Today a lot of sets and props and memorabilia of the most famous films and television shows are saved and either sent around the world and put together into site-specific exhibitions for fans to see and engage with. From the Warner Brothers Studio Tour outside of London where many of the Harry Potter sets still stand to the new Belfast Studio Tour that takes fans through many of the Game of Thrones best localities, sets can still be quite a draw after the fact.
But, while some sets are maintained and opened for the specific enjoyment of fans and the public, some simply hang around because they can. Here are 10 movie sets you may not know are still standing today.
Plaszow Camp - Schindler’s List
The real-life Paszow camp was destroyed at the end of World War II. While much of Schindler’s List was filmed on location, the crew had to rebuild a part of the Plaszow camp in a quarry near Krakow Poland to film the scenes it needed. The set included 34 barracks and seven full-sized watchtowers. The set remains standing in the quarry today. It was the only set that needed to be built for the film.
Bus and Railroad - The Fugitive
The Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones hit, The Fugitive, filmed one of its major actions sequences in North Carolina along the Smoky Mountain Railroad.
Fans will remember that Ford’s Dr. Kimble is forced to jump from a prison bus, after trying to save a number of its other occupants, before it is smashed by an oncoming freight train. Part of the ruined bus, as well as a piece of the ruined train, still sits at the filming location today.
Village - Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters was a 2013 action/horror film starring Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton. It was neither well-reviewed nor particularly well made. However, hoping perhaps for a sequel or spinoff after its release, the production built an entire medieval village for shooting and left it to rot, a little way outside of Germany, after production wrapped. The site is accessible to anyone who wishes to visit, even if very few people ended up wanting a sequel to the movie.
Baseball Field - Field of Dreams
“If you build it they will come.” The classic line no longer only refers to the baseball classic, Field of Dreams, but to the film location itself, built (along with the farmhouse for Kevin Costner’s character) in Dyersville, Iowa. The farmhouse and field have been a stop for movie fans almost since the film hit theaters. Visitors can see the field as well as take a tour of the house. Baseball games are often played on the field as well. This summer, sometime in August 2020, Major League Baseball itself will make a pilgrimage to see the Yankees play the White Sox out in rural Iowa.
Sweet Haven - Popeye
In 1980 the dearly departed Robin Williams took on the role of funny pages strong man, Popeye. To film the movie an entire village set was built in Malta for production. Some 20 buildings were constructed along with a new access road to the area. Apparently the set was large enough that it would have been more expensive to take it down than to leave it standing. Malta agreed to allow the set to remain as a tourist attraction. The fake village has its own website, and even offers the set as a possible wedding venue, corporate event, or party. Special carnivals are also hosted for holidays like Easter and Halloween.
Eastern State Penitentiary - 12 Monkeys
One of the greatest time travel movies of all time, 12 Monkeys creators were looking for a post-apocalyptic setting for the film and the crumbling penitentiary, once home to Al Capone, looked perfect. Near Philadelphia, fans are still invited to visit the now-closed prison and can take an audio tour narrated by 12 Monkeys star, Steve Buscemi. The prison has its own impressive history. Besides housing Al Capone, it was also the first penitentiary in the world. Today you can visit Eastern State for a special haunted house every Halloween.
Tunisia - Star Wars
Any good Star Wars fan knows that Tunisia stood in as Luke Skywalker’s home planet of Tatooine. With the success of George Lucas’s first film the series returned to film in Tunisia on a number of occasions, including for the prequel series, Attack of the Clones.
One of the most famous pilgrimages taken by fans is to what remains of the Lats Homestead at Chott el Djerid, near Nefta in Tunisia. For The Phantom Menace crews returned and created a good deal of the town of Mos Espa, which also stands today, and is a certified tourist attraction by the Tunisian government.
Town of Spectre - Big Fish
Director Tim Burton is known for his signature style when it comes to any movie he directs and designs. His 2003 fantasy/drama starring Ewan McGregor, Big Fish, was no exception. The town is visited multiple times throughout the film, so the crew actually built Spectre on an island in the Alabama River. A few of the buildings have since burned down, and the set is, for the most part, falling down. But six buildings still stand for anyone who wants to make a visit to a real-life Tim Burton location.
Port Royale - Pirates of the Caribbean
If you ever get the chance to visit Wallilabou Anchorage, Saint Vincent, the rum may be gone, but a great deal of buildings and props from the 2003 Johnny Depp hit still remain for fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise to view and take selfies with. The area is also home to its own black sand beach, and the Wallilabout Anchorage hotel, which still offers food and a view of extra props from the filming.
District 12 - The Hunger Games
In Henry River Mill Village, North Carolina, Hunger Games fans can walk the streets of the district that was once home to hero, Katniss Everdeen. The area was already partially a ghost town before filming began, which was part of the reason it was picked as the home of the mining district of Panem. It was once a town all about making cotton yarn before it became a Hollywood destination.
