Location #1: Opening scene
Near East 111th Street & South Champlain Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Location #2: Peerless Pharmacy
120 West Main Street, West Dundee, Illinois, United States
Location #3: The church
2915 West Palmer Street, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Location #4: Going back home
At 385 Old Sutton Road, Barrington, Illinois, United States
Location #5: Rooney’s house
225 Greenwood Street, Evanston, Illinois, United States
I was on site during the Momence filming. They used 2 banks at the same intersection, repeatedly redecorated for several banks within the film. They also repainted / installed different signs along the same main intersection for about a block in each direction. Digital effects created a fictitious T intersection based on these re-imaged buildings. Some of the signs and props were forwards while others had their signs and props (canned goods for example) in mirror image, so when they flipped the film everything looked normal. Yes, some scenes were filmed in mirror image.
And for the record, Tom Hanks was very personable.
The Englewood Diner was placed just North of Plattville Rd on Church Rd outside Plattville, Illinois. It was neat to get pictures on the set before it was removed and turned back into farm field.
Ryan,
Do you have photos of the set that you can share? I’m a huge fan of the movie, and I’m currently creating a website for it; I’ve been trying to pinpoint the exact location of where the diner sat during filming, so that I can add it to my website.
The filming for the beach scene at the start of the movie and the beach house at the end was done at Olive Shores Park. This park is part of the Ottawa County park system and is located about halfway between Holland and Grand Haven.
I knew 2 sets of families that lived in the “Country House.” I played at that house when I was younger. It burned down a few years after the filming.
Wasn’t a brief segment of the film done at a steel mill in East Chicago, Indiana?