Abandoned Movie Sets
Nearly every film set is temporary. Even the most famous areas dressed for movies are usually torn down as soon as production ends. Which is why this list is so fascinating.
Once in a while you’ll come across a movie set that is still standing. Some sit completely abandoned as is, while others have been turned into tourist attractions.
From box office hits to like Jurassic World to legendary hits like Star Wars, here’s 30 movie sets that were left behind.
Big Fish (2003)
Big Fish is a movie about a son trying to separate fact from fiction about his dying father’s life story.
Director Tim Burton created various fairy tale-esque sets, including the nearly full-scale town of Spectre in Alabama—which is still standing today.
Pirates of the Caribbean
The first three films of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise used massive movie sets in the real Caribbean.
To this day, most of the franchise’s Port Royal, including props and buildinds are still visible today.
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games is an incredibly popular young adult franchise about young rebels challenging the dystopian rule—and the film sets fit the part well, bringing a dystopian nightmare to life.
The remnants of the series District 12 sets still stand in Henry River Mill Village, NC, looking just as dreary as before.
Popeye (1980)
The early 1980s live-action version of Popeye may have been a commercial flop, but the full-scale sets constructed in Malta were impressive to even those who disliked the film.
Popeye’s village was initially abandoned after set, but after an influx in visitors, it was refurbished and opened as a tourist attraction.
Looper (2012)
The time travel film, Looper, became a cult classic among science fiction fans. And one thing most fans are attracted to is the abandoned diner set for one of the movie’s climatic scenes.
The worse-for-wear building can be found on a deserted part of land near Napoleonville, Louisiana.
A. Breaux, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Many famous western films, including the iconic The good, the Bad, and the Ugly, were filmed on large western sets built in Almeria, Spain.
Many of the sets are still standing today, and the area is now known as “Texas, Hollywood,” and serves as a huge tourist attraction.
Emilio del Prado, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke—one of the longest-running and most influential television shows in history—has an incredible film set that is still standing today, despite production ending nearly 50 years ago.
Visitors enjoy getting up close and personal to the show’s Long Branch Saloon in Kanab, Utah.
The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
The 2006 remake of The Hills Have Eyes is set in New Mexico, but the actual film set was constructed in Ouarzazate, Morocco.
Fans can visit the still-standing gas station, along with other iconic buildings from the movie.
WestWorld
The abandoned Hawthorne Mall in California was a key part of the television series, Westworld. Today, Taylor Swift fans might recognize it from her “Ready for It” music video.
PontiacAurora, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Splatalot (2011)
The Canadian children’s game show Splatalot only aired for one season in 2011, but over a decade later the set is still standing.
It looks rough, but still impressive considering it has outlived the series it was built for ten times over.
Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, Splatalot (2011)
Hey Dude
The early 1990s Nickelodeon series Hey Dude left fans with fond memories of its Bar None Ranch set.
Luckily for those fans, the western town is still standing today—though it is in rough shape.
Year One (2009)
Year One may not have done as well as some hoped, the fact that the film was the last one made by legendary writer/director Harold Ramis, has contributed to a fan base.
And those fans certainly appreciate the abandoned set that is still standing today in Sibley, Louisiana.
The Fugitive (1993)
The Fugitive was a massive Hollywood blockbuster that was made just before the CGI special effects came into play—which means they had to stage elaborate physical effects.
So, when the script called for a bus to collide with a train, they did exactly that. And you can find the remnants of the stunt in the Great Smokey Mountains.
Star Wars
While modern Star Wars movies are typically filmed on giant green screens, the original trilogy was filmed around the world.
The sets from scenes of Tattooine in the first film are still standing today.
yovanson, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
Though this film wasn’t a huge hit itself, the sets of Hansel and Gretal: Witch Hunters are.
The medieval village set has become one of the star tourist attractions at Germany’s Babelsberg Film Studio.
The Patriot (2000)
The revolutionary war film, The Patriot was filmed on the grounds of South Carolina’s Cypress Gardens.
After filming ended, property owners felt the set fit so well with the area that they decided to refurbish it to be used in other films afterward.
Ryan’s Daughter (1970)
For Ryan’s Daughter, the filmmakers built a full-scale ancient Irish village on the outskirts of Dingle, Ireland.
Most of the set, including the schoolhouse, are still standing today—though some parts have succumbed to nature.
Iron Man (2008)
Iron Man, along with the entire multibillion-dollar Marvel Universe started when Tony Stark was kidnapped and held hostage in caves in Afghanistan.
The cave set though is actually located in California, and it still stands today for fans to visit.
Death Tunnel (2005)
The horror film, Death Tunnel takes place in an abandoned sanitarium. And believe it or not, the actual set for the film was a true abandoned sanitarium located in Kentucky.
Kris Arnold, Wikimedia Commons
Jurassic World (2015)
The 2015 sequel/reboot Jurassic World, may have been mostly created with CGI, some of the movie’s theme park was built practically on the site of the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans—which closed down after Hurricane Katrina.
Chris Woodrich, Wikimedia Commons
Session 9 (2001)
Session 9 was another movie that was filmed in an actual abandoned asylum. The Danvers State Hospital in Massachusetts, to be specific.
The hospital opened back in 1878 and closed down in 1992. Today, most of the hospital is still standing.
Period photograph, Wikimedia Commons
Field of Dreams
The field from Field of Dreams is arguably the most famous standing film set in the country.
Since the film premiered in 1989, the field has been used for little league and minor league baseball.
IowaPolitics.com, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
12 Monkeys
Parts of 12 Monkeys were filmed at Pennsylvania’s Eastern State Penitentiary—one of the most famous prisons in the United States.
The prison has become a museum and haunted tourist attraction since its closure.
Girl, Interrupted (1999)
Girl, Interrupted was filmed at the Harrisburg State Hospital while the facility was still open.
The hospital did shut down in 2006, and was abandoned. Most of the structure still stands today.
Lord of the Rings
The iconic town of Hobbiton from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy was famously built on parts of private farmland in New Zealand.
The entire set was kept and made into a tourist attraction, which is extremely popular today.
Asterix And Obelix: Mission Cleopatra
Asterix And Obelix: Mission Cleopatra is one of the biggest successes in French film history.
The Egyptian sets constructed for the film were not built in Egypt at all, but rather Ouarzazate, Morocco.
Full Metal Jacket
The Vietnamese city of Hue is said to be “one of the most devastating set pieces in Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket.”
Kubick found and used a British gasworks factory that was scheduled to be demolished, in order to get the full destructive power for the film.
The director filmed the factory being destroyed—and remnants of it all remain today.
Warner, Full Metal Jacket (1987)
The Abyss
Apparently, James Cameron needed “the largest underwear set ever constructed.” He found it at the Cherokee Nuclear Power Plant—an unfinished nuclear plant near Gaffney, South Carolina.
The set stood for nearly a decade after filming was done, before being torn down in the late 1990s.
David Scaglione, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Lone Star (1996)
The western movie Lone Star was filmed in Contrabando—a ghost town in Texas that was used as a set for many western films.
The set was completely abandoned and the adobe Casita used in the film is still standing.
Zero Dark Thirty
The film, Zero Dark Thirty is set in Pakistan, but it was actually filmed at a ranch in California.
It wasn’t the only production to be filmed there, and when it closed many props were left to rot—including the crashed chopper from Zero Dark Thirty.
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