The Avengers (2012)

June 20, 2017June 29, 2022 / filmoblivion / Leave a comment

The 2012 Marvel film “The Avengers” shot in a wide variety of locations, including Cleveland, Ohio, New York City, New York, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Los Angeles, California and more. In an early scene in the film, Cleveland stood in for Russia. Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson, is bound to a chair being interrogated at this warehouse when she gets a call from Agent Coulson.

LOCATION: 2175 Ashland Rd, Cleveland, OH 44103

Having visited a lot of filming locations throughout many cities, this stood as one of the more precarious spots we’ve been. As such, we caution visiting yourself. While there were no signs posted prohibiting entrance and the building appears to be abandoned, it is in a derelict area and the building itself is in very poor condition. Entire portions of walls were missing and only an old, narrow staircase leads you to this top level where the scenes were shot.

While we encountered no issues during our visit, the building and surrounding area houses many potential hazards. Standing there in person, it is hard to believe a major motion picture shot here, but there’s no denying it offers a unique and interesting appearance.

While it is never seen from this exterior angle in the film, we have included an image of what the building looks like from the outside.

Cleveland also stands in for Stuttgart, Germany, where Loki descends down these stairs as he grabs the attention of the party guests. They all flee when Loki attacks a man. These scenes were filmed inside the Probate Court of Cuyahoga County. The building is open to the public, albeit with a security screening required upon entry. Photos are permitted inside.

LOCATION: 1 W Lakeside Ave, Cleveland, OH 44113

As Loki makes his way outside what is supposed to be the same building, he orders the frightened crowd kneel before him. This is followed by a brief battle against Iron Man, Captain America and Black Widow. These exterior scenes were filmed at a completely different location in front of Tower City Center, part of Cleveland Public Square.

LOCATION: 230 W Huron Rd, Cleveland, OH 44113

Most of the climactic battle was filmed in New York City. Thor can be seen from the top of the Chrysler Building wielding his hammer to battle enemies in the sky. The same building can be seen in the background of Stark Tower, a CGI created building which does not actually exist.

LOCATION: 405 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10174

Related articles: Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015)

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

June 15, 2017March 17, 2024 / filmoblivion / Leave a comment

Unlike the first two installments of Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” trilogy, which used Chicago to double as Gotham City, the third and final installment, “The Dark Knight Rises” used an amalgam of cities, which included Pittsburgh, New York City and Los Angeles. Here we take a look at some of these locations.

Bane robs the Gotham City Stock Exchange, which was filmed in the heart of New York’s financial district on Wall Street. However, the production used the JP Morgan building, located directly across the street from the New York Stock Exchange.

LOCATION: 23 Wall St, New York, NY 10005

As Bane unleashes an explosion at the Gotham football stadium, as well as all across Gotham, Blake, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is rocked by one of the explosives and his car flips over as he drives down this alley. While many of these shots were filmed in Pittsburgh, this particular alley can be found in downtown Los Angeles. It’s located on Terminal Street, which intersects with 7th Street, just past Alameda Street.

LOCATION: Terminal St, Los Angeles, CA 90021 (a nearby address to arrive around the alley would be 1371 E 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90021)

The police get trapped in a tunnel under the 6th Street Bridge, also in Downtown L.A. The bridge has been seen in countless films over the years, including “Grease,” “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” “Gone in Sixty Seconds,” “Drive” and many more. The original bridge was demolished in 2016, with a new bridge built in its place in 2022. The area where the scene took place has changed quite a bit.

LOCATION: Under the 6th St Bridge, at the intersection of lower E 6th St / Santa Fe Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90013 (heavily remodeled)

The scenes of Scarecrow sentencing people to punishment was filmed at Union Station, a train station in downtown Los Angeles. It has been featured in many films, such as “Blade Runner,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “Species,” “Bugsy,” “Pearl Harbor” and more.

LOCATION: 800 N Alameda St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Over at the 3rd Street Tunnel in downtown Los Angeles is where Catwoman, played by Anne Hathaway, uses the Batpod to blow up some cars, which have been piled up to obstruct the entrance. The view seen in the film is on the side of the tunnel that faces Flower Street. The same tunnel was also seen in “Darkman.”

LOCATION: W 3rd St., at the entrance facing S Flower St, Los Angeles, CA 90810

The Batpod Catwoman rides can be seen on display at the Peterson Automotive Museum, also in Los Angeles.

LOCATION: Peterson Automotive Museum, 6060 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Moving over to Pittsburgh, the Carnegie Mellon University was used for a couple key sequences, near the film’s climax. Bane released the prisoners from Blackgate Prison, which was shot at Carnegie Mellon’s Software Engineering Institute. The building’s address is on Fifth Ave., but you’ll actually have to turn the corner to the side of the building facing Dirthridge St. to see the spot used in the film.

LOCATION: Software Engineering Institute, 4500 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (facing Dirthridge St)

The Mellon Institute, which is located right beside the Software Engineering Institute, served as Gotham City Hall, where Bane and Batman do battle on the steps of the building.

LOCATION: Mellon Institute, 4400 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Lastly, we leave you with a shot of the Batmobile Tumbler from the film, which is on display at Warner Bros. Studios, as part of their tour.

LOCATION: 4000 Warner Blvd, Burbank, CA 91505

Seinfeld

May 29, 2017December 21, 2022 / filmoblivion / Leave a comment

Despite being famously set in New York, the exterior shot of Jerry’s apartment is actually located in Los Angeles, which is where the majority of the series was taped as well.

LOCATION: 757 S New Hampshire Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90005

What can be seen in New York is the famous “Monk’s Cafe,” where Jerry and the gang were regulars throughout the series. The restaurant is actually known as Tom’s Restaurant and can be found in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. The show only used the restaurant for exterior shots. The interior of Tom’s bears no resemblance to the Monk’s restaurant set from the show, although it does feature some Seinfeld photos along the walls.

LOCATION: 2880 Broadway, New York, NY 10025

To celebrate the show’s arrival onto streaming services, Hulu did a pop-up exhibition in New York and Los Angeles in late 2015, recreating the interior of Jerry’s apartment.