4 Iowa Towns Where Famous Movies Were Filmed
Few films have managed to capture America’s passion for sport quite like Field of Dreams. Filmed mostly in Iowa, this blockbuster movie also nailed a couple of other themes that Americans like to see on the silver screen: the importance of family, tight-knit communities, and the potential for our dreams to become reality. As American as apple pie, Field of Dreams is only one of several memorable movies that used Iowa as an authentic backdrop to create cinema magic. This all adds up to being great news for film fans and travelers. For ideas about what to include in your Iowa movie-town adventure, check out these four must-visit places.
Dyersville - Field of Dreams
Baseball fan or not, there’s a good chance you’ve watched Field of Dreams and wondered where this remarkable moment of cinematic history was filmed. Located 25 miles west of Dubuque in the rolling hills of eastern Iowa, Dyersville became a star in its own right the moment Field of Dreams was released in 1989.
Starring Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, and Ray Liotta, this Oscar-nominated movie tells the story of an Iowa farmer who hears a mysterious voice asking him to build a baseball diamond in his cornfield. Universal Pictures built the field on two adjacent farms, literally carving the diamond out of a cornfield. Along with help from the Dyersville Beckman High School baseball team, food coloring and latex paint were drafted in to keep the grass looking green throughout the 14-week shoot.
Today, the Field of Dreams Movie Site continues to attract thousands of visitors and is open year-round from sunrise to sunset. Not only can you walk the bases or play catch in the outfield, but you can also rent out the field and bring some friends for a game. The original farmhouse can also be toured and has been restored to look just as it did when shooting wrapped in 1989.
The property's on-site pub, The DugOut, serves traditional baseball-park grub, and if you time a visit right, you’ll even get to see the Ghost Players. Dressed in 1919 White Sox uniforms, these locals even emerge from the corn to play catch with visitors during Ghost Saturdays. They also appear on Tuesdays and Thursdays to interact with the crowds.
Be sure to include downtown Dyersville in your Field of Dreams itinerary. Must-sees include the If You Build It Exhibit, which adds a little more context about the film's production, including an original 1919 World Series baseball, and the chance to dress up and create your own baseball card. St. Francis Basilica, one of only two such places of worship in Iowa, is also worth visiting, as is the National Farm Toy Museum. Beer and baseball fans will also want to check out the Textile Brewing Company, where you can sample If You Brew It, a corn lager that owes a debt to the film’s most memorable line.
Winterset - The Bridges of Madison County
As Dyersville is to sports fans, so Winterset is to those who enjoy a good tearjerker. Located a 35-mile drive southwest of Des Moines, Iowa’s state capital, Winterset was the setting of Clint Eastwood's The Bridges of Madison County. Filmed in 1995 and starring Eastwood as a National Geographic photographer and Meryl Streep as an Italian American farm wife, their four-day fling in 1965 is the stuff of romance movie legend.
Eastwood wisely chose to film entirely on location in Madison County, using the actual covered bridges rather than constructing replicas. It proved a smart decision that not only saved money but also added a tangible layer of authenticity.
Madison County boasts six historic covered bridges, five of which are original structures dating from 1870 to 1884. The Roseman Covered Bridge, built in 1883, figures prominently in the film and spans Middle River eight miles southwest of Winterset. You can find it easier than Eastwood did by popping into the Madison County Chamber Welcome Center and picking up a free map showing the locations of all six bridges. The center also has displays of movie memorabilia and can arrange guided tours.
If you’re a real fan of the movie, time your arrival to coincide with the Madison County Covered Bridge Festival. Held on the second full weekend of October, you’ll enjoy food, arts and crafts vendors, live music, a classic car show, and even a parade. Event organizers also put on tours of the covered bridges during the festival.
Eldora - Twister
The small community of Eldora played a starring role in 1996’s big blockbuster, Twister. Starring Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, it’s about a group of storm chasers in pursuit of massive tornadoes blowing across the Midwest. Although primarily set in Oklahoma, production moved to Iowa after the tragic Oklahoma City bombing.
The thrilling climax, where the two leads brace themselves against an F5 tornado, was filmed in and around Eldora, with a two-story wood-frame farmhouse serving as a key exterior location. Other Iowa communities involved included Ames, the film crew’s base camp, and where the world premiere was held at the North Grand Mall theater.
The iconic scene depicting Bill and Jo fleeing through a cornfield (yes, Iowa has lots of corn fields!) while being chased by the tornado was shot near Ames, too. The community of Boone provided the location for the Twister Hill scene featuring the bridge crossing over the Des Moines River.
Dubuque - F.I.S.T.
Iowa's oldest city, Dubuque, is set along the Mississippi River and has lent more than a little clout to its position as a superb place to make a movie. It was here that 1978’s F.I.S.T. was shot, a drama starring Sylvester Stallone as a Cleveland warehouse worker who rises through the ranks of a trucker’s union while getting caught up with organized crime.
Dubuque was selected largely because its older sections resembled 1930s Cleveland remarkably well. The absence of rooftop television antennas, due to the city's early adoption of cable television in the mid-1950s, was another plus in the town’s favor.
The production was a huge affair and brought multiple trainloads packed with filming equipment and props, and in turn employed hundreds of residents as extras. Key film locations included the town’s St. Raphael's Cathedral, the Fourth Street Elevator, as well as the impressive red-brick Dubuque Star Brewery. All of them can be seen today as part of a self-guided walking tour.
Where Dreams Meet Reality
Whether you’re a fan of historic 1920s-era movies, budding romances, or even sporting flicks, you’ll find that Iowa's best film locations have something for everyone. From the famed baseball diamond made in a Dyersville cornfield that became the star in Field of Dreams, to the iconic covered bridges of Madison County, Iowa has been the perfect backdrop for many iconic American movies.
