One of the great mysteries for die hard fans from the original The Karate Kid movie was the actual location of Mr. Miyagi's house where he trained Daniel-son or rather, where Daniel-son "renovated the exterior."
What made this location so difficult to track down was the fact that the film used fake railroad tracks, oil-rigs, and was demolished sometime in the late 1980s where the house was recreated on the Warner Brothers lot for
The Karate Kid III film which was also demolished after filming was completed. Moreover, no one seemed to know or anyone with intel stepped forward to reveal this great mystery. One suggestion that surfaced was that the home was located in Simi Valley (
Fast-Rewind.com).
That mystery was finally solved on January 30, 2014 thanks to Chas Demster at
Itsfilmedthere.com which confirmed the former location to be 20924 Gault St Canoga Park CA 91303. You can also read supporting details and facts at the
IAMNOTASTALKER blog.
Coincidentally as this filming location was revealed, the home was offered for sale on January 27, 2014 for $446,000 and was later sold on February 28, 2014 for $426,00. The home today measures 4 Beds/3 Baths on 6,756 sqft. The listing description states:
GREAT GATED INCOME PROPERTY, FRONT UNIT IS 2+2 -2 CAR ATTACHED GARAGE- DINNING AREA- LIVING ROOM-CENTRAL HEAT AND AIR- LAUNDRY IN GARAGE -PERGO FLOORS- LIGHT AND BRIGHT - SIDE YARD- FRONT GRASSY YARDBACK UNIT IS 2+1 BREAKFAST AREA IN KITCHEN- DINNING AREA- LIVING ROOM-PERGO FLOORS -CENTRAL HEAT AND AIR- LAUNDRY ROOM-LARGE PRIVATE BACK YARDTHE ZONING IS LAR1, HOUSE CAN BE SOLD AS A HOUSE + GUEST HOUSE. SELLER PURCHASED IT IN 2005 WITH THIS CONDITION. BEAUTIFUL COZY UNITS, PERFECT INVESTMENT FOR FIRST TIME BUYERS WITH SOME EXTRA INCOME OR USE IT AS A 4 BED ROOM HOUSE. PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB TENANTS.
The home has no remnants of Mr. Miyagi's home and is only half the size that was used in the film. At the time of filming the home, the backlot (as shown in the historical aerial image from 1980 below) was completely empty and was commonly used as the entrance where the train tracks and oil rigs and derricks could be seen in the film. Today that empty lot is a home on 20921 Vose Street which was built in 1988 measuring 3 Beds/2 Baths on 1,644 sqft on a total lot size of 6,754 sqft. I am guessing the original home on Gault was restored to its original condition after filming completed. What I dont know is if the original home included the backlot which was later subdivided and a new home built in 1988 or the filmmakers simply combined the home into one big lot since the back was empty just for the film.
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| The center of the image is the location of Mr. Miyagi's home as shown in 1980, the filmmakers obviously modified the home for the film. Image courtesy Historicaerials.com. |
You can view more of the Karate Kid filming locations in the SFV
here.
