# Locations that are popular mostly because they appeared in movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 8, 2015, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339 "2015-01-08T19:47:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339/1 "2015-01-08T19:47:16Z")
I am thinking of Puerta Vallarta, Mexico which was a sleepy fishing village until John Huston picked it as the location for his 1963 film, “Night of the Iguana” He eventually bought property there, and it became a hangout for Hollywood celebrities, followed by development into a minor resort. What other locations do people visit or recognize primarily because of an association with a movie or TV show? ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339/2 "2015-01-08T20:03:22Z")
“Mystic Pizza” in Mystic, Connecticut. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339/3 "2015-01-08T20:13:41Z")
New Zealand’s popularity as a tourist destination increased a _lot_ after LOTR was released. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339/4 "2015-01-08T20:17:59Z")
[Dyersville, IA](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_of_Dreams_(Dubuque_County,_Iowa)) ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339/5 "2015-01-08T20:25:34Z")
> [@Eutychus](#): > > “Mystic Pizza” in Mystic, Connecticut. That’s what I opened this thread to say! I can’t believe you beat me to it so quickly. :smack: I’ll add that it’s a shame that Mystic Pizza is still in business due to its prominent location on the main drag (and the movie, of course), despite the fact that the pizza there sucks, while the far-superior PizzaWorks went under. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339/6 "2015-01-08T20:28:02Z")
The baseball field from **Field of Dreams**. If you build it, and shoot a movie about it, they will come 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339/7 "2015-01-08T20:33:11Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > The baseball field from **Field of Dreams**. > > If you build it, and shoot a movie about it, they will come 😉 > [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > [Dyersville, IA](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_of_Dreams_(Dubuque_County,_Iowa)) I should have elaborated on my post and made it "Dyersville, IA, where _Field of Dreams_ was filmed.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339/8 "2015-01-08T20:44:02Z")
I knew that. :smack: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339/9 "2015-01-08T20:50:27Z")
Does the _Cheers_ bar count? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339/10 "2015-01-08T20:58:10Z")
I suspect the Trevi fountain was not as huge a destination for tourists until **La Dolce Vita**. Ditto the Ferris Wheel at the Prater in Vienna with **The Third Man**. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339/11 "2015-01-08T21:02:34Z")
Devil’s Tower, WY? I have no idea how well known it was before “Close Encounters”, but I had never heard of it before that. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339/12 "2015-01-08T21:02:40Z")
Almost no one had even heard of the Eiffel Tower until it was shown in _Team America, World Police._ ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339/13 "2015-01-08T21:05:47Z")
Another Iowa favorite, the various covered bridges in Madison County, Iowa. From _The Bridges of Madison County_, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339/14 "2015-01-08T21:10:18Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Devil’s Tower, WY? I have no idea how well known it was before “Close Encounters”, but I had never heard of it before that. I grew up on the East Coast in the 1960s, and I’d known about Devil’s Tower since childhood. > [@John\_Mace](#): > > Almost no one had even heard of the Eiffel Tower until it was shown in _Team America, World Police._ Yeah, there was a reference to it in “I Am the Walrus,” but I just figured it was some bizarro lyric that wasn’t supposed to refer to a real thing. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339/15 "2015-01-08T21:11:54Z")
Cafe Lalo in New York, the cafe from _You’ve Got Mail_. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339/16 "2015-01-08T21:16:02Z")
Vasquez Rocks is(are?) famous for being the location of many productions including some famous Star Trek scenes. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339/17 "2015-01-08T21:25:51Z")
Somebody purchased and renovated the house from _A Christmas Story_ (on the near west side of Cleveland) and it’s ballooned into a [Big Fucking Thing](http://www.achristmasstoryhouse.com/). ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339/18 "2015-01-08T21:34:44Z")
The house from_The Amityville Horror_ was a big sightseeing destination, but [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amityville_Horror#Additional_information) says the address was changed and the distinctive windows were removed to discourage tourists ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339/19 "2015-01-08T22:47:22Z")
Bruges looks pretty enough, but I still can’t pronounce it correctly. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339/20 "2015-01-09T13:50:31Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Vasquez Rocks is(are?) famous for being the location of many productions including some famous Star Trek scenes. Not just Star Trek (and films/TV shows referring to ST, like _Big Bang Theory_ and _Paul_), but the rocks show up in a lot of flicks looking for an odd rock formation. I recall them from _Planet of Dinosaurs_, for instance. Heck, there’s a whole Wiki page devoted to it: > **[List of productions using the Vasquez Rocks as a filming location](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_productions_using_the_Vasquez_Rocks_as_a_filming_location)** > > The Vasquez Rocks, situated in the Sierra Pelona Mountains, in northern Los Angeles County, California, have been used as a setting for key scenes in many motion pictures, television shows, music videos, and video games. The following is a partial list of such multimedia in which the rock formations are included: > The rocks were drawn into the animated series Futurama and Star Trek: Lower Decks, depicting various alien landscapes as they did in other science fiction series, and they were also an... [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/locations-that-are-popular-mostly-because-they-appeared-in-movies/709339.md?page=2)