69 Must-See SciFi Sights in the U.S.
September 2, 2009 10:51 AM Subscribe
SciFi Wire lists 68 science fiction sights that can be found in the U.S. The sights include the "Ghostbusters headquarters," Captain Kirk's future birthplace, and Mothman museum.
Twilight isn't sci-fi.
posted by smackfu at 10:57 AM on September 2, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by smackfu at 10:57 AM on September 2, 2009 [1 favorite]
Does the New York City Public Library Ghostbusters Tour include the exploding card catalogues? If not, no sale.
It's also very clearly Columbia University that the 'busters get fired from.
posted by Joe Beese at 11:00 AM on September 2, 2009
It's also very clearly Columbia University that the 'busters get fired from.
posted by Joe Beese at 11:00 AM on September 2, 2009
I'm glad to see the Kennedy Space Center on that list. I mean, everyone knows that the moon landing was a big fiction.
posted by scrutiny at 11:02 AM on September 2, 2009 [4 favorites]
posted by scrutiny at 11:02 AM on September 2, 2009 [4 favorites]
Vasquez Rocks gets a passing mention for being in the new Star Trek movie, but it's probably been a filming site for more science fiction productions than anywhere else on the planet.
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:05 AM on September 2, 2009
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:05 AM on September 2, 2009
They have Kirk's birthplace in Iowa -- why not the place where he died? The Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada is where they shot the scenes for "Viridian 3," from Star Trek Generations. (Also, it looks like the Valley of fire was used in a couple other sci-fi films -- and with good reason, that place looks eerie.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:05 AM on September 2, 2009
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:05 AM on September 2, 2009
Apologies for the incorrect punctuation in my post.
I agree with you, smackfu. "Twilight" does not belong on the map. I've got nothing against vampires & werewolves, but the multitude of "He's so pretty & sparkly" statements takes it off any list (at least for me), no matter what genre it may be.
posted by Four-Eyed Girl at 11:09 AM on September 2, 2009
I agree with you, smackfu. "Twilight" does not belong on the map. I've got nothing against vampires & werewolves, but the multitude of "He's so pretty & sparkly" statements takes it off any list (at least for me), no matter what genre it may be.
posted by Four-Eyed Girl at 11:09 AM on September 2, 2009
If Twilight goes, then Last Man on Earth should go too. dressing a vampire-cum-werewolf movie in post apocalyptic trappings doesn't make it a sci fi film.
That being said, I think we're getting a little too focused on the title, which properly should probably be Nerd Road Trip.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:13 AM on September 2, 2009 [2 favorites]
That being said, I think we're getting a little too focused on the title, which properly should probably be Nerd Road Trip.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:13 AM on September 2, 2009 [2 favorites]
I suppose we should be glad it wasn't called "69 Must-See SyFy Sights".
posted by smackfu at 11:25 AM on September 2, 2009
posted by smackfu at 11:25 AM on September 2, 2009
No Devil's Tower? This means something.
posted by poppo at 11:27 AM on September 2, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by poppo at 11:27 AM on September 2, 2009 [2 favorites]
...and because so much happened in New York City, nothing at all happened in New England.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 11:33 AM on September 2, 2009
posted by robocop is bleeding at 11:33 AM on September 2, 2009
Worth noting that Elliot's house from E.T. was nearly destroyed by fire this week. Same deal with the Hill Valley clock tower last year.
posted by hifiparasol at 11:34 AM on September 2, 2009
posted by hifiparasol at 11:34 AM on September 2, 2009
Here you go, Bageena.
You'll probably be able to find lots of Arizona sites with some googling. As usual, Wikipedia has a list to get you started.
The Sci Fi Wire list does, suck, doesn't it? People in their own comments section are suggesting better sites.
posted by faster than a speeding bulette at 12:03 PM on September 2, 2009
You'll probably be able to find lots of Arizona sites with some googling. As usual, Wikipedia has a list to get you started.
The Sci Fi Wire list does, suck, doesn't it? People in their own comments section are suggesting better sites.
posted by faster than a speeding bulette at 12:03 PM on September 2, 2009
Based on the popular television show from the 1980s by the same name, the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum...
Uh...
Not to mention the fact that there's one of those crappy museums in every tourist-trap destination in America from Myrtle Beach to Branson, MO.
posted by Bookhouse at 12:05 PM on September 2, 2009
Uh...
Not to mention the fact that there's one of those crappy museums in every tourist-trap destination in America from Myrtle Beach to Branson, MO.
posted by Bookhouse at 12:05 PM on September 2, 2009
but but but Kirk was born on a shuttle evacuating the Kelvin.
posted by cmfletcher at 12:09 PM on September 2, 2009 [5 favorites]
posted by cmfletcher at 12:09 PM on September 2, 2009 [5 favorites]
Since they don't think, there's anything worthwhile in the southeast I'm gonna go ahead and throw in my vote for the abandoned Cherokee Nuclear Power Plant, the site of the underwater set for The Abyss. You've got a fantasy/sf movie, you've got modern decay and you've got a nuclear power plant, how much more nerdery can you get?
posted by 1f2frfbf at 12:12 PM on September 2, 2009
posted by 1f2frfbf at 12:12 PM on September 2, 2009
Tower Records and the Moondance diner in NY are gone. if you were planning on seeing some of the NY ones
posted by Calloused_Foot at 12:13 PM on September 2, 2009
posted by Calloused_Foot at 12:13 PM on September 2, 2009
“Last Man on Earth” was based on Matheson’s “I Am Legend” which, actually is pretty scientific given it uses a disease model for vampirism rather than the mysticism. Has microscopes and everything. Although – Vincent Price is such a horror genre heavy he could be an immediate disqualifier for scifi. Also – Death Proof? But no Metropolis, Il? All over the nerd map. Not even the good nerd stuff (certain exceptions – NASA, et.al) but more popular nerd stuff. Which makes it not nerdy at all.
*shake that off*
Y’know, if ‘ultraterrestrials’ like Mothman exist on some paranormal plane, I can think of no better method of combating them or utterly destroying them by drowning them in banality as a tourist attraction.
posted by Smedleyman at 12:13 PM on September 2, 2009
*shake that off*
Y’know, if ‘ultraterrestrials’ like Mothman exist on some paranormal plane, I can think of no better method of combating them or utterly destroying them by drowning them in banality as a tourist attraction.
posted by Smedleyman at 12:13 PM on September 2, 2009
there's one of those crappy museums
Ripley's Believe It or Not Museums are the best things I have ever experienced in my life. You may be thinking of Guiness Book of World Records museums.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:14 PM on September 2, 2009 [1 favorite]
Ripley's Believe It or Not Museums are the best things I have ever experienced in my life. You may be thinking of Guiness Book of World Records museums.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:14 PM on September 2, 2009 [1 favorite]
I couldn't make it past the inclusion of "StarTrek".
Next.
posted by signal at 12:18 PM on September 2, 2009
Next.
posted by signal at 12:18 PM on September 2, 2009
I work two blocks from Hook and Ladder 8, and the guys at the firehouse sell Ghostbusters T-shirts and the money goes into a fund for the families of firefighters who have been hurt or killed in the line of duty.
They're all really nice about the situation, and at one point they were talking about putting up some Ghostbusters theme stuff around the outside for the tourists to take photos of.
It's a real working firehouse too, so sometimes they actually, you know, go and fight fires.
posted by mephron at 12:24 PM on September 2, 2009
They're all really nice about the situation, and at one point they were talking about putting up some Ghostbusters theme stuff around the outside for the tourists to take photos of.
It's a real working firehouse too, so sometimes they actually, you know, go and fight fires.
posted by mephron at 12:24 PM on September 2, 2009
No love for Grover's Mill, NJ, which has a monument commemorating the site where the Martians landed in Welles's War of the Worlds broadcast? Now that's a crying shame.
It's right outside of Princeton, and visiting there means you're within a few short miles of the very fabulous The Bent Spoon for the most delicious homemade ice creams, sorbets, gelatos, and cupcakes -- oh lord, the cupcakes. om nom nom nom x 1,000.
posted by shiu mai baby at 12:37 PM on September 2, 2009 [2 favorites]
It's right outside of Princeton, and visiting there means you're within a few short miles of the very fabulous The Bent Spoon for the most delicious homemade ice creams, sorbets, gelatos, and cupcakes -- oh lord, the cupcakes. om nom nom nom x 1,000.
posted by shiu mai baby at 12:37 PM on September 2, 2009 [2 favorites]
The Marin County Civic Center (Frank Lloyd Wright’s last building) was used in THX 1138 and Gattaca.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:58 PM on September 2, 2009
posted by kirkaracha at 12:58 PM on September 2, 2009
Even as someone who grew up 15 minutes from the Mothman museum and owns a stuffed Mothman, I wouldn't say that it's really a must-see. I do have a somewhat inexplicable fondness for that creepy statue, though.
Man, and I remember when it was big Mothman news just to get a quick mention in an X-Files episode, too. I guess that movie really put it on the map.
posted by Copronymus at 1:06 PM on September 2, 2009
Man, and I remember when it was big Mothman news just to get a quick mention in an X-Files episode, too. I guess that movie really put it on the map.
posted by Copronymus at 1:06 PM on September 2, 2009
which properly should probably be Nerd Road Trip.
I've been planning on doing my own version of this, it involves trying to find and photograph as many of the sites from the original Blues Brothers as I can.
I'm not sure when or where this became a obsession in my life, but at least I can console myself with the fact that it's a mission from God.
posted by quin at 1:29 PM on September 2, 2009 [3 favorites]
I've been planning on doing my own version of this, it involves trying to find and photograph as many of the sites from the original Blues Brothers as I can.
I'm not sure when or where this became a obsession in my life, but at least I can console myself with the fact that it's a mission from God.
posted by quin at 1:29 PM on September 2, 2009 [3 favorites]
The dunes west of Yuma, AZ (actually, west of Yuma, CA, but whatever) are where you can find Great Pit of Carkoon.
posted by carsonb at 1:51 PM on September 2, 2009
posted by carsonb at 1:51 PM on September 2, 2009
What? No Vasquez Rocks?
More Star Trek and B-movie SF scenes have been shot there than any other single location, ever. Omitting Vasquez Rocks from a list like this is like omitting the Grand Canyon.
posted by loquacious at 1:58 PM on September 2, 2009
More Star Trek and B-movie SF scenes have been shot there than any other single location, ever. Omitting Vasquez Rocks from a list like this is like omitting the Grand Canyon.
posted by loquacious at 1:58 PM on September 2, 2009
I particularly like the mention of Vancouver, which, last I checked, was not actually in the United States.
posted by cerebus19 at 2:03 PM on September 2, 2009
posted by cerebus19 at 2:03 PM on September 2, 2009
Someone suggest me a science fiction sight to see in Vermont? I'll go this weekend.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 2:40 PM on September 2, 2009
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 2:40 PM on September 2, 2009
I particularly like the mention of Vancouver, which, last I checked, was not actually in the United States.
I was going to make a joke about how if you believe that, you haven't watched a lot of American television sci-fi and movies made on the cheap because apparently it's about as American as a location can get.
But then I followed the link and realized the map in the article made that joke for me.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 3:06 PM on September 2, 2009
I was going to make a joke about how if you believe that, you haven't watched a lot of American television sci-fi and movies made on the cheap because apparently it's about as American as a location can get.
But then I followed the link and realized the map in the article made that joke for me.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 3:06 PM on September 2, 2009
I'm not sure they know what 'Must See' means.
posted by OHenryPacey at 3:14 PM on September 2, 2009
posted by OHenryPacey at 3:14 PM on September 2, 2009
Where the hell is El Capitan?
In Star Trek V, which is why no one should care. Even if that sequence is pretty good.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 3:26 PM on September 2, 2009
In Star Trek V, which is why no one should care. Even if that sequence is pretty good.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 3:26 PM on September 2, 2009
Why is Texas Chainsaw Massacre on there? That is even less sci-fi than Twilight.
posted by Saxon Kane at 3:48 PM on September 2, 2009
posted by Saxon Kane at 3:48 PM on September 2, 2009
Also: fuck SyFy for forcing mobile users to go to their mobile site and not providing a link to their regular site. (And for having the douchiest name chane in the history of ever.)
posted by shiu mai baby at 3:58 PM on September 2, 2009
posted by shiu mai baby at 3:58 PM on September 2, 2009
On my last road trip I stopped in Boseman, Montana, the birthplace of warp drive. They don't have a plaque of Zephram Cochrane or anything, but it's a nice enough little town.
posted by scarabic at 4:31 PM on September 2, 2009
posted by scarabic at 4:31 PM on September 2, 2009
Vasquez Rocks gets a passing mention for being in the new Star Trek movie, but it's probably been a filming site for more science fiction productions than anywhere else on the planet.
If you go there, you can get a tour from the guy who played The Gorn. True story, the ranger told me.
Also i shot a music video there.
posted by drjimmy11 at 4:45 PM on September 2, 2009
If you go there, you can get a tour from the guy who played The Gorn. True story, the ranger told me.
Also i shot a music video there.
posted by drjimmy11 at 4:45 PM on September 2, 2009
if they woulda added the San Dimas Circle-K they would have had 69, which is the number present Bill and Ted guessed future Bill and Ted were thinking of.
posted by drjimmy11 at 4:53 PM on September 2, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by drjimmy11 at 4:53 PM on September 2, 2009 [1 favorite]
Literally just down the street from the UFO museum in Roswell is a museum and planetarium devoted to Robert Goddard.
Roswell's UFO museum amused me. The Goddard museum moved me.
posted by Tube at 5:07 PM on September 2, 2009
Roswell's UFO museum amused me. The Goddard museum moved me.
posted by Tube at 5:07 PM on September 2, 2009
I didn't know that about Vasquez Rocks. Do you think that has anything to do with Vasquez' immortal line "LET'S ROCK!" !?
posted by autodidact at 5:38 PM on September 2, 2009
posted by autodidact at 5:38 PM on September 2, 2009
Last year I had a temp job a couple blocks away from the Ghostbusters firehouse and seeking it out was a weird, underwhelming experience. The building is so much smaller than it seems on film (I actually missed it the first time I walked by because I was expecting something bigger). It looks kind of run down, too. I wonder if it'll get spruced up for the third movie?
posted by greenland at 5:48 PM on September 2, 2009
posted by greenland at 5:48 PM on September 2, 2009
the number present Bill and Ted guessed future Bill and Ted were thinking of.
Wasn't it future Bill & Ted who guessed the number that present Bill & Ted were thinking of? That's how present B&T knew that future B&T were really B&T.
posted by Saxon Kane at 5:49 PM on September 2, 2009 [1 favorite]
Wasn't it future Bill & Ted who guessed the number that present Bill & Ted were thinking of? That's how present B&T knew that future B&T were really B&T.
posted by Saxon Kane at 5:49 PM on September 2, 2009 [1 favorite]
They filmed the ending to the Spielberg/Cruise "War of the Worlds" here in town, and part of the climax was blowing up an old factory building, which had very imposing smokestacks. All done in CGI, and somehow our town got changed to a Boston suburb, but it was still pretty awesome. It was a neat little sci-Fi sight to see on a back road.
Regrettably, last year they took the stacks and the building down as part of the environmental remediation for 100 years of industrial work. So, nothing much to see anymore.
posted by smackfu at 6:26 PM on September 2, 2009
Regrettably, last year they took the stacks and the building down as part of the environmental remediation for 100 years of industrial work. So, nothing much to see anymore.
posted by smackfu at 6:26 PM on September 2, 2009
Man, I freaking loved Vasquez Rocks. Just being there, with those goddamned rocks, the rocks I've seen since my childhood and, yet, never visited...it's wonderful.
The next time we go back to L.A., we're going to Monterey Bay Aquarium. Hopefully, my husband won't get the urge to start swimming with some whales...
posted by Katemonkey at 4:37 AM on September 3, 2009
The next time we go back to L.A., we're going to Monterey Bay Aquarium. Hopefully, my husband won't get the urge to start swimming with some whales...
posted by Katemonkey at 4:37 AM on September 3, 2009
Yeah... Twilight was an unwanted addition to the list, as were several other things... and absolutely zero mention of Devil's Mountain, which pretty much was the heart of "Close Encounters..."
That said, I now have to be sure to check out the Bradbury Building the next time I am in SoCal.
BTW, if anyone has any spare change, they might want to consider buying Deckard's apartment building. It's collectable, even!
posted by markkraft at 1:53 PM on September 3, 2009
That said, I now have to be sure to check out the Bradbury Building the next time I am in SoCal.
BTW, if anyone has any spare change, they might want to consider buying Deckard's apartment building. It's collectable, even!
posted by markkraft at 1:53 PM on September 3, 2009
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Uh...
posted by brundlefly at 10:57 AM on September 2, 2009 [5 favorites]