The first rule of this article is … do not read further unless you’ve seen Fight Club.
The second rule of this article is … DO NOT READ FURTHER UNLESS YOU’VE SEEN FIGHT CLUB.
Ok, now that the twenty-five-year-old spoiler warning is out of the way…
It’s a beautiful Sunday morning in Wilmington Waterfront Park, just on the edge of the Port of Los Angeles. I cross paths with a couple of people riding bicycles; occasionally someone passes by walking their dog. Now and then a few semi trucks turn onto Harry Bridges Boulevard, but overall it’s pretty quiet; it’s nothing like a weekday when the Port is in full swing.
Amidst sculptural street lamps and pedestrian bridges, manicured, grassy fields, and Brutalist-inspired park benches, it’s hard to imagine that this spot was once the site of a film set that was the antithesis to everything that now stands in its place.
When location manager Rick Schuler was scouting locations like Wilmington (Los Angeles, not Delaware—you’ll see what I mean) for 1999’s Fight Club, he says his Thomas Guide would rest between his waist and the steering wheel while driving around town.