# Movie sets still in use when filming is over? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 29, 2005, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310 "2005-01-29T18:41:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310/41 "2005-02-01T04:30:52Z")
On the Paramount Lot in Hollywood there is a large permament “NYC” set. You’ve probably seen it in episodes of Sienfeld when they are on the street but the number TV shows and films that’s been used for would be pretty high. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310/42 "2005-02-01T11:50:26Z")
Although technically ‘not in use’ the sets from Cecil B Demille’s _Intolerance_ were buried in the desert after filming was finished. They lay there for several decades and are now being unearthed as an archeaology project. ---
**Author:** ![rorty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@rorty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rorty)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310/43 "2005-02-01T12:04:44Z")
> [@Mr. Miskatonic](#): > > Although technically ‘not in use’ the sets from Cecil B Demille’s _Intolerance_ were buried in the desert after filming was finished. They lay there for several decades and are now being unearthed as an archeaology project. Nitpick: Did you mean D.W. Griffith’s _Intolerance_? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310/44 "2005-02-01T12:19:15Z")
Wisteria Lane from _Desperate Housewives_ is Colonial Street at Universal Studios. It has been used in films since the James Stewart comedy _Harvey_ and was the setting for the movie _Leave It to Beaver_ and for TV series including _Murder She Wrote_ and _The Munsters_. Apparently it used a lot. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2005, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310/45 "2005-02-01T12:58:17Z")
> [@Mr. Miskatonic](#): > > Although technically ‘not in use’ the sets from Cecil B Demille’s _Intolerance_ were buried in the desert after filming was finished. They lay there for several decades and are now being unearthed as an archeaology project. > [@rorty](#): > > Nitpick: Did you mean D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance? You are both wrong. It was DeMIlles’s 1923 version of _The Ten Commandments_, [filmed at Nipomo Dunes near Pismo Beach, CA](http://ludb.clui.org/ex/i/CA4973/) > [@](#): > > Under the sand in the Nipomo dune field is the Egyptian set from Cecil B. DeMille’s epic movie “The Ten Commandments,” dynamited and buried there by the crew after shooting ended in 1923. 1,600 workers were employed to build the plaster and wood set for the month-long shoot, a set which included an avenue of 21 sphinxes, four 35-foot tall Pharaoh statues, and 110-foot tall gates. Strong winds across the coastal dunes are gradually exposing the remains. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310/46 "2005-02-01T13:20:54Z")
The replica _Nina_ made for one of the Columbus movies 1492 IIRC) is still seaworthy and tours around. Tho it does have a deisel engine. I toured it when it was in LaCrosse, WI (it was motoring up the Mississippi) Brian ---
**Author:** ![lightingtool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/57b2e6/32.png) [@lightingtool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lightingtool)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310/47 "2005-02-01T17:34:03Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > I also wonder what happens to old props? If Bette Davis used a candlestick phone prop in a 1930 film, does that same phone still repose in a warehouse somewhere today, waiting to be used when a modern producer wants to make a movie that’s _set_ in the 1930s? The studios have enormous prop rooms, many of which are open to other filmmakers and theatres to browse through and rent pieces for other productions. There are also many prop rental houses in the LA area, the largest (I think) being [Omega Cinema Props](http://www.omegacinemaprops.com/tour.htm), which has 4 or 5 enormous warehouses that hold about 50 of anything you can think of. It’s a mind-boggling place to walk around in. To get back to your original question, that phone may or may not be sitting around, but if it is, it’s probably been used in many different movies and plays. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310/48 "2005-02-01T19:11:52Z")
War Memorial Stadium, used for game scenes in _The Natural_ was still standing for four years after the film’s release. It was even in use by the minor league Buffalo Bisons during most of those years. > [@SNenc](#): > > The baseball field from Field of Dreams is still in Iowa [Dyersville, Iowa](http://www.dyersville.org/pages/cominfo/cominfohome.html), to be exact. One of the property owners did replant for a time, though, but eventually gave in to public pressure to restore his part of the field. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310/49 "2005-02-01T19:15:27Z")
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s hut on Tatooine is still in existance today in Tunisia, IIRC. I would guess that the Skywalker moisture farm still stands as well. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310/50 "2005-02-01T19:20:44Z")
> [@RumMunkey](#): > > - The Towne Square & Clock Tower from the **Back To The Future** trilogy is on the Universal back lot and been used again in LOTS of other movies. > > - According to one of the documentaries on the DVD bonus features, the house they built for “ **Signs** ” is still in the middle of the empty field where they built it. > > - There’s something about the Myers house from Hallowe’en. I can’t quite remember but it It think it was a run-down and they cleaned it up (and shot the flashback scene last). Notably Gremlins. They just covered it in fake snw. ---
**Author:** ![Sweetums](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Sweetums](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweetums)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310/51 "2005-02-01T21:02:51Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The [HMS Bounty II](http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/ccarey/bindex.html) is a replica of the original HMS _Bounty_, built for the Marlon Brando version of **Mutiny on the Bounty** in the early 60s. The ship is still sailing (I saw it a couple of summers ago). > > Another replica of the Bounty was built for the Mel Gibson version. ``` About ten years ago when I went on a tour of the U.S.S. Constitution, they had just deciced to restore Bounty ( when Turner bought the studio, he got a call a short time later that he now also owned the Bounty, and decided to have her restored). Since one of the only repaire facilities int the United States capable of working on an 18th century ship is the one that is home to the Constitution, they had the Bounty moored behind her. The Bounty looked like a rowboat next to Old Ironsides. ``` ---
**Author:** ![Alma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alma)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310/52 "2005-02-01T21:52:22Z")
**Curly Sue** filmed a portion of the film at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago. The cinema at that time did not have a concession stand (they had a lobby cart, I think), so one was built for the film. They still use this concession stand at the cinema today. ---
**Author:** ![Lathe\_of\_Heaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Lathe\_of\_Heaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lathe_of_Heaven)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310/53 "2005-02-01T22:04:03Z")
> [@lizardling](#): > > One of the ships used in Pirates of the Carribbean is a tall ship that’s based out of Seattle. 😃 Yaar, that be the _Lady Washington_, out of (I think) Olympia. She apparently has [her own website](http://ladywashington.org/), but it’s currently down. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310/54 "2005-02-01T22:08:07Z")
Not far from where I used to live in L.A. was a real, open-air Mexican taco stand, open all night, more authentic than Tijuana and a real hangout. Great burritos that put Taco Bell to shame. Alas, its time had come, and it was torn down for a mini-mall. But as the mini-mall went up, the store fronts became incredibly garish and flamboyant, with giant donuts, giant tacos, giant tires and other huge sculptures on the roofs and in the parking lot. Oh, well, this is Southern California; Hollywood, no less, I thought – just continuing the crazy heritage. Then one day I saw a film crew swarming over the entire mall. They were using it for a movie set, and the following day, everything that was garish was torn down and the false facade removed, leaving only a sedate, standard, cookie-cutter mall that might be anywhere in the West. Apparently the movie set locators saw an opportunity to hijack a construction project already planned, add their special sauce, then let the original developers have what they originally planned afterwards. Probably with a bundle of fresh, new money. Today there is no evidence of the movie set at that corner. And the taco stand moved indoors. Same food, same management. Yay! ---
**Author:** ![TwoTrouts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@TwoTrouts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoTrouts)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310/55 "2005-02-02T01:20:29Z")
The final battle from scene _Conquest of the Planet of the Apes_ and the wheelchair-chase scene from Mel Brook’s \*Silent Movie \*were both filmed at the administration courtyard of the University of California at Irvine (UCI). The instruments used by the sadistic dentist in the musical version of _Little Shop of_ _Horrors_ were used again in the first _Batman_ film as the tools used on the Joker that left him deformed. ---
**Author:** ![35340](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/8baadc/32.png) [@35340](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/35340)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310/56 "2005-02-10T00:18:50Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > I also wonder what happens to old props? If Bette Davis used a candlestick phone prop in a 1930 film, does that same phone still repose in a warehouse somewhere today, waiting to be used when a modern producer wants to make a movie that’s _set_ in the 1930s? Depends. For the movie Willow, I either read or heard on the DVD track that the original wand was used for one day or one scene - it was then taken away and some duplicates were cast of I believe resin, and those were used thereafter. The original is on display in the front right hand hall of the main building at Skywalker Ranch - the hall leading to the library. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310/57 "2005-02-10T01:05:47Z")
I remember hearing that the Oval Office set used in the Michael Douglas movie where he is President is the one used for The West Wing TV show. ---
**Author:** ![daygecko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/91b2a8/32.png) [@daygecko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/daygecko)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310/58 "2005-02-10T01:51:54Z")
The Surprise (formerly the tall ship Rose) of ‘Master and Commander’ fame is [here](http://live6.truelook.com/face/newface.jsp?func=live&name=/ecodb/1amnorth&overlay=default&skin=default&useapplet=false&time=1107996106456&width=640&height=480&quality=65&catalogname=catalog&preset=Nov_2004/Play/Star+of+India) (can’t really see it at night- it’s behind the Star of India): at the San Diego Maritime Museum. I just visited thier [website](http://www.sdmaritime.com/contentpage.asp?ContentID=152), and it looks as if they have plans to sail her by next year at the earliest. Also, not quite an entire set, but the story of some props after filming: Scenes from the movie Deep Impact were filmed in my northern VA hometown by my neighborhood on a yet-to-be-opened road (massive traffic jam/people fleeing Virginia Beach stuff). Apparently the crew didn’t remove the road signs that indicated Virginia Beach was only several miles away. My brother swears they remained for several weeks on the new road until VDOT spotted them/was alerted to their presence and took them down. I always wanted to live by the beach. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310/59 "2007-01-01T05:20:13Z")
[QUOTE=SNenc] A couple notables: The Rocky Balboa statue from Rocky II still stands in front of the Philadelphia art museum. [/QUOTE] [You are wrong.](http://www.totalrocky.com/fastfacts/statue.html). I’m from Philly. I drove past the Philadelphia Museum of Art within the last few months, though I live in NY State now. The web cite I provide is 100 % accurate. The statue has not stood there for an extremely long time. The last time was 1991 and that was temporary just for prop useage during the filming of Rocky V. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310/60 "2007-01-01T07:29:05Z")
The mysterious “Village,” the setting for Patrick McGoohan’s TV series _The Prisoner_, was the [Hotel Portmeirion](http://www.portmeirion-village.com/en/village.php), a pricey resort in Wales. Except for elements like signage and a few random set pieces, the exteriors seen in the show are the work of the hotel’s eccentric designer, Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, who built the place in the 1920s. The interiors were all London studio sets, and usually bore no relation to the physical layout of the hotel buildings that served as their exteriors, many of which are themselves little more than decorative facades. For instance, the “Green Dome” that was Number 2’s domicile is a small, empty cupola, nothing like the grand complex seen in the show. I visited the hotel in 1976 and was surprised to note how the producers had used camera angles and editing to create a sense of space and layout for the village that was quite different from the arrangement of the real place. I should dig out my old pictures and look them over again. As you can see from the Web site in the link, it’s all still there, and you can get a room for between £167 (double) and £308 (family suite). Or if you just want to walk around for the day, admission to the grounds is £6.50 per adult. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sets-still-in-use-when-filming-is-over/287310.md?page=4)