- "Sunnydale. Town's got quaint, and the people: he called me "sir", don't you just miss that? I mean, admittedly, it's not a haven for the brothers. You know, strictly the Caucasian persuasion here in the Dale. But you know you just gotta stand up and salute that death rate. I ran a statistical analysis and, Hello Darkness. Makes D.C. look like Mayberry. And ain't nobody sayin' boo about it. We could fit right in here. Have us some fun."
- ―Mister Trick
 | |
| Sunnydale | |
| Continuity: | Buffyverse |
| Category: | Town |
| Continent: | North America |
| Country: | United States of America |
| State: | California |
| County: | Sunnydale County |
| Locale: | Tuscany Valley [1] |
| Points of interest: | The Bronze; Crawford Street Mansion; Summers residence; Sunnydale High School; Sunnydale Zoo; UC Sunnydale |
| 1st appearance: | "Welcome to the Hellmouth" |
Sunnydale is a fictional coastal town located in Southern California. It is the central setting from the 1997-2003 television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Sunnydale is conterminous with the city of Santa Barbara and may actually be an incorporated part of the city itself. [2] Though largely a suburban community, it is known for its numerous churches and graveyards. Unlike most American communities, Sunnydale is host to all manner of vampires, demons, ghosts and ghouls. This is due largely to the fact that Sunnydale's high school sits directly atop a Hellmouth - a mystical gateway nexus and aperture into various dimensions of Hell.
Points of Interest[]
- The Bronze
- The Bronze is the trendiest night club in all of Sunnydale. Catering primarily to teenagers, it boasts a live band nearly every night and is an accessible hot spot for minors. Daniel Osbourne's band, Dingoes Ate My Baby, frequently performed there. Occasionally, vampires would attack people at the Bronze, but this was seldom.
- Crawford Street Mansion
- A dilapidated mansion located on Crawford Street, this aging building proved to be an ideal nesting place for vampires. Spike and Drusilla occupied the mansion when they first arrived in Sunnydale and Angel took possession of it shortly after his resurrection.
- Doublemeat Palace
- Doublemeat Palace is a fast food restaurant change, with a strong presence in West Coast. One restaurant was located in Sunnydale, California. The manager of this establishment was a man named Manny. Other employees included Lorraine Ross, Phillip Todd, Timothy Blane, Gary, Todd, and for a brief period, Buffy Summers. Doublemeat's namesake menu item was the DoubleMeat Medley, which consisted of two layers of meat in between two primary buns, and a third bun in the middle. The top layer of meat was beef, and the bottom layer was chicken.
- Spike's crypt
- Little is known of the crypt itself save that it was probably associated with some well-to-do family who lived in the town of Sunnydale, California. In the late 2000s, the vampire known as Spike took up residence in the crypt, which afforded him safety during the daylight hours. When Spike became a member of the Scoobies, his crypt occasionally became a safe haven for Buffy and her friends when they couldn't rely upon their traditional abodes. Spike occasionally babysat Buffy's sister, Dawn Summers there. Spike's demon poker buddy, Clem, would hang out in the crypt as well. Spike and Buffy occasionally had angry sex in the crypt. And on one occasion, even Joyce Summers was taken to the crypt for safe-keeping. For a time, Spike left Sunnydale for Africa on a quest to reclaim his soul. During this time, Clem took up primary residence in the crypt.
- Summers residence
- This was the home of Joyce Summers and her daughter Buffy. In later years, it was also the home of Buffy's younger sister Dawn. Following Joyce's death, the house became a de facto training center for young slayers.
- Sunnydale High School
- Sunnydale High School was situated directly overtop a Hellmouth and as such, provided a convenient access point for demonic entities wishing to escape from Hell. Buffy Summers, Xander Harris, Willow Rosenberg and Cordelia Chase all attended high school here.
- Sunnydale Museum of Natural History
- The Sunnydale Museum of Natural History was a museum located in the town of Sunnydale. It was curated by Doug Perren and staffed by several associates. The museum received a large stone block with ancient writings etched upon all of its sides. Rupert Giles visited the museum and spoke with Perren, who showed him the block. Giles took of the fact that there was a seam inside of it, which would allow it to open. He asked Perren if he could translate the text on the exterior before anyone took towards opening it. Perren learned to his regret, that the box contained a statue of the ancient demon Acathla, and apparently housed the demon's essence as well. Angelus and his brood raided the museum to steal the artifact. Drusilla murdered Doug Perren and they took the block back to Angelus' abode at the Crawford Street Mansion. (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Becoming (Part 1))
- Sunnydale Zoo
- Doctor Weirick worked as a zookeeper at the Sunnydale Zoo. In 1997, he used ancient African Massai practices to invoke the power of the primals, turning a pack of high school bullies into savage animals by coaxing the essence of the zoo's hyenas into them. This was all part of a plot to draw the power into himself. Xander Harris became an unwitting pawn of Weirick's plan, and was pulled into the Pack. Weirick captured Willow Rosenberg and was going to use her as part of a ritual, but Buffy Summers intervened and freed her, as well as releasing Xander from Weirick's influence. In the ensuing struggle, Weirick fell into the hyena pit and was devoured. (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Pack)
- University of California - Sunnydale
- UC Sunnydale is where Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg attended college after graduating from Sunnydale High. UC Sunnydale was also a prime proving ground for members of the Initiative - a secret military unit designed to fight the supernatural.
- Weatherly Park
- In 1997, Buffy Summers patrolled Weatherly Park looking or a powerful vampire she referred to as "Fork Guy". She fought with the one-armed vampire, but the police arrived and he ran off before Buffy could kill him. [3]
Residents of Sunnydale[]
Notes & Trivia[]
- Many of the maps of Sunnydale show throughout the series were actually maps of Santa Barbara with the name "Sunnydale" super-imposed over top of them.
- Xander Harris referred to Sunnydale as a "One Starbucks town". [4]
- The season one episode "Teacher's Pet" reveals that Sunnydale is located in Tuscany Valley. This is shown when Willow Rosenberg prints out a real estate agreement pertaining to an elderly local woman named Natalie French.