We all know Massachusetts has an incredible varied natural and urban landscape, but it’s really incredible how filmmakers use the beauty of the Bay State in so many different ways. Some of these movies may surprise you!
1. Shutter Island
Scenes from the Dachau Concentration camp in Germany (WWII flashback scenes) were actually filmed in Taunton, MA at the Whittenton Mills Complex.
2. American Hustle
Shots that were supposed to be taking place in New Jersey and Washington D.C. were actually filmed all over Massachusetts. Boston's Citi Wang Theater and Union Station are featured prominently and the Worcester Art Museum also makes an appearance.
3. Cider House Rules
This movie takes place in Maine, but was filmed in Great Barrington, Lenox, Northampton (State Hospital/Orphanage), and the Northfield (that's the scene with the drive-in movie theater).
4. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2
Paul Blart's West Orange Pavilion Mall in New Jersey is actually a combination of Burlington Mall and Braintree Mall! Locations in Gloucester, such as lighthouse beach and Annisquam, were also used in the film. There are peeks of Dover, Medfield, Georgetown, and Sudbury as well.
5. The Pink Panther 2
Boston and surrounding Massachusetts towns doubled as Paris during the movie. Who would have thought? Locations include The Boston Public Library, Copley Square, Winthrop Square, The State House, The Crane Estate in Ipswich, and the Citi Wang Theater.
6. The Departed
This one is no surprise. This movie about Boston politics and gangsters was primarily shot in the real city of Boston.
7. Flowers In The Attic
Castle Hill is a gorgeous a Tudor Revival mansion in Ipswich. During the shooting of this film the mansion actually served as Foxworth Hall and was the main place that most indoor and outdoor scenes were filmed. That scene in the beginning when the children are walking toward the house after getting off the bus? The bus stop is actually at the end of a rolling green where the grass ends and the ocean begins. Cool!
8. Good Will Hunting
The interior bar scenes set in "Southie" were shot on location at Woody's L St. Tavern. The Bow and Arrow Pub, located on Mass. Ave in Cambridge, was actually the Harvard bar where Will and Skylar first met. The Tasty, which is now a Citizen's Bank on Brattle street, was where Will and Skylar shared their first kiss.
9. The Social Network
Filming began in 2009 in Cambridge and continued at Phillips Academy and Milton Academy. Additional scenes were filmed on the campus of Wheelock College, which was set up to be Harvard's campus.
10. The Proposal
Many scenes for this movie were shot at Bearskin Neck in Rockport.
11. The Thomas Crown Affair
This 1968 heist film was nominated for two Academy Awards and was filmed right here in Massachusetts. All over Massachusetts, actually. The Tobin Bridge, the North End, Salem, Ipswich, Cambridge, Beverly, and even on the Mass Pike.
12. The Good Son
Watch out for shots of Beverly, Cape Ann, Annisquam (Lobster Cove), Rockport (Pagleg Inn), and Marblehead (Old Burial Hill)!
13. Field of Dreams
This classic baseball movie has roots in Massachusetts. A good deal of filming was spent on location shots in Boston, such as Fenway Park. Which makes sense.
14. Ghostbuster (2016)
Shooting for this remake began in Boston on June 18, 2015. Residents of the city spotted filmmakers in Chinatown and Tufts Medical Center. Filming finished up at the old Naval Air Station in South Weymouth.
Did you know that Massachusetts is a hotbed of movie-making magic? See if you can spot any familiar places in the films above!
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