The Office
The Office - Season 1
- Release Date: March 24th, 2005
The Office is one of the greatest TV comedies of all time and one of my personal favorites. The show stars Steve Carell as the inept yet endearing regional manager Michael Scott, and features a diverse ensemble cast including Rainn Wilson as the eccentric Dwight Schrute, John Krasinski as the charming Jim Halpert, and Jenna Fischer as the kind-hearted Pam Beesly. Known for its dry humor and deadpan delivery, the series masterfully blends cringe comedy with relatable character dynamics, making it a defining show of its genre.
Many people don’t know that Season 1 of the series was shot adjacent to Culver City in a real office building located at 3322 La Cienega Place. The show was moved to a studio lot at 13927 Saticoy St, Panorama City, CA (now Quixote Central Valley Studios), but they recreated the office layout from the building in Season 1.
As of December 2024, 3322 La Cienega Place is currently for lease. The gate has been closed everytime I have driven by. I have been able to get some great photos through the side of a door on the right side of the complex. I have also been able to work out the location of Michael’s office, the conference room, and the warehouse. I’ll outline the evidence for these locations as we go. The two windows to the left of the conferene room would have been the annex.
Below is Michael Scott (Steve Carell) at the opening of The Office Season 1, Episode 1 (Pilot). From the window in the hallway which serves as the entry to the office, you can see the parking lot for 3322 La Cienega Place, with 3301 La Cienega Place in the background.
In one of the first talking heads in the series, Michael is talking to the camera with an electric pole in the background. This specific electric pole has three wires that go down on one side of the pole. There was some debate on other sites that Michael’s office may have been on the other side of the building with a window that has since been removed. The pole on that side of the building does not have these wires, however.
Also, as we will see later in the post, the warehouse is clearly below this section of the building, now known as Suite C. The Office Ladies podcast mentions how the warehouse was adjacent to the office, further proving the locations.
Below you can see my proposed location of Michael’s office lines up perfectly with this electrical pole.
As I mentioned, the entirety of 3322 La Cienega Place is currently for lease. While this means the facility is closed, and therefore, I couldn’t get closer pictures, it also means there are some great pictures online of the current interior. You can check out the listing on Loopnet.
Below is the suite as it stands for lease in 2024. It looks like an entrane to a bathroom was added essentially where Pam’s desk was. I’m assuming there was always a bathroom behind this wall, but that it was opened up to provide direct acess to the suite. The walls for Michael’s office and the conference room have been removed.
The glass entranceway on the right side is actually the primary entrance to the suite. This is not pictured in the show. What is now an open glass wall was one of the walls for the kitchen during filming. It also looks like the wall behind where the accounting team, and Creed and Merideth sat has been removed to make the suite larger.
I’ve mapped out where everyone sat below.
There is also a drone video tour of the facility. The suite for The Office starts around 44 seconds. This portion of the video starts at what would have been the annex, and then you get a pretty cool shot of the entire suite, followed by a view down to the warehouse.
I’ve taken some screenshots of the video below.
Note to realtor: Nowhere on the listing does it mention that this is the original filming location for The Office. I happen to think potential renters would think that is pretty cool.
On to more cool shots of the real office. In Season 1, Episode 3 (“Health Care”), Michael is trying to boost morale by planning an excursion for the team. Short on funds, he calls the Lackawanna Coal Mine to inquire about a ride on their industrial coal elevator. He parks right in front of the main entrance to 3322 La Cienega Place.
Fun Fact: The voice of the guy at Lackawanna Coal Mine is actually Creed Bratton! I believe this is his first speaking part on the show.
