Adam-12 Patrol Toluca Lake intro (updated with some of my own photos)
We're looking south on Forman Avenue as the patrol car heads north toward us, past Toluca Lake Avenue to the east, driving toward Moorpark Street and then Riverside Drive.
I should have stood out in the middle of the street for a better shot. Alas! On the southeast corner is the street lamp.
The house on the west side is obscured by the "To Protect and To Serve" motto on the passing patrol car, but this is the house, 4343 Forman, built in 1954. Western side Toluca Lake Avenue sign under the bushes.
The house that had the white fence all around it is gone. A new behemoth at 4355 was built in 1998.
The intersection of Riverside Drive and Forman was an Adam-12 favorite. The episode "Credit Risk" gave screen time to the Money Tree, Rudy's Wine and Spirits, and Toluca Den carpet.
No matter where Adam-12 were going, in the later episodes they would frequently throw in a filler shot down Riverside Drive, and this intersection with Forman Avenue was seen a lot.
I should have crossed the street to get a more Adam-12 era view. "You blew it!"
Toluca Lake is a small, very wealthy area just north of the Universal backlot (separated by the LA River -- it's not really a river, more of a giant concrete road below regular road level -- and a big golf course) and west of Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank. A lot of people who live nearby don't even know there is an actual Toluca Lake, a real lake, that you can barely get a glimpse of as millionaires' homes surround it and block it from public view.
Bing Crosby's landmarked house is nearby, although I wouldn't doubt the actual address is North Hollywood. You can be sure the real estate agent claims it's Toluca Lake. All of Los Angeles runs together. It's only when you cross into a separate city like Burbank that you notice the street signs change color and the place looks noticeably cleaner. Presumably Adam-12 never venture into Burbank because you'd need a different city's filming permit. [Season 7 they seem to have one.]
Sidebar note: According to this Realtor.com coverage, the Crosby family dog died in a fire at the house in 1943; Micky Dolenz allegedly lived there -- and he was in the Adam-12 episode "Dirt Duel;" Andy Griffith allegedly lived there -- and his TV costar and real-life mistress Aneta Corsaut played Pete's girlfriend in the last season; and of course "Officer Ed Wells" Gary Crosby was a child in that house (and lost his dog 😢). Hollywood show business is a surprisingly small world.
Personal note: I actually had two birthday dinners (a friend's and later mine) at a vegan restaurant on Riverside, just a short walk from here, and afterward we did walk around to look at the rich people's homes-- such a nice little area. So close, yet I was not in Adam-12 location pursuit at the time. Alas! At Christmas (and now Halloween), there are a few homes here that go all out. The most amazing is Lilley Hall at 10104 Moorpark -- but not seen on Adam-12.
