir is set in 1930s Los Angeles and its water wars, and it was shot in the real city that story helped shape – Echo Park Lake, the concrete-lined LA River, the old Chinatown streets. The final, gut-punch line – “Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown” – was filmed exactly where it says.
Where was Chinatown filmed?
Chinatown was shot around Los Angeles – Echo Park, the LA River, the real Chinatown streets, plus Catalina Island and outlying Ventura County – the genuine landscape of the city’s water history.
Every Chinatown location, explained
1
Echo Park Lake – the spying scene
Gittes photographs Hollis Mulwray at Echo Park Lake in Angeleno Heights, its palm-lined water central to the film’s mystery.
2
The LA River dry bed
The eerie dry riverbed scenes used the concrete-lined Los Angeles River around Sunland – the very infrastructure the film’s water conspiracy is about.
3
Old Chinatown – the finale
The devastating final scene was shot on Ord Street in the real Chinatown, downtown, where Jake is told to forget it.
4
Catalina and the civic landmarks
The film ranges to the Catalina Casino in Avalon and uses Los Angeles City Hall, tying the story to the city’s institutions.
Planning a visit
Echo Park Lake is a restored, walkable park near downtown Los Angeles, and the old Chinatown streets are a short hop away. The Catalina Casino in Avalon is a scenic ferry ride offshore – a proper day out into the film’s world.
Chinatown Fun Facts
1
Shot in the real water-war city The film uses the actual LA River and Echo Park Lake – the infrastructure of the water history its plot dramatises.
2
'Forget it, Jake' was filmed in Chinatown The famous closing line was shot on Ord Street in the genuine downtown Chinatown.
3
Polanski cut Nicholson's nose himself Director Roman Polanski personally wielded the blade for Jake’s infamous nose-slitting scene, to control it precisely.
4
A screenwriting landmark Robert Towne’s Oscar-winning script is routinely taught as one of the best screenplays ever written.
5
Based on real LA history The plot draws on the real California Water Wars and the figure of William Mulholland.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where was the final scene filmed?
On Ord Street in downtown Los Angeles’s real Chinatown – “Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.”
Is Chinatown based on a true story?
It’s fictional but draws heavily on the real California Water Wars and Los Angeles’s early water history.
Can you visit the Chinatown locations?
Yes – Echo Park Lake and Chinatown are walkable, and the Catalina Casino is open in Avalon.
Who directed Chinatown?
Roman Polanski, from Robert Towne’s celebrated screenplay.
