Do you recognize this church? It’s not on Route 66, but close.
Perhaps this climactic scene will jog your memory:
The place where Dustin Hoffman repeatedly screams “Elaine!” at a just-married Katharine Ross in the 1967 movie “The Graduate” actually is the La Verne United Methodist Church of La Verne, California, which sits about a quarter-mile south of the Foothill Boulevard alignment of Route 66 in the Los Angeles metro area.
Surfing around Google, there are plenty of references about “The Graduate” to the church, but I couldn’t find anything about its proximity to Route 66. That’s surprising, given the film’s impact on popular culture and it being one of the top 10 grossing films of all time for many years.
Despite the film’s irreverent tone, the church readily acknowledges its role in the movie, saying it’s been “blessed” to have other films shot there that additional revenue. And, without a trace of irony, the church continues to host weddings.
The congregation dates to 1887, but the church itself was built in 1961. It was designed by Ladd and Kelsey Architects of nearby Pasadena, California. Thornton Ladd died at age 86 in 2010, and John Kelsey died at age 86 in 2012.
The church apparently is not on the National Register of Historic Places. Between its architectural significance and “The Graduate” link, it ought to be a slamdunk for designation.
(Hat tip to Dennis Toeppen; image via Facebook page of La Verne United Methodist Church Weddings)
This is fabulous! It appears that the traffic whizzing by in the background as Hoffman runs toward the church (~1:37-1:56 in the clip above) would be on Foothill Blvd. (Route 66).
When “The Graduate” came out, Katharine Ross’ next movie (Hellfighters, with John Wayne) was being filmed near Houston. She gave a talk at Rice U., where I was a freshman, telling about the production of the movie. Among the items: A) The wedding dress was torn to shreds while shooting that final scene. A lot of patchwork was done to be sure it didn’t look as bad as it was; and B) While Hoffman & Ross are about the same height (5-6 & 5-5, respectively), he was substantially shorter than many of the other men in the film. So he stood on unseen platforms/boxes when certain scenes were shot.
Love this blog!
— Mike (not related to Katharine) Ross