MapleLakelander

Alright, so I just had a very disappointing day for pictures. It's a beautiful morning, I had the sun behind me, I was the only person at the site (other than a forest ranger who probably thought I looked pretty suspicious pacing up and down the shore trying to find landmarks) but I came up completely empty-handed. When I got to Maple Lake, I walked down to the pier and then I looked really closely at the screengrabs I had of the movie. The pier that's standing today is on the same part of the shore SOME FIFTY FEET NORTH of the one constructed for the house. Furthermore, after scouring the internet for a precise location of the house, I came across an article that led me to believe the house was actually constructed over land which was then dug out to fill with water (pictured below: a production still showing the house under construction). This made it completely impossible to line up a good shot. Again, it bears repeating that the house was demolished after shooting because Maple Lake is part of the Cook County Forest Preserve District and filming was only allowed under the condition that the site was to be left as it was before construction. Also, after taking a look at the Willow Springs wikipedia page, I noticed that The Lake House is the only entry under the "Culture" section, which is the perfect indicator of how fucking boring this town is.

Here's another batch! I did the Riverside locations today. Some of my angles aren't great because it was so bright I couldn't see my screen. Also, I didn't know until I was there that the dam has been demolished and the bridge has been redone since filming. Third time's the charm for the lake; it's been really crowded the past two days and I don't want to creep anyone out.

Mm, no, not off-hand. Other than the obvious ones, I'm not nearly as familiar with the Chicago locations as I am with the locations in the south suburbs. I did find this site with a few others while I was doing a search for Morgan's house, though. http://www.itsfilmedthere.com/2012/08/the-lake-house.html?m=1 Also, for non-midwesterners, New York style pizza is everywhere in Chicago so that doesn't necessarily indicate that this shot wasn't somewhere here too.

(I've listened to every single episode and minisode of HDTGM and I'm just now registering to the forum for this incredibly minor bit of trivia) I happen to have grown up - and still live - in Willow Springs, IL just a few short minutes from Maple Lake, the lake on which the house was built, and 20 minutes from Riverside, IL, the other principle non-Chicago location. Early in the episode, Paul mentions that the titular lake house was constructed specifically for the movie and that it was left after shooting. I can say from first-hand experience that the house was demolished shortly after filming. All that remains is the pier, which is now used for fishing. Probably the only positive thing to have happened as the result of this movie. I want to share a couple side-by-side pictures of a few locations I recognized immediately but I wanted to get this post in before the minisode so I only have one right now. I'll post more, including the actual site of the house, the Riverside train station, and the riverside dam tomorrow when I have more daylight. I'm also going to see if I can find Morgan's house.