Sterling Cooper lived in Los Angeles. Here is where Mad Men was really filmed, and which locations fans can visit.
Mad Men was filmed primarily in and around Los Angeles, California. Interior office sets were built at Los Angeles Center Studios, while real locations across the city and suburbs stood in for 1960s New York. Only the pilot episode was shot on location in New York City. Locations range from a Pasadena house to diners, hotels, and even Hawaii.
Mad Men ran from 2007 to 2015 and made Madison Avenue feel like a character of its own, yet almost none of it was filmed anywhere near Madison Avenue. The pilot was shot in New York City, but once the series went into production, the entire operation moved west to Los Angeles Center Studios, where the Sterling Cooper offices and most interior sets were built.
The good news for fans is how much of the show survives in public view. The Draper house exterior in Ossining is actually a 1916 Pasadena residence, the diners are real Route 66-era Los Angeles spots, and several hotels and restaurants used for supposedly Manhattan scenes welcome visitors today. One episode even took the crew to Hawaii.
| Location | Where | What was filmed | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| 675 Arden Road | Pasadena | Exterior of Don and Betty Draper's house in Ossining, New York | Outside only |
| La Crescenta Motel | La Crescenta-Montrose | Don Draper's motel stay in Season 7 'The Milk and Honey Route' (standing in for Oklahoma) | Free to see |
| Los Angeles Center Studios | Los Angeles | Sterling Cooper offices and main interior sets across seasons | Private property |
| Rod's Grill | Arcadia | Don and Megan's diner stop in Season 5 'Far Away Places' | Free to see |
| Quality Cafe | Los Angeles | Don meets half-brother Adam at diner in Season 1 | Outside only |
| Millennium Biltmore Hotel | Los Angeles | Hotel scenes including fortune teller and Savoy stand-in | Free to see |
| Cicada Club | Los Angeles | Waldorf scenes in Oviatt Building | Ticketed |
| Musso & Frank Grill | Los Angeles | Restaurant scenes recreating Manhattan feel | Free to see |
| LAX Terminal 4 | Los Angeles | Don Draper in airport scenes Season 7 premiere | Free to see |
| The Royal Hawaiian Hotel | Honolulu | Hawaiian resort scenes | Free to see |
10 locations. The map loads when it scrolls into view.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
California, Pasadena Outside only
Filmed here: Exterior of Don and Betty Draper's house in Ossining, New York
Don and Betty Draper's Ossining, New York house is actually a 1916 residence on Arden Road in Pasadena. The exterior appears throughout the early seasons as the family home base. It remains a private residence today, so viewing is strictly from the street. Fans regularly drive past for a photo, but the driveway and house itself are off limits to visitors.
California, La Crescenta-Montrose Free to see
Filmed here: Don Draper's motel stay in Season 7 'The Milk and Honey Route' (standing in for Oklahoma)
In the Season 7 episode The Milk and Honey Route, Don Draper's Oklahoma motel was actually this 1946 motel in La Crescenta-Montrose, California. It is an active motel with a period neon sign, which makes it one of the few filming sites where fans can literally book a night and sleep where the scene was shot. Drive-up visitors can view the exterior at any time.
California, Los Angeles Private property
Filmed here: Sterling Cooper offices and main interior sets across seasons
This working studio in downtown Los Angeles housed the Sterling Cooper offices and the main interior sets across the seasons. Nearly everything viewers saw inside the agency was built on soundstages here. It is a private, active production facility and not open to public tours, so fans can only view the exterior from the street while exploring downtown.
California, Arcadia Free to see
Filmed here: Don and Megan's diner stop in Season 5 'Far Away Places'
Rod's Grill in Arcadia is the classic diner where Don and Megan stop in the Season 5 episode Far Away Places. It is a genuine Route 66-era eatery that served as a roadside stand-in on screen. Unlike many filming locations, it is fully public: visitors can sit down, order a meal, and occupy the same booths featured in the show.
California, Los Angeles Outside only
Filmed here: Don meets half-brother Adam at diner in Season 1
This downtown Los Angeles diner is where Don meets his half-brother Adam in Season 1. It has closed as a restaurant but continues to operate as a filming venue, appearing in numerous productions over the years. The exterior remains viewable from the street, though visitors should not expect to go inside or order anything.
California, Los Angeles Free to see
Filmed here: Hotel scenes including fortune teller and Savoy stand-in
The historic Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles supplied several of the show's hotel interiors, including the fortune teller scene and scenes standing in for the Savoy. Public areas of the hotel are accessible to anyone, so fans can walk through the ornate lobbies and corridors that doubled for glamorous New York settings, or book a stay.
California, Los Angeles Ticketed
Filmed here: Waldorf scenes in Oviatt Building
The Waldorf scenes in Mad Men were filmed at this event venue inside the Oviatt Building in downtown Los Angeles. The Art Deco interiors give it a convincing mid-century Manhattan atmosphere. Access is ticketed rather than open: the venue hosts periodic public events, so anyone hoping to go inside should check the events calendar before planning a visit.
California, Los Angeles Free to see
Filmed here: Restaurant scenes recreating Manhattan feel
Musso & Frank Grill, the storied Hollywood restaurant, was used for restaurant scenes recreating a Manhattan feel. It is fully open to the public for dining and has been serving since long before the 1960s era the show depicts. Fans can book a table and enjoy martinis in a room that genuinely looks the part, no set dressing required.
California, Los Angeles Free to see
Filmed here: Don Draper in airport scenes Season 7 premiere
Don Draper's airport scenes in the Season 7 premiere were shot at Terminal 4 of Los Angeles International Airport. As an active terminal it is fully accessible to travelers, meaning anyone with a flight through LAX passes through a genuine filming location without any special arrangement. There is no marker or display, so it is a site for knowing fans.
Hawaii, Honolulu Free to see
Filmed here: Hawaiian resort scenes
The Hawaiian resort scenes in Mad Men were filmed at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu, one of the most famous hotels on Waikiki Beach. Its pink facade and grounds appear in the show's island episodes. It remains open to the public for both stays and visits, so fans on Oahu can experience the resort setting firsthand.
Mad Men is set in 1960s New York City, in the advertising agencies of Madison Avenue, but it was primarily filmed in Los Angeles, California. Only the pilot episode was shot on location in New York. From Season 1 onward, the production recreated Manhattan through Los Angeles landmarks: the Biltmore and the Cicada Club stood in for grand New York hotels, Musso & Frank supplied restaurant atmosphere, and a Pasadena porch played a suburban Westchester front step.
Los Angeles Center Studios in downtown Los Angeles served as the production hub for the entire series after the pilot. The Sterling Cooper offices and main interior sets were built on its soundstages across all seven seasons. It is a private, working studio and does not offer public tours, so there is no way for visitors to see the sets themselves, only the studio's exterior.
While Los Angeles Mad Men sites are mostly self-guided stops, travelers who want the New York side of the show's world can join a guided film locations tour in Manhattan that passes through Midtown spots over 2 hours.
New York City: Movie and TV Show Locations Tour
This 2-hour New York walking tour, rated 5 stars from 7 reviews at $120, covers movie and TV locations across Midtown Manhattan, including stops tied to the era and city Mad Men evoked on screen. It suits fans who want a guided, on-foot introduction to film New York rather than hunting addresses alone.
Only the pilot episode was filmed in New York City. Once the series was picked up, production moved to Los Angeles Center Studios, and nearly every subsequent episode was shot in and around Los Angeles, with one excursion to Honolulu for the Hawaiian resort scenes.
No. Los Angeles Center Studios is a private, working studio and does not offer public tours. The Sterling Cooper office sets no longer exist as visitor attractions, so fans are limited to viewing the studio exterior from the street.
Don and Betty Draper's Ossining, New York house is a real 1916 residence at 675 Arden Road in Pasadena, California. It is a private home, so visits are exterior-only and viewing is from the street.
Yes. Rod's Grill in Arcadia and Musso & Frank Grill in Hollywood are both open to the public for meals, and both appeared in the show. Quality Cafe, another diner location, has closed as a restaurant.
Yes, in two ways. The La Crescenta Motel, which stood in for the Oklahoma motel in Season 7, is an active 1946 motel where guests can book a room. The Millennium Biltmore Hotel and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel are also both operating hotels.
The production scouted Los Angeles landmarks with period character: the Biltmore and Cicada Club interiors doubled for grand New York hotels, and real Route 66-era diners and restaurants provided authentic mid-century settings that required minimal dressing.
Mad Men's New York was always an illusion, built in Los Angeles soundstages and dressed-up California streets, and retracing it is part of the fun. Most sites are free to see from the street, several welcome you in for a meal or a night's stay, and the Manhattan atmosphere can be sampled on a guided Midmont film walk. Pick a few stops, pour something cold, and see how convincingly the city fooled audiences for seven seasons.
Before You Go
The tours travellers book most for Mad Men.
