Sam Cooke: Crossing Over Filming Locations

Los Angeles is a sprawling Southern California city and the center of the nation’s film and television industry. Near its iconic Hollywood sign, studios such as Paramount Pictures, Universal and Warner Brothers offer behind-the-scenes tours. On Hollywood Boulevard, TCL Chinese Theatre displays celebrities’ hand- and footprints, the Walk of Fame honors thousands of luminaries and vendors sell maps to stars’ homes.

San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, financial, and cultural center in Northern California. With a population of 808,437 residents as of 2022, San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of California behind Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose.

The South Side is a large, diverse area with historic districts, student hangouts, and residential blocks lined with row houses. It holds a key place in African-American history, with writers, musicians, and politicians, including Barack Obama, among its former residents. Leafy Hyde Park has beaux arts mansions near the Gothic-style University of Chicago. The Oriental Institute shows its famous Near East collection.