1. Here's what the location of the truck parking looks like today

2. And here's what The Corral (biker bar) location looks like today. There are obviously no similarities whatsoever.

3. The parking lot at which the T-800 appeared no longer exists today, but the empty field it occupied still does. When the Terminator leaves the biker bar, there's a power pole barely visible in the background with a transformer attached. It's the same pole as the one in this picture. Also to the right is a large, dead tree that might be a match for a large tree visible in the movie. This concrete slab is the wrong shape to be the building seen to the left of the trucks. The trucks would have been parked well beyond it, in the area shown in the first photo.

4. Officer Austin is alone on patrol when he notices an electrical disturbance. He drives down a roadway that parallels the 6th Street Bridge on the north side.  As Officer Austin gets out of the police car, the electricity transmission tower is clearly seen in the background

5. As Officer Austin radios in the electrical disturbance, the buildings next to the bridge are visible. The structure of the bridge is much more clearly seen now. The arching underside is visible, and the decorative work on the outside of the bridge is a definite match.

6. Here's where the T-1000 arrived. Instead of the fence, there is now an inconvenient pile of wood.

7. As Officer Austin stares in wonder at the unusual form of vandalism before him, the T-1000 approaches. The support pillars continue to be an obvious match, and a low concrete wall beyond the chainlink fence still exists today, although with a more elaborate fence on top of it these days. Note the small concrete pillars with chain draped between them. One of those pillars is visible in the modern-day shot, although it's obviously seen better days, judging by the skewed angle it sits at.

8. The T-1000 takes Officer Austin's gun and identity. The graffiti-covered box is where the T-1000 killed Officer Austin.

9. Having acquired a weapon and transportation, the T-1000 begins its hunt for John Connor. As it approaches the police car, we get one last view down the road next to the bridge.

10. Here's an overall view of the 6th Street bridge

11. When we're first introduced to John Connor, he's at his foster parents' house. First we see an establishing shot of the neighborhood. Note the little red brick wall separating the two closest properties. Further down the street is a white fence, and there's a small palm tree in the yard just beyond the white fence.

12. Todd knows that he's not going to get anywhere with John, but he humors Janelle anyway. The trim of the house has been repainted, but otherwise is almost identical to how it looked in T2, right down to the windows and the little mailbox near the door.

13. John and his friend are on their way down the street. On the left side, there's a small brick wall separating the two closest houses, and a white lamppost can be seen just beyond the brick wall. On the other corner, the windows of the corner house can be seen, as well as the white garage on the next house over. A number of trees in the front yards can be matched up.

14. Later, the T-1000 arrives, looking for John. A neighbor's house is visible in the background. The neighbor's house has changed so little that it's easier to point out the differences than the similarities. The hedge is gone, the garage now has ivy and a new garage door, and the house has new windows and roofing. The color of the house has remained the same, and note the little red brick wall. It's even possible to match up the discolored bricks if one looks carefully enough.

15. As the T-1000 approaches the house, we finally get a really good view of the Voight residence. While it has changed more than the neighbor's house, the changes are still fairly minor. The multitude of vents on top of the house match, and there is a power pole behind the house.

16. John's friend keeps lookout while John robs an ATM in the most high-tech way possible. The ATM was placed where the door is in the modern-day shot. Exactly three curved pillars are seen beyond the ATM, and a fourth pillar is in the foreground. The railing for the steps is visible to the left of the shot, and in the background is a large building. In the movie, a small tree is visible that is much larger today.

17. Now $300 richer, John and Tim make their getaway. As they flee the scene, we see a much better view of the bank. The exact location of the ATM is much easier to see now. Although the shape is hard to make out, the round brick structure to the right of the bank is still present. The rectangular structure on top of it has changed very little. The stairs and railings are recognizable, and in the foreground the gutter running down the center of the alley is visible. The wall at the right doesn't match due to differences in vantage point. The wall where John's dirtbike was parked still exists.

18. As John and his friend get ready to leave, shops across the street are visible. On the very far left edge of the movie screenshot, a red brick building with a row of white windows is visible. That building still exists today. In the background, a power pole with two cross-members and power transformers mounted to it can be seen. There are two power poles between John and the power pole with the transformers on it. Also visible is another planter at the bank location. It's just barely visible between John and his friend, but it's very easy to see in the modern-day shot. The tree planted there has done quite a bit of growing since 1991. And one other detail is the mountains in the background, which match.

19. Not long after, the T-1000 rolls through the area, and asks a couple of girls if they've seen John Connor. Way in the background directly behind the T-1000 is a building with red awnings over the windows. This building still exists today, though it's harder to see because of trees. At the very far right of the movie screenshot, the rear corner of the El Pollo Loco restaurant is just barely visible. At the corner is a power pole with conduit running up the right side of the pole. A second power pole is also in the correct spot. The curb at the driveway entry has changed very little since 1991.

20. The building that posed as Pescadero has not changed much since its T2 days, although it is certainly well-hidden behind the trees. More windows are visible on the bottom floor now, but it's very likely that they just covered them up for T2 to give the building a more prison-like look. A large round vent can be seen on the roof. The color is the same, and the upper floor is a perfect match.

21. While the building remains the same, the surrounding property has changed considerably. Here is the approximate location of the guard shack. The only similarity is the presence of the Pescadero building in the background.

22. The actual parking lot doesn't far much better. It has been replaced entirely with grass. As with the guard shack, the presence of the Pescadero building is the only similarity.

23. This building does not actually have an underground parking structure. A parking garage entrance was mocked up for the movie, but the parking garage scenes were filmed elsewhere. The only common feature visible in the shots is the indent in the building where the parking garage entrance was built. The walls for it were torn down, since they served no real-world purpose. The entry was where the dirt path is to the left of the table.

 

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All photos and descriptions  by David Drummond

Edited by Adrian Czarny

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