Fallout 1 took place in southern California and maybe a litte Nevada, I dunno. It has known cities (or more like shells of what used to be known cities) like Bakersfield and Los Angeles, but did you recognize it was them? Not really, they were both pretty much razed to the ground, just black shells and debris. No real landmarks that I know of. They aren't even called Bakersfield and Los Angeles in Fallout, they are called Necropolis and Graveyard.
In Fallout 2 we get to see San Francisco and Reno, they are called the same but are just two locations of many. And I dunno how "seriously famous" either are, I've never heard about Reno before Fallout 2 for example, and I don't think they've got any landmarks either.
Fallout Tactics took place in loads of towns, from between Chicago and Cheyenne mountain but I don't think it ever took place in Chicago, and I don't know about any famous locations in the game. But really, I know about Chicago and I'm a swede. Though the only things I know is that a lot of planes land there, it's by Lake Michigan and that it's called the "Windy City" (which could make for some great weather effects).
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel takes place in Carbon, I've never heard of it but I've never played the game either since it's considered to be so crappy. I've also haven't got a console to play it on.