13 Iconic Movie Buildings and Landscapes from a Different Angle
![13 Iconic Movie Buildings and Landscapes from a Different Angle](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/2/4/899524_320x180.jpg)
We’re not out to ruin a movie magician’s tricks. Sorry Gob… Illusions. A movie’s illusion is how we know they did a great job. Settings play a crucial role in immersing a wide-eyed spectator into whatever “world” filmmakers have conjured up. Some iconic buildings end up becoming synonymous with the movie itself (even if they’ve given it a new name, and shot all the interiors on a soundstage.) We apologize for peeling the curtain back a little bit here, but we noticed some wild architecture and landscapes, and just had to dig a little deeper.
Let’s not forget the landscapes. This wet rock floating through space provides us with all kinds of wonders primed for the big screen. It’s amazing that a movie can etch some rocks, grass, and water into our collective memory, and even transport us to far-off worlds (even if we come to realize it was Earth all along). Natural or man-made, we’re viewing these 13 iconic movie buildings and landscapes from a different angle.
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Who would one have to pay for the location usage at a “wonder of the world?”
![CRACKED AL KHAZNEH AS THE CANYON OF THE CRESCENT MOON. INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE The giant sandstone temple in Petra, Jordan doesn't actually hold the Holy Grail, but it was inhabited roughly 10,000 years ago, and it's one of the 7 wonders of the world, so yeah, it's captivating enough for a movie.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/3/8/899538.jpg)
Man, they were perfect for an epic training montage.
![CRACKED THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART PROVIDED THE ROCKY STEPS. T E o S S G R Rocky ran up the now-iconic 72 stone steps that lead up to the museum, which holds 300,000 art pieces that span 2000 years. After you run up them, make sure to jump up and down with your hands up, then pose with the bronze statue of Rocky.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/3/7/899537.jpg)
A grand movie set 20 years in the making.
![CRACKED THE CABAZON DINOSAURS PEE-WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE Claude Bell built the 150 foot long Apatosaurus and a 65-foot-tall T. Rex from 1964 to 1983 in Cabazon along California's Interstate 10. Не got to see them achieve fame in the 1985 movie before he died in 1988.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/3/3/899533.jpg)
So that’s where Harry Potter joined Gryffindor.
![CRACKED THE GRAND HOGWARTS HALL HARRY POTTER Many Hogwarts scenes (like the famous entrance scene where Professor McGonagall meets Harry, Ron, and Hermione) were filmed in the Christ Church College in Oxford. They replicated the Great Hall in-studio for Hogwarts Hall.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/3/2/899532.jpg)
So their mode of transportation wasn’t just for movie magic.
![CRACKED JURASSIC PARK IS ON HAWAII'S KAUAI ISLAND. The characters arrive by helicopter at the foot of the 300+ foot tall Manawaiopuna Falls. It's since become a place of pilgrimage for fans, and has been renamed 'Jurassic Falls'. A helicopter is actually the only way to access the falls.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/3/1/899531.jpg)
Relax, it’s just the face of the operation.
![CRACKED THE MCCALLISTER HOME IN HOME ALONE. Located at 671 Lincoln Ave. in the North Shore village of Winnetka, Illinois, tourists still flock to it over 30 years after the film's release. All of the house interiors were sets constructed in the gym of New Trier Township High School.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/3/5/899535.jpg)
The firefighters are NYC’s finest, but the Ghostbusters are up there too.
![CRACKED GHOSTBUSTERS HEADQUARTERS IN NYC. LADDER EIGHT F.D. e HOOK A LADDER-8 N.Y. The Tribeca firehouse Hook and Ladder Company 8 is located at 14 North Moore St. They were among the very first responders on 9/11, and the building underwent a major renovation from 2016 to 2018 (but looks relatively the same).](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/3/0/899530.jpg)
Wait, but how did they get the Statue of Liberty there?!
![CRACKED THE PLANET OF THE APES IS NOW THE BEACH OF THE CELEBS. When Charlton Heston realizes he's been on Earth all along, he's on the far eastern end of Westward Beach between Zuma Beach and Point Dume, Malibu. It's now a celebrity hotspot where Chris Martin and Julia Roberts get all tanned up.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/2/7/899527.jpg)
Washington State and Oregon are close enough!
![CRACKED TWILIGHT USED AN ICONIC U.S. LANDMARK. The books and films are famously set in Forks, Washington, but during Vampire Baseball, Oregon's Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge can clearly be seen behind home plate.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/2/9/899529.jpg)
We’re pretty sure they were just scared to film in the real Amityville.
![CRACKED FOR THE HORROR, AMITYVILLE HAD TO BE RECREATED IN NEW JERSEY. After being denied permission to film in Amityville, NY, the iconic house was recreated in Toms River, NJ. Town exteriors were also shot in NJ, like the Sunken Garden at Georgian Court University in Lakewood.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/3/4/899534.jpg)
This location scout hit the jackpot.
![CRACKED PAN'S LABYRINTH GOT THE PERFECT LOCATION. The abandoned town of Belchite stood in for 1940s war-torn Spain in Pan's Labyrinth. It was on the front lines of the Spanish Civil War, and was perfect for the film since the Spanish Civil War is a huge plot point.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/2/6/899526.jpg)
Ireland does have some pretty other-worldly landscapes.
![CRACKED LUKE SKYWALKER'S HOME... IN IRELAND. The Irish island Skellig Michael is used in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi for Luke Skywalker's self-imposed exile. Visitors must climb 618 steps to see the remains of its 8th century monastery.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/2/8/899528.jpg)
After the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, hit this house up!
![CRACKED THE HOME IN A CHRISTMAS STORY IS NOW A TOURIST ATTRACTION. A CHRISTMAS STORY House Open Year-Round Mon -Sat 10am-Spa Sunday 12pm-Spec Original Clevel Femer No Sie the on - - The film takes place in the fictional town of Hohman, Indiana, but the real house is in Cleveland, Ohio. The home is currently a museum dedicated to the movie, and superfans can actually spend a night in the house.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/3/6/899536.jpg)