Daniel LaRusso's apartment from The Karate Kid (1984)

This is Daniel LaRusso's apartment building from The Karate Kid (1984).

It is located at 19223 Saticoy Street in Reseda, California.

At the start of the film, LaRusso and his widowed mother, Lucille, leave their hometown of Newark, New Jersey, and drive across the country to Reseda, California.

They move into apartment #20 on the second floor of the South Seas apartment complex.

Although Lucille is enthusiastic about their fresh start on the west coast, Daniel is clearly unhappy about the fact that he has been uprooted from all of his friends and family.

Shortly after arriving in California, he runs afoul of a group of high school bullies, all of whom are karate students at the local Cobra Kai dojo.

On one occasion, the gang chases him back to his complex on Saticoy Street and proceeds to assault him. However, Daniel is saved when the building's handyman, Mr. Miyagi, unexpectedly jumps over the fence and effortlessly takes them down one by one.

Following the fight, we learn that Miyagi is actually an experienced karate master.

Miyagi attempts to diffuse the situation by visiting the Cobra Kai dojo and talking to the gang's sensei, John Kreese.

Kreese is confrontational and unsympathetic. Instead of reprimanding his students for using their karate skills to bully someone, he mocks Daniel and states that he should "get on the mat" and fight.

This scene sets up the rest of the movie, as the two sides agree that Daniel will fight Kreese's students at the upcoming All Valley Karate Championships.

After accepting Kreese's challenge, Miyagi proceeds to train Daniel by directing him to do lengthy chores such as painting his fence and waxing his car. Although the chores seem pointless at first, we soon learn that the repetitive actions involved in these tasks have given the teenager an important skillset.

Photos

Photos of the apartment and other related images.

LaRusso's apartment

Image source: Karate Kid (1984)

At the start of the movie, Daniel LaRusso and his mother, Lucille, arrive at the South Seas apartment complex in Reseda.

When Lucille pulls up outside, she shouts, "Wake up! Look off the starboard bow! Paradise at last!"

Daniel, however, does not share his mother's enthusiasm about Los Angeles. While they are unpacking, he makes a series of negative remarks about their new hometown.

South Seas apartment complex

Image source: Google Maps

This Google Street View image of the South Seas apartment complex was captured in September 2022—more than 39 years after The Karate Kid (1984) was filmed.

Filming took place between October 31st and December 16th, 1983.

Swimming pool

Daniel and his new friend walk past the complex's empty swimming pool.

His apartment was up the stairs, in the corner of the second floor (circled in red).

Mr. Miyagi's shed

Mr. Miyagi's tool shed was situated on the eastern side of the building, in this parking lot on Bellota Street.

The exterior of the shed was constructed just for the film (the producers placed it in an empty parking space).

The location where LaRusso was jumped

The Cobra Kai gang chased LaRusso through this field on the eastern side of the complex after he pulled a prank on their leader, Johnny Lawrence, at their high school Halloween dance.

The red ellipse marks the spot where Miyagi jumped over the fence and intervened.

Unfortunately for fans of the movie, this field no longer exists, as it was converted into a new housing development in 2017.