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I’ve been told by fans who were active during the show’s first run, that it didn’t take long for local California fans to find the little yellow house located in Venice. Apparently, so many fans flocked to stare at “Hutch’s house” that before long the owner added a second floor to change its profile to discourage gawkers. I was also told by fans who searched for the house a few years after the show went off the air that Hutch’s house sat on one of the canals that were filled in, and that additional upgrades over the years changed the house so drastically it was no longer recognizable. Whether that was the case or not, fans still go to Venice to search for Hutch’s house, including yours truly. Even my wife, Anne, got in on the act, trying to recognize background buildings seen in the show to figure out what direction the house might be in.
During SurCon, a number of us looked for Hutch’s house. Whether we found it or not, it’s a beautiful area to stroll through, far out of most of our financial reaches. Perusing local real estate ads shows that the cheapest house in the Venice area can start at $4 million. That’s American dollars! (Hutch, you should’ve held onto that house!) Most of the homes in the area have been renovated as befits such a pricey area. Many of the houses are architectural wonders constructed on postage-stamp sized lots. Landscaping is gorgeous. In short, it looks nothing like the dumpy area Hutch was living in back in 1975. You can find examples of houses that have not been upgraded since the 70’s. They stand out in their humble originality. Here are some images from our latest search for Hutch’s canal house.
The brown house with white trim in the center of this picture looked more like Hutch’s house than any other we saw. The door is offset and the double roof line over the porch looks similar. The windows are also offset in the same way. You can see how close the houses are on either side.
This is the view to the right of “Hutch’s House” as you face it. The wooden bridge going over the canal is a pedestrian bridge. You can also see where the canal intersects another one.
This is the view to the left of “Hutch’s House”. The concrete bridge is for vehicles, like the ones we saw the bad guy drive over in The Collector. And there are still ducks in the canal as you can see. They could not confirm if we had actually found Hutch’s house or if they were related in any way to the ducks in the episode.
The little white house in the center of this image appears to be an original bungalow from the show’s era. It didn’t seem to have been renovated. There are a handful of houses like this in the area.
31 Comments to “December 7th- In Search of… Hutch’s Canal House by Flamingo”
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December 7, 2013 at 5:30 am
Great pictures. I remember seeing two episodes of the series Numb3rs where they shot in the Venice canals area, and I actually was trying to spy Hutch’s house in the background, if I could.
December 7, 2013 at 5:31 am
These are very cool pics and I loved reading about the search for Hutch’s house. Thanks for sharing. It’s not something I’ll ever get to see so it was nice to visit the area vicariously through your eyes.
December 7, 2013 at 6:10 am
Wow, that roofline is convincing! Thanks, Flamingo!
December 7, 2013 at 6:22 am
The canals are so pretty. The first time I visited here was with a fan of long-standing, and she showed me that house as Hutch’s house (she had a list of locations as long as your arm), so I wouldn’t doubt it. Of course, the two-storey on the left of the picture post-dates the series, and would have been built on the empty lot where the guys parked their cars.
The road you drive on to reach this has the bridge featured at the beginning of Running, where Hutch goes looking for his Little Brother, and we see “Cops Need Love, Too” on his bumper. Sites from The Fix are just around the corner. So much to see here! Thanks for the memories!
December 7, 2013 at 6:30 am
I always like to see pictures of locations. Thanks!
December 7, 2013 at 7:10 am
Thanks for sharing the pictures. It’s such a pretty area. That brown house with the trim does resemble the original house.
December 7, 2013 at 7:42 am
That was a nice story, Flamingo, the canals look beautiful.
Every time my friend Robin and I visit LA. We go to look at that cottage. Can’t recall it was the first or second time that we stood at the back and a car stopped in front of the garage. We followed the chauffeur to Sherman Canal and he went into the cottage. I hadn’t the nerve to speak to the man at that moment.
The last time with SurCon, I knocked on the door. Unfortunately, no one was home. I try again next year.
December 7, 2013 at 8:49 am
Thanks for the great pictures! When I visited the area in 1994 the houses still looked more like Hutch’s. One house was for sale, and not expensive at all! If I had bought it at that time, we would have a nice home for yearly S&H conventions now, lol.
December 7, 2013 at 9:09 am
I was pretty sure I ID’d it in 1991. For info it can’t be on one of the ‘filled canals’ – the work took place in the 1920s
December 7, 2013 at 10:05 am
I´d like it think it was Hutch´s house! 4 million Dollars, hm, that´s too expensive for me, but I`d like to live there. Thanks for sharing the story and your great photos, Flamingo.
December 7, 2013 at 11:11 am
I’m convinced on that being Hutch’s house. The lower level architecture is very much the same! Wow! Thanks for these, and I love to have an idea of what you would have seen looking out his front door.
December 7, 2013 at 2:02 pm
Great pics, Flaminogo. Thank you. Brings back memories of a Saturday walk in April with Angel and Nancy. We weren’t sure where Hutch’s cottage was, or if we were even near, but an eagle-eyed Chel spotted it on the very left of one of my pics, so I know that not only were we in the vicinity, we walked right passed it. We obviously even looked at it–lol. It’s a gorgeous area. Love to live there, in my dreams. And, yes, with that roofline, it has to be the one.
December 7, 2013 at 2:21 pm
Great gift this morning! Someday I want to take the Starsky and hutch tour!
December 7, 2013 at 5:21 pm
Very convincing! If they didn’t tear it down and rebuild something – this is it! What a nice neighbourhood now. If only we could all see the future, we’d know where to buy our house! 😉
December 7, 2013 at 5:24 pm
Thanks for sharing, Flamingo. This is wonderful! 🙂
December 7, 2013 at 6:29 pm
Hi F, yes, that IS the correct house. And you’re right, that area is so pretty, especially with all the different landscaping ideas owners have come up with for such small plots of land. Thanks for posting!
December 7, 2013 at 8:54 pm
Lol, I remember fondly strolling around that area with you two girls! It was a lot of fun and very very beautiful. I’m pretty sure this cottage must be the one they used for Hutch’s house, because there weren’t really any other good ones. And this is the right side cause you can see the high building of Marina del rey in the background, too (not on that picture though). Thanks for sharing!
December 7, 2013 at 9:15 pm
Oh, what a treat THIS was!! I would give anything to live in a house by a canal… These are fantastic photos and give us a really good idea of what it’s like – that’s WONDERFUL for those of us who can’t travel any more!!! Thank you, thank you!! What a clever thing to think of doing for us…
December 7, 2013 at 10:15 pm
These are so much fun! Thanks for posting it and showing the area.
December 7, 2013 at 11:32 pm
I remember this day–it will always be one of my favorite days in my life. You can’t do any better than to be with great friends on a beautiful day doing what you love.
December 8, 2013 at 1:38 pm
Love to see your pictures, Flamingo!!!
So beautiful and I wish I could see that by myself one day…!!!
;D
December 8, 2013 at 9:57 pm
Thanks Flamingo for the tour. I will never get out there but it’s nice to see the area as it is now. I would think that the area would be subject to flooding as well as dropping off into the Pacific, but I don’t have to worry about that thank heavens. Great photos that get it all in.
December 9, 2013 at 4:51 am
Yes it was a very special time for those of us who were lucky enough to be there in April. (hello girls!!!) Thanks for sharing the memories Flamingo – it was pure magic to be there and just as magical to relive it through your little xmas present to us all.
December 9, 2013 at 8:34 pm
Thanks for the photos and the expert commentary. Love it!
December 10, 2013 at 2:28 am
Great set of pictures Flamingo. Loved the tour of the area. That brown house certainly looked like it could have been Hutch’s house or at least built by the same builder.
December 10, 2013 at 11:30 pm
That is also the same location where Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chase and all the Hal Roach gang made a lot of films in the 20’s and 30’s. It’s very historic. That is FOR REAL Hutch’s house–saw it back in the early 80’s and oh that brings back such lovely memories. I love you Flamingo. That was a long walk but so wonderful. Oh to see it again!
December 16, 2013 at 4:35 pm
Thank you so much for posting this – I’ll probably never get to see it myself, but I love the photos. It’s amazing how much the property in that area is going for now – yikes! And as much as I’d love to live near a canal, all I can think of is how much fun it must be when there are floods…
February 17, 2014 at 11:15 pm
Here I am lounging at home making a Starsky and Hutch mini marathon viewing when I see the VERY scene that you are showing in the first pic. The funny part is that, after living in LA now for 14 years, I really pay attention to filming locations – if you have roamed around town enough – you begin to identify places quickly.
When I saw this shot I noticed the white high rise in the background as the FIRST place I lived in LA – the Marina Towers Apartments (first big building on the left). Based on how close the building is in the photo and the fact that it is on the left side of the frame – I found the house you are referring to in your first photo on Google maps / Google Earth independently. I think you have nailed it with that house! If you frame the ‘shot’ from North to south – it would line up perfectly….
February 17, 2014 at 11:35 pm
Thanks so much for your comment. It’s always exciting to get a comment so long after posting the Advent Calendar. Nice to meet you and hope you enjoy the rest of the Calendar. We have one for 2014, too!
November 17, 2018 at 12:58 pm
Hi,I recently came across your site here.I’m also a big fan of this series.The Hutch House you are showing here is correct! I checked the “Historic Aerials” website and went back to 1972.There is an empty lot on the left side of the home and the small home on the right side is there.Address is 232 Sherman Canal [Court A] Venice,CA.Another TV series was filmed on one of the car bridge’s on Dell Lane.The NBC TV series “RUN JOE RUN” is that show! This was a Saturday morning Live Action kids series starring a German Shephard named “Joe”.Joe is seen crossing one of the Dell vehicle bridges at an episodes ending.[Episode- “Sunken Treasure”].This episode is now on YOUTUBE though the video quality is not very good.[It is watchable though!]….Thanks for the info on the home!…Bill
November 19, 2018 at 3:41 pm
Thanks so much for this info, Bill. Every time I think no one is looking at these old advent calendars, we get an interesting comment. Loved your verification!