Introduction: Hollywood’s Favorite Steel City Backdrop
Pittsburgh has played itself, Gotham City and Memphis in films from Night of the Living Dead to The Dark Knight Rises. Pennsylvania’s film tax credit, which the Pittsburgh Film Office promotes, and a local crew base have kept productions coming. By 2012 the Film Office’s director was telling Entertainment Weekly that five major studio movies shot in southwestern Pennsylvania had reached theaters that year, including The Dark Knight Rises and The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
This guide lists ten of the best-known movies filmed in Pittsburgh with the filming locations you can actually see, which of them are set in Pittsburgh, and a few corrections to common myths. Addresses come from the Pittsburgh Film Office, Pittsburgh Magazine and location guides; private homes are marked as such.
Movies Filmed in Pittsburgh at a Glance
| Movie (year) | Set in Pittsburgh? | Main Pittsburgh locations |
|---|---|---|
| The Dark Knight Rises (2012) | No (Gotham City) | Heinz Field, Mellon Institute, Software Engineering Institute |
| The Silence of the Lambs (1991) | No (Memphis, Baltimore, others) | Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall, William Penn Hotel |
| Flashdance (1983) | Yes | Duquesne Incline, Smithfield Street Bridge, Carnegie Music Hall |
| A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) | Partly (Pittsburgh and New York) | WQED studio in Oakland, Allegheny Cemetery |
| The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) | Yes (Pittsburgh suburbs) | Fort Pitt Tunnel, Peters Township High School |
| Adventureland (2009) | Yes (1987) | Kennywood Park, 16th Street Bridge |
| Jack Reacher (2012) | Yes | North Shore, Strip District, 10th Street Bridge (per location guides) |
| Fences (2016) | Yes | Hill District |
| Concussion (2015) | Yes | Mount Washington, Braddock Carnegie Library, downtown |
| Sudden Death (1995) | Yes | Civic Arena (demolished) |
1. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway
Filming Locations: Heinz Field (Acrisure Stadium), Mellon Institute, Software Engineering Institute
Pittsburgh served as Gotham City. The stadium scene in which Bane destroys the football field was filmed at Heinz Field, now Acrisure Stadium, on August 6 and 7, 2011, with thousands of extras bundled up for a winter game in midsummer. Several Steelers, including Ben Roethlisberger and Hines Ward, appeared as the Gotham Rogues, former coach Bill Cowher played the Rogues’ coach, and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl appeared as the opposing kicker.
The Mellon Institute at 4400 Fifth Avenue in Oakland, now part of Carnegie Mellon University, stood in for Gotham City Hall; the steps scene was filmed on July 31, 2011. The entrance to Blackgate Prison is the Software Engineering Institute on South Dithridge Street. The last Pittsburgh shoot day was August 21, 2011, on Seventh Avenue near William Penn Place downtown.
Visit Tip: The Mellon Institute and SEI are visible from the street. For Acrisure Stadium at 100 Art Rooney Avenue on the North Shore, check the stadium for event and tour schedules. See Art Rooney and the Steelers for the team’s history.
2. Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Director: Jonathan Demme
Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins
Filming Locations: Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall, Oakland; William Penn Hotel, downtown
The film was shot around southwestern Pennsylvania. Neither Pittsburgh nor Pennsylvania is named in the movie. The famous cage scene, where Hannibal Lecter is held and then escapes, was shot at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum at 4141 Fifth Avenue, which stood in for the Shelby County Courthouse in Memphis. The cage stood in the building’s upstairs ballroom, and Pittsburgh filmmaker George Romero has a cameo there. The production office was on the fourth floor of the William Penn Hotel, and at least one FBI office scene was shot there.
Visit Tip: Soldiers & Sailors is a veterans’ museum open to visitors. See the William Penn Hotel’s history.
3. Flashdance (1983)
Director: Adrian Lyne
Starring: Jennifer Beals
Filming Locations: Duquesne Incline, Smithfield Street Bridge, Carnegie Music Hall
Alex Owens is a welder at a Pittsburgh steel mill who dreams of dancing. Filming ran from October 18 to December 30, 1982, in Pittsburgh and Los Angeles. Pittsburgh locations include the Smithfield Street Bridge, the Duquesne Incline (Alex rides it to visit her mentor Hanna), Hanna’s house at 2100 Sidney Street on the South Side (a private residence), and Carnegie Music Hall, which stood in for the fictional Pittsburgh Conservatory of Dance and Repertory. Factory scenes were reportedly shot at the former Westinghouse turbine plant in East Pittsburgh.
Two of the film’s best-known places were not in Pittsburgh. Alex’s loft interior and the Mawby’s bar set were built in Los Angeles, so there is no Mawby’s to visit.
Visit Tip: Ride the Duquesne Incline (1197 West Carson Street) for the skyline view; see Pittsburgh’s incline history. For the mills behind the story, read the rise and fall of Pittsburgh’s steel industry.
4. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
Director: Marielle Heller
Starring: Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers
Filming Locations: WQED studio, Oakland; Allegheny Cemetery; 31st Street Studios
The Pittsburgh Film Office announced in July 2018 that the project, then titled You Are My Friend, would shoot in Pittsburgh that fall with the help of a $10.2 million Pennsylvania tax credit. Scenes of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, including the living room, the miniature town and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, were shot in the real studio in Oakland where the television show was made. Other Pittsburgh locations included Allegheny Cemetery and 31st Street Studios, where recreated talk-show scenes were filmed.
Visit Tip: WQED is not a regular tourist stop. The bronze Fred Rogers statue on the North Shore is, and our article on Fred Rogers and his legacy has more.
5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Director: Stephen Chbosky
Starring: Emma Watson, Logan Lerman
Filming Locations: Fort Pitt Tunnel; Peters Township High School; Hollywood Theater, Dormont
Chbosky, an Upper St. Clair native, adapted and directed his own novel, set in the Pittsburgh suburbs in the early 1990s. The film shot in the Pittsburgh area from May 9 to June 29, 2011. The tunnel scene is the one everyone remembers: as David Bowie’s “Heroes” plays, Emma Watson’s character stands in the bed of a pickup truck as it exits the Fort Pitt Tunnel and the skyline appears. Chbosky says it is his favorite scene in the film. Chbosky told the Post-Gazette that Watson was secured with “so many safety cables”. School scenes used Peters Township High School in McMurray, and the Rocky Horror screenings were set at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont.
Visit Tip: You can drive the Fort Pitt Tunnel inbound for the same reveal, but do not try the truck-bed ride; it is illegal and dangerous.
6. Adventureland (2009)
Director: Greg Mottola
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart
Filming Location: Kennywood Park, West Mifflin
This movie answers the search question “what movies were filmed at Kennywood?” Adventureland is set in the summer of 1987 in a fictional Pittsburgh amusement park, and Kennywood stood in for it. Director Greg Mottola, who had worked at a real Adventureland on Long Island, moved the story to Pittsburgh in part because of Pennsylvania’s larger film tax rebate and his memories of attending Carnegie Mellon. Filming took place in October and November 2007; Kennywood was altered to look run-down, and because it was autumn the crew had to add fake summer foliage. Other locations include the 16th Street Bridge parking area, where the first kiss was filmed, and the Stardust Lounge in Moon Township.
Visit Tip: Kennywood at 4800 Kennywood Boulevard operates seasonally, so check its schedule. For the park’s history, read Kennywood Park history and the lost amusement parks of Pittsburgh.
7. Jack Reacher (2012)
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise
Filming Locations: North Shore, Strip District, 10th Street Bridge (per location guides)
Yes, Jack Reacher was filmed in Pittsburgh, and unlike the book, which is set in Indiana, the movie is set in Pittsburgh too. According to location guides, the sniper scenes were shot on the North Shore near PNC Park and the Riverfront Walk, a bar fight was filmed in the Strip District, and the car chase crosses the 10th Street Bridge and runs through the Armstrong Tunnel. Other sources also list the Fort Duquesne Bridge among the film’s locations. Those guides are enthusiast databases, so treat exact spots as approximate and check before visiting. A quarry in Saltsburg is reported as the site of the final showdown.
Visit Tip: Walk the North Shore riverfront for the sniper scenes, then explore the Strip; see the Strip District’s history.
8. Fences (2016)
Director: Denzel Washington
Starring: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis
Filming Location: Hill District
August Wilson’s play is set in the Hill District, and Washington shot the film in the Hill District neighborhoods where it takes place; a house on Anaheim Street served as the Maxson family home. Viola Davis won the Oscar for best supporting actress. Washington told a Pittsburgh audience at the film’s local premiere, “August Wilson belongs to you.”
Visit Tip: Walk the Hill District to learn the history behind Wilson’s plays; start with Hill District history and August Wilson’s story. The Maxson house is a private residence.
9. Concussion (2015)
Director: Peter Landesman
Starring: Will Smith
Filming Locations: Altius restaurant on Mount Washington; Braddock Carnegie Library; downtown Pittsburgh
The drama about Dr. Bennet Omalu, the Allegheny County pathologist who identified chronic traumatic encephalopathy in former Steelers center Mike Webster, began principal photography in Pittsburgh on October 27, 2014, and shot there through mid-January. A key scene was filmed at Altius on Mount Washington. The Braddock Carnegie Library, the first Carnegie library in the United States, hosted the crew in December 2014, and a Hill District church and downtown locations also appear. The production received $14.3 million in Pennsylvania film tax credits.
Visit Tip: Visit Braddock’s Carnegie library and the Mount Washington overlooks; see Forgotten Steel Towns for Braddock’s story.
10. Sudden Death (1995)
Director: Peter Hyams
Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme
Filming Location: Civic Arena (demolished)
The movie was shot in large part at the Civic Arena, whose retractable roof inspired the premise. Van Damme plays a Pittsburgh fire marshal who fights terrorists during a fictional 1995 Stanley Cup Finals between the Penguins and the Blackhawks, and Penguins mascot Iceburgh and Luc Robitaille appear. The camera also shows Mount Washington, Station Square and the Fort Duquesne Bridge. The arena closed in 2010, when the Penguins moved to the adjacent PPG Paints Arena, and was demolished beginning in late 2011.
Visit Tip: The arena is gone, but PPG Paints Arena stands next to the former site. For what happened to the Lower Hill, see the Civic Arena demolition and the Lower Hill and Penguins history.
More Movies Filmed in Pittsburgh
- Night of the Living Dead (1968): George Romero’s film opens at Evans City Cemetery, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh. The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 1999.
- Dawn of the Dead (1978): Shot mostly overnight inside Monroeville Mall from late 1977 to March 8, 1978.
- Martin (1977): Another Romero film, shot in Braddock.
- Wonder Boys (2000): Set in Pittsburgh and shot at locations that include Carnegie Mellon and Shady Side Academy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was Jack Reacher filmed in Pittsburgh? Yes. The 2012 film shot in Pittsburgh, and location guides place scenes on the North Shore, in the Strip District and on the 10th Street Bridge; the story is set in Pittsburgh.
Where was the Perks of Being a Wallflower tunnel scene filmed? In the Fort Pitt Tunnel, with the skyline reveal on the Fort Pitt Bridge.
What movies were filmed at Kennywood? Adventureland (2009) is the best-known feature film shot there. Kennywood is also the subject of the 1988 WQED documentary Kennywood Memories, according to IMDb.
What movies are set in Pittsburgh? Flashdance, Adventureland, Jack Reacher, Fences, Concussion, Sudden Death, The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Wonder Boys are all set in or around Pittsburgh. Films like The Dark Knight Rises and The Silence of the Lambs used the city as a stand-in for other places.
Which movie was filmed at Heinz Field? The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
Conclusion: See Pittsburgh Through a Hollywood Lens
Pittsburgh’s bridges, tunnels, hills and industrial architecture make it a good double for other cities and a good character in its own right. Pick one of the ten, drive the tunnel or walk the riverfront, and watch the film again afterward. For the city behind the sets, start with a timeline of Pittsburgh’s history.
Sources: Pittsburgh Magazine on the making of The Dark Knight Rises, Pittsburgh Magazine on The Silence of the Lambs and the Pittsburgh Film Office.
