The 1996 Alexander Payne film “Citizen Ruth” was primarily shot in Omaha, Nebraska, with a bit of additional shooting just over the Iowa border. Early in the film, Ruth, played by Laura Dern, gets kicked out of her boyfriend’s apartment.
LOCATION: 2454 Harney St, Omaha, NE 68131
Ruth asks to stay at her brother’s house. He refuses and gives her some money instead.
LOCATION: 411 Hickory St, Omaha, NE 68108
Ruth buys some patio sealant from a hardware store, where she heads to the back of the building and gets high.
LOCATION: 4949 Underwood Ave, Omaha, NE 68132
The abortion clinic scenes were filmed in Council Bluffs, Iowa, which is just over the state border from Nebraska.
LOCATION: 200 S 29th St, Council Bluffs, IA 51501
At the end of the film, Ruth is seen running away down this alley, located across the street.
LOCATION: Alley across from 200 S 29th St, Council Bluffs, IA 51501 (GPS coordinates: 41.259361, -95.890616)
To see our “Citizen Ruth” location page, click here.
The 2002 Alexander Payne film “About Schmidt,” like much of the director’s work, was primarily filmed in Nebraska, with additional filming in Iowa and Colorado. In the film, Warren Schmidt, played by Jack Nicholson, begins retirement from working for an insurance company. The building featured as Schmidt’s workplace, Woodmen Tower, can be found in Omaha.
LOCATION: 1700 Farnam St, Omaha, NE 68102
Schmidt lives with his wife Helen, played by June Squibb, at this home, also located in Omaha.
LOCATION: 5402 Izard St, Omaha, NE 68132
Schmidt embarks on a journey to Denver for his daughter’s wedding. Along the way he decides to stop off and visit his childhood home, only to discover it has been razed and a tire shop now stands in it’s place. This scene was filmed in Council Bluffs, Iowa, which is just over the state border from Nebraska.
LOCATION: 2103 W Broadway, Council Bluffs, IA 51501
Schmidt arrives at the home of Roberta, played by Kathy Bates, which is supposedly located in Denver, Colorado. The real home can actually be found back in Omaha.
LOCATION: 3215 Poppleton Ave, Omaha, NE 68105
To see our “About Schmidt” location page, click here.
The 1995 film “The Bridges of Madison County” takes place in Iowa, where the film was likewise shot. The farmhouse where Francesca Johnson, played by Meryl Streep, lives can be found in Cumming, Iowa. Here Fransesca meets Robert Kincaid, a photojournalist from National Geographic visiting the area of photograph the covered bridges of Madison County.
The house was built in 1870 by an Argentinian sea captain named Nicholas Thompson, who later sold the house and surrounding land to Joseph Mead. The home has remained with his family since that time. After searching over 150 properties for the perfect farmhouse, on the final day of scouting, the filmmakers discovered the home by helicopter. By the time Eastwood and his crew found the home, it had sat vacant for over thirty years in disrepair. The production completely restored the property and made use of both the interiors and exteriors for the film.
After the success of the film, the owners opened up the home to tours. Much like another famous filming location in Iowa, the house and baseball field from “Field Of Dreams,” the home attracted many tourists, who could visit inside and outside the grounds. This ended on October 6, 2003, when arsonists destroyed part of the home. The northwest corner was largely destroyed, which contained memorabilia for the film, including photos and scripts, many of which were lost forever.
After the fire, the tours ceased and the home was never restored. The area in back damaged most heavily by the fire remains completely open and exposed to the elements. The area is now fenced off from visitors and the home is in poor condition. You can in fact clearly see the home from the gravel road out front, which is public. However, it sits a short distance back from the road. The long driveway up to the home is private and closed to the public. With the home empty, fire damaged and completely exposed for decades, we’re not sure how long it will remain standing. For now, however, it remains somewhat in tact for anyone willing to make their way out to see it.
Several covered bridges are featured in the film. The Roseman Covered Bridge plays a key role in the film, when Fransesca first navigates Robert to it in the early part of the story. Roseman Covered Bridge was built in 1883. One of the final two covered bridges ever built in Madison County, it carried motorists for nearly one hundred years before being decommissioned. While most other covered bridges in the area have since been demolished, Roseman Covered Bridge remains standing and is open to the public.
LOCATION: 2451 Elderberry Ave, Winterset, IA 50273
When Robert first arrives with Fransesca, he heads down to this area to set up his camera.
Here is the view Robert was scouting to photograph. This view is also seen on the theatrical poster.
Fransesca walks around this area of the bridge while Robert works.
After getting a drink from the truck, Fransesca comes to the opposite side of the bridge to find Robert picking flowers for her in this area. Fransesca teases Robert that the flowers are poisonous.
The bridge is featured again in the closing scenes of the film.
The locations for “The Bridges of Madison County” are unique in that many of them are old and historic, yet remain standing today. Tucked away from the destination locations of America, they remain a hidden treasure for film lovers, as well as anyone who can appreciate nature or history.
On the banks of the Mississippi River, literally right across the street, you’ll find the store of the “American Pickers.” Antique Archeology is located in LeClaire, Iowa, home of Mike Wolfe, Frank Fritz and Dannie D. The shop is packed full of items seen on the show and whether you’re a collector or simply a fan of the show, the staff is very welcoming to all visitors.
Due to the popularity of the show, the location has since been remodeled a bit and a second building has been added to the property, to sell merchandise from the show. A second store has also opened in Nashville, Tennessee (1300 Clinton St., Ste. 130 (Marathon Village), Nashville, TN 37203).
LOCATION: 115 1/2 Davenport St, LeClaire, IA 52753
Some items purchased by Mike and Frank, which fans of the show may recognize.
Just around the corner, cast member Danielle Colby (Dannie Diesel) formerly ran an arts, crafts and clothing shop which sold her designs, called 4 Miles 2 Memphis. The LeClaire shop later closed and relocated to Chicago. The Chicago location has since closed as well, but you can see a couple photos of the old LeClaire location below.
LOCATION: 303 S 2nd St., Le Claire, IA 52753 (now closed)
Hidden away in the rural Iowa countryside, you’ll find an oasis for movie lovers; the Field of Dreams. Today, the house and field, still owned by the same family as when filming took place, is operated as a tourist attraction, with business hours and a gift shop. Visitors are even welcome to play baseball on the actual field from the film. Prospective visitors should take note, however, that the field is closed during the winter months, with visitation season limited to April through November.
LOCATION: 28995 Lansing Rd., Dyersville, IA 52040
Upon arrival, you’ll see this sign for the property.
The house from the film, along with the gift shop, which was constructed in the style of the barn in the background.
A closer look at the gift shop, which sells lots of merchandise related to the film, ranging from clothing to cups to baseballs. The shop is operated by the property owners, who are happy to chat with you about the film and the site.
A closer look at the farm house from the film, which now has the name of the film added onto the picket fence. Visitors were not permitted to enter the house at the time we visited, but the property owners have since changed that policy and opened up the house up to paid tours.
The house and the bleachers.
A closer look at the bleachers, which really are the originals from the film.
And of course, the baseball field. The field was constructed for the film, with the lights still in tact. What was not there at the time of our visit, however, was the corn field, which was actually grown by the production. However, since that time, the property owner have once again grown corn fields on the property, to more closely resemble the film. As stated before, visitors are welcome to play baseball on the field, if you want to add that item to your bucket list. Be sure to bring your own equipment, however, if you want to play and be prepared to possibly wait awhile for your turn, as the field receives a steady amount of visitors.
A sign on the site, with a history of the property, photos and trivia about the film.
The back of the sign, with more photos and trivia.
The site remains unique amongst film locations, due to the mystique and magic of the film itself. Traveling into rural Iowa to stand in person at this site, which so closely resembles the way it looked in the film, really does feel like stepping into a movie. It’s not heaven, it’s Iowa… and people will come indeed.
Film Oblivion 