# Movies filmed on a location you know well **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [September 13, 2022, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515 "2022-09-13T19:56:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515/101 "2022-09-14T19:22:49Z")
I’ll bet they didn’t film The Falcon and the Snowman there. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2022, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515/102 "2022-09-14T20:25:29Z")
_In The Mouth of Madness_ was filmed here in Toronto, and the insane asylum where we first meet Sam Neill _in media res_ at the beginning is actually the sewage treatment plant at the east end of The Beaches, a spot I routinely walk past in the summer. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2022, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515/103 "2022-09-14T22:14:47Z")
One of my favorite surreal movie moments. Walt Disney Pictures Presents A Film By David Lynch ---
**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:** [September 15, 2022, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515/104 "2022-09-15T00:02:06Z")
I grew up watching the low-budget (and now cult) horror film **Carnival of Souls** on _Supernatural Theater_ on WWOR out of New York. What I didn’t realize at the time – or even much later, until I saw the film several years ago – is that part of it is filmed in Salt Lake City. Several scenes take place in the ZCMI store downtown (Zion Cooperative Mercantile Institution, now sadly defunct). And the “Dance Hall of the Dead” was shot in the second Saltaire Pavilion on the shore of the Great Salt Lake (long gone by the time I got there. It had been replaced by the third iteration of that building, which when I got there was surrounded on three sides by the risen waters of the swollen lake). > **[Saltair (Utah)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltair_(Utah))** > > Saltair, also The SaltAir, Saltair Resort, or Saltair Pavilion, is the name that has been given to several resorts located on the southern shore of the Great Salt Lake in Utah, United States, about 15 miles (24 km) from Salt Lake City. > The first Saltair, completed in 1893, was jointly owned by a corporation associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Salt Lake & Los Angeles Railway, which was constructed for the express purpose of serving the resort. Saltair was not t... > **[ZCMI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZCMI)** > > Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution (typically referred to as ZCMI) was an American department store chain. It was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 9, 1868 by Brigham Young. For many years it used the slogan, "America's First Department Store." > Even though the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) had been headquartered in the Salt Lake City for some twenty years by that time, they were despised by the surrounding community, as Young had disparaged non-Mormon... ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515/105 "2022-09-15T01:37:39Z")
Around 1980, a number of films were made in Madison, NJ. One in particular was _Rich and Famous_, which had an opening scene at the train station in Northampton, MA. But the train station in Northampton looks like the Chicago stockyards, whereas the train station in Madison looks the way that the one in Northampton _ought to_ look, so they shot there. It was especially bizarre seeing the scene in the movie theater which existed in Madison at the time, because it was across the street from the train station, and you could see the view of the marquee from the train platform on screen. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515/106 "2022-09-15T01:48:31Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > And the “Dance Hall of the Dead” was shot in the second Saltaire Pavilion on the shore of the Great Salt Lake (long gone by the time I got there. It had been replaced by the third iteration of that building, which _ **when I got there was surrounded on three sides by the risen waters of the swollen lake** _). Not the case these days. The “shore” is now about 1/2 mile from the pavilion. The lake is at it’s lowest water level ever and Antelope Island is no longer an island. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515/107 "2022-09-15T02:43:45Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > And of course, _Dazed and Confused_ is basically an Austin highlight reel. I think my wife wins that one; she was in high school in Austin at the time, and not only knows all the filming locations, but also knew a surprisingly huge chunk of the extras and local actors. Oh, and back to _Robocop_. Murphy’s house that he goes and visits is about a mile and change from my house. That was a weird one to find online. I didn’t realize it, but actually drove by there once (it’s right next to a park we frequent) and sure enough, that’s the house. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515/108 "2022-09-15T03:12:44Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > I’ll bet they didn’t film The Falcon and the Snowman there. I was thinking the same thing. TRW… ---
**Author:** ![X.L.Lent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a5b964/32.png) [@X.L.Lent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X.L.Lent)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515/109 "2022-09-15T04:37:37Z")
Have lived in Southern California nearly all my life and I have seen too many movie locations to list here. Here are a few that stand out in my memory: - Downtown Long Beach, CA - _Gone in 60 seconds_ and _It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World_. Both shot before a large portion of downtown was torn down for a shopping mall. - Los Angeles Union Station - _The Majestic, The Sting, Blade Runner, Union Station, Pearl Harbor._ and probably a few others. - Worked in downtown L.A. in the '80s and saw a several films an T.V. shows being shot - _Action Jackson, Side by Side_ (T.V. Movie), and _Cagney and Lacy_. I was able to visit the Brabury building a few times during my lunch break - _Blade Runner_ and _The Artist_ were shot here. The building I worked in appears briefly in Charlie Chaplin’s _City Lights_. - Downtown Orange, CA - _That Thing You Do!_ and _Gumball Rally_ (I just happened to be passing through the area when they were filming this.) - Santa Ana, CA train station - _Rainman_ ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515/110 "2022-09-15T07:24:47Z")
When I was with 3D ANGLICO, a Marine Corps unit at Long Beach Naval Station, we were on Terminal Island. That was the finish line for the _Gumball Rally_. [![](https://i.imgur.com/Exlk9yn.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/Exlk9yn.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee7513/32.png) [@Mona\_Lott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lott)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515/111 "2022-09-15T08:07:49Z")
Two movies were filmed in Wallace, Idaho. Heaven’s Gate Dante’s Peak. Neither movie enjoyed any success. My sister-in-law (and her car) was an extra in Dante’s Peak. Wallace is the town in which I was born. It is up the road from me, about 5 miles. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515/112 "2022-09-15T08:08:52Z")
_The Preacher’s Wife_ (1996) with Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston had scenes filmed in Deering Oaks Park in Portland, ME. There’s a skating pond and some low brick buildings across the street that were supposed to stand in for Chicago. It turned out to be unseasonably warm that year and the snow melted and the pond was basically unskateable but Hollywood faked it all up and pulled it off. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515/113 "2022-09-15T08:53:04Z")
ive been on the train station steps where the gunfight in the untouchables started in the Chicago train station … and they’re steep a sort of cult classic called “terror squad” was filmed in Kokomo Indiana my other hometown… And one reason they only film the inside of the la train station is that its pretty much built in the middle of a junkyard like the first hour after you pull in and out is the tunnel and junk trash and graffiti … And the antelope valley is shown in a whole bunch of music videos and movies … mostly cheapies tho ---
**Author:** ![EDOK9Trainer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/838e76/32.png) [@EDOK9Trainer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EDOK9Trainer)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515/114 "2022-09-15T09:04:53Z")
Deep Impact. 1998. Manassas, VA. Newly built but yet unopened Prince William Parkway was used for the heavily jammed shut road where people were escaping impending doom and destruction.[Filming Location Matching "Prince William Pkwy SR 234, Manassas, Virginia, USA" (Sorted by Popularity Ascending) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?locations=Prince%20William%20Pkwy%20SR%20234,%20Manassas,%20Virginia,%20USA&ref_=ttloc_loc_1) ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515/115 "2022-09-15T09:08:50Z")
oh I forgot the morotcycle parts of “CHiPs” mainly was filmed on what would eventually become the antelope valley portion of the 5 freeway before it opened Allegedly the fees helped complete it and the on and off ramps into Palmdale and Lancaster ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515/116 "2022-09-15T11:11:35Z")
> [@X.L.Lent](#): > > I was able to visit the Brabury building a few times during my lunch break - _Blade Runner_ and _The Artist_ were shot here. I was in L.A. a few years ago and made a special trip to see the Bradbury Building because I’ve seen it in so many movies and TV shows. It’s nothing special on the outside, but gorgeous inside. It’s featured quite noticeably in _Demon With a Glass Hand_ (an episode of the original _The Outer Limits_) and the American remake of _M_ from 1951. ---
**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:** [September 15, 2022, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515/117 "2022-09-15T11:39:34Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Not the case these days. The “shore” is now about 1/2 mile from the pavilion. The lake is at it’s lowest water level ever and Antelope Island is no longer an island. I know. But the case was even worse the next year, when the lake rose still higher and submerged the expensive parquet floor they had put in there. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515/118 "2022-09-15T11:45:40Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > **The Straight Story** (1999) Totally not a movie I’d choose to watch, but seeing David Lynch’s name as Director caught my eye. I enjoyed it! ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515/119 "2022-09-15T11:53:44Z")
Not a movie, but the video for The Streak by Ray Stevens the supermarket scene was filmed at a grocery store (now defunct) that I used to shop in. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2022, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515/120 "2022-09-15T11:57:12Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > _I.Q_ with Tim Robbins, Meg Ryan and Walter Matthau as Albert Einstein. At the time it was filming in Princeton I was driving through the town pretty regularly. I recognized many locations like Palmer Square and Carnegie Lake where they filmed the rowing scenes. I also heard some stories about the cast when filming. Matthau was as great as you would hope. This one was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the thread. The movie is fun, but mildly forgettable. One thing that stood out to me was a scene that showed [the Mercer Oak in Princeton Battlefield](https://www.princetontreecare.com/tree-of-knowledge/new-jerseys-10-awe-inspiring-trees), at the foot of which General Mercer died during the Battle of Princeton in 1777. The tree had been struck by lightning in the Seventies and was held together with all kinds of cables until it finally succumbed to a wind storm in 2000. I’m glad that they filmed it before it finally fell. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-filmed-on-a-location-you-know-well/971515.md?page=7)