Where was White Noise filmed? The College & all the Locations

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Based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Don DeLillo, set in 1984, White Noise was primarily filmed in Ohio.

This dark disaster-comedy movie revolves around a peculiar college teacher specializing in Hitler studies and his family. They will have to navigate life and a massive train accident that spreads a cloud of chemical waste over the town.

Adam Driver as Jack Gladney

The 2023 Ohio train derailment, which occurred a few weeks after the movie was released, is almost identical to the main plot of the film!

Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale, Marriage Story), the movie stars Adam Driver (Star Wars Kylo Ren) as Professor Jack Gladney.

The main cast is completed by Greta Gerwig as his wife, Babette Gladney, Raffey Cassidy as the older daughter, Denise, and Don Cheadle as Jack's colleague, Murray Siskind.

Here is our almost spoiler-free guide to the filming locations of White Noise.


The White Noise College on the Hill

White Noise College
The fictional College-on-the-Hill is actually an amalgam of several locations.

The exterior was filmed at the Andrews Osborne Academy, a college preparatory school in Willoughby, Ohio.

However, as you can see by comparing the screenshot with the Google Maps image, several buildings around the main hall were added to the scene via CGI.
(You can open all the locations on Google Maps by clicking on the links below in the captions ↴)
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map


College on the Hill

Some classroom scenes, like the one at the beginning of the film, pictured, were shot at the University of Akron.

Also, there is a scene filmed inside the labs at Baldwin Wallace University's Wilker Hall.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Maps: University of Akron / Baldwin Wallace University


White Noise house
As Chronicle Telegram reported, the Gladney home is located at 195 Forest Street in Oberlin.

Built in 1900, this five-bedroom house has an estimated market price of US$380,000.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map


White Noise supermarket
The A&P supermarket was recorded at the old Meadowbrook Market Square, located at the corner of Rockside and Northfield Roads in Bedford.

Once a busy strip mall with top grocery stores, this complex built in 1997 is empty and abandoned.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map


White Noise city
As News 5 Cleveland revealed, the production dressed up a section of Est Herrick Avenue in Downtown Wellington.

The film crew built the facade of a movie theater on a vacant shop and repainted several storefronts for the shoot.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map


Kent Student Center
The scene pictured was filmed inside the dining room on the second floor of the Kent Student Center at Kent State University.

The ceiling is the original one, but most of the space was redesigned, with the walls painted in the vivid colors that appear in this stylish movie.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map


Airborne toxic event
During part two, the airborne toxic event, Jack refills the Chevrolet Caprice Classic Wagon in an eerie Shell gas station.

This scene was filmed in an old auto repair shop at a crossroads in Dorset.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map


Dylarama
Camp Manatoc Scout Reservation in Peninsula served as the first camp where everybody is evacuated in a chaotic way.

This 600-acres area is located within the gorgeous Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map


Pine Lake Raceway and Trails Jefferson
The crazy chase scene with the family car through the forest was filmed at the Pine Lake Raceway and Trails in Jefferson.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map


Roadway Motel
The Roadway Motel sequence was a set filmed under a section of the Innerbelt Freeway near the Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland.

This structure is located next to the stunning Hope Memorial Bridge, a 4,490-foot-long (1,370 meters) Art Deco truss bridge crossing the Cuyahoga River.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map


Notaufnahme emergency clinic church nuns
Other reported locations are the Canton Central Catholic High School in Perry Township, the Hiram College, the College of Wooster, and Cleveland Heights.

Can you help to improve this article about the filming locations of White Noise? To complete and correct this report, any feedback, info, or images that you may have are more than welcome, thank you!

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6 comments:

1- Anonymous - Jan 11, 2023, 7:41 PM
That's the Innerbelt Freeway, not the Hope Memorial Bridge. The Hope Bridge (still called the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge by most locals) is next to the Innerbelt, which was built within the last ten years replacing a previous span. You can see the Hope in front of the newer bridge here: https://goo.gl/maps/BmgSyaSyTc81akzD8

2- Anonymous - Feb 14, 2023, 8:43 AM
Where was the train explosion scene filmed? Does anyone know?

3- Anonymous - Feb 14, 2023, 2:03 PM
Yes, there was a train derailment and explosion of toxic chemicals in the movie, around the 45-minute mark or so.

4- Anonymous - Feb 14, 2023, 8:21 PM
The train derailment scene was filmed in Sandersville, GA.

5- Anonymous - Feb 15, 2023, 7:46 AM
Isn't it interesting how a real disaster happened after the release of this film? Wake up, folks. They let us know what's going to happen before it happens. Time will tell.

   Reply
   6- Piombo - Feb 17, 2023, 12:07 PM
   The book was published 38 years ago. Try reading, you will be so awake.


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