Revisiting "Dazed and Confused" Shooting Locations 32 Years Later, Part II
This one features an Air Raid, a party at the Moontower, and dumps a bunch of paint on a bully
Part I of my retrospective on "Dazed and Confused" shooting locations was fun, but this new one takes it to the next level.
Let’s get going, alright (alright, alright)?
Air Raid: While 2024’s more empathetic vibes on hazing victims are a welcome change, that doesn’t mean that “fry like bacon, you little freshman piggies” doesn’t still pack a mighty nostalgic punch. And when head Mean Girl Darla squirts ketchup and mustard on the rising freshman, it’s unquestionably amusing given that the stakes are, in reality, so low. The location is now the Yarborough branch of the Austin Public Library located at 2200 Hancock Drive.
Lee High School: You know the place is dated given that it’s named after Confederate Darth Vader and, despite us living in kinder, gentler days, not much here has physically changed since filming in 1992. The location is Bedichek Middle School on 6800 Bill Hughes Road in Southwest Austin, and while there’s been some paint jobs and an addition, it looks remarkably the same as it did over 30 years ago.
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O’Bannion’s Comeuppance: There are many cool moments in Dazed, but few more satisfying than seeing flunky bully O’Bannion catch his due in the form of gallons of white paint raining on him from a roof of Rick’s Auto Machine Shop, courtesy of a vengeful freshman. In 2024 Austin, it’s an anonymous looking car storage (underground chop shop?) facility on 821 Brentwood Street, with no obvious signage or hint of character.
Party at The Moontower: This one has had some historical bickering but the majority of online opinion seems to be that these seminal party scenes took place at the Walter E. Long Metropark at 6620 Blue Bluff Road. Ironically, there are no Moontowers within several miles of the place, which means that the tower climbing shots were filmed elsewhere. So many iconic moments from the Dazed universe took place here, meaning it was worth my meaty sojourn to far, far east Austin on a sizzling holiday weekend.
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Ballard’s Grocery Store: This nondescript little gas station (now a Shell, because of course it is) on 4001 Medical Parkway was the scene of the most tense and high stakes moment of the film, when a man (who we quickly learn had his mailbox destroyed by the guys) pulls a gun on Pickford and the other in the parking lot of Ballard’s. The lads manage to awkwardly slip out of the tough situation, perhaps a bit the wiser about the sins of vandalism.
Lee High School Stadium: I actually covered this one in Part I but wanted to add a side-by-side photo thing here because it’s pretty cool to see how little things have changed at the Burger Center in 30+ years.
Pickford’s House: This home on Coventry Lane in Northeast Austin has a lot more front yard vegetation than it did in 1992 when Pickford almost got away with a kegger that started to go haywire when the beer guy showed up early, but from the red brick on down, it’s most definitely still the place.
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Mitch and Jodi Kramer’s House: It doesn’t play much of a role beyond a satisfying, post-Moontower scene when Mitch’s mom playfully grills him on the obviously enjoyable night he’s had, but it’s still fun to know that this home on Pioneer Place in Central Austin got its Hollywood moment. The address letters on the house haven’t changed a bit even if the baby blue is now light yellow on the exterior.