Balboa Island from "Arrested Development" and "Newport Harbor"
LOCATION
Balboa Island, an Orange County staple seen on "Newport Harbor" and home to two dueling banana stands a la "Arrested Development".
ADDRESSES
Balboa Island Ferry
410 South Bay Front
Newport Beach, CA
balboaislandferry.com
Dad's
318 Marine Ave
Newport Beach, CA
Sugar 'N Spice
310 Marine Ave
Newport Beach, CA
STORY & PHOTOS
Cult favorite "Arrested Development" is set in Newport Beach, CA, a posh Orange County city south of Los Angeles. The show's creator, Mitch Hurwitz, was born in Anaheim, CA and went to high school in Costa Mesa, CA (not far from Newport). As a kid, Hurwitz co-founded a chocolate chip cookie business with his brother and father, so it's not hard to see where he got the idea for the Bluths' banana stand business.
Though set in Newport Beach, "Arrested Development" was filmed primarily in Culver City, Marina del Rey, and other areas in and around Los Angeles. In the show, the Bluth's banana stand is purportedly on Balboa Island; however, the scenes were really shot at Fisherman's Village in Marina del Rey. Several establishing shots of Balboa Island were used in filming:
There are actually two banana stands on Balboa Island, though, and they are within spitting distance of one another.
One is called Sugar 'N Spice and one is called Dad's Donut Shop & Bakery. Both seem to claim that they invented the frozen banana, and I obviously have no idea who's telling the truth. However, I have had frozen bananas from both shops, and they were both 100% delicious.
Dad's Donut Shop actually appeared on an episode of "Newport Harbor", an MTV follow-up to "Laguna Beach". "Newport Harbor" took place mostly in Newport Beach and did some filming on Balboa Island. In episode 102, "Pretty in Pink", Chrissy, Sasha, and Courtney go there.
Nearby is a ferry that will take you across the water to the Balboa Island ferris wheel and gift shops.
Looking for the actual Bluth's Banana Stand? Unfortunately, it doesn't really exist. But the place where it was filmed does: check out my story about Fisherman's Village, where they set up the Banana Stand for filming.
STORY & PHOTOS
Written by Christina LeBlanc
Location photos by Christina LeBlanc
