Mystery Street
4th Avenue And Main Street
Royersford
After running out of the theater, several movie-goers are seen running around the corner. I often wondered where this scene was filmed, and my usual information sources couldn’t shed any light on the subject.
However, thanks to Howard Fishlove, who was the key grip and slater for the original film, the location was identified as 4th & Main Street in Royersford. I’d also like to thank Dave Lentz, who visited the location and sent me these pictures.
In 2007, that block of Main Street got its second shot at Hollywood stardom, as director Peter Jackson and crew used the street as a location for his 1970s-set. Shooting lasted for two days from November 28 to the 29th.
[googleMap name=”Mystery Street” directions_to=”false”]4th Avenue And Main Street, Royersford, PA[/googleMap]
FilmBuffRich on December 27th, 2008 | File Under Locations | No Comments -
South Main Street And Third Avenue
After leaving Jerry’s Market, the Blob continues feasting on the town’s residents. It finds its way to the Colonial Theater and oozes through the heating vent into the projectionist booth.
The breakout scene at the Colonial Theater had to be filmed twice because the first time someone fell (information provided by Barry Miller, who was one of the extras in this scene).
After escaping from the movie theater, several patrons headed across the street towards the Downingtown Diner. People eating in the diner saw what was going on and decided that was not the best place to be at that moment. Jane’s little brother attempted unsuccessfully to shoot the Blob with his toy gun and then ran inside. Jane and Steve followed him, only to become trapped as the Blob (now quite huge after many meals) enveloped the diner.
As the Blob begins to ooze in through the edges of the windows. Lt. Dave (Earl Rowe) sees the power wires running above the diner and decides to try electrocuting the Blob. He calls into the diner and tells Steve to get everyone down into the basement. When they get down there, they look out the window to see that the Blob has completely engulfed the building.
Like Jerry’s Market, there are conflicting stories about the Downingtown Diner. Some believe that the diner had undergone serious remodeling, with its exterior being drastically changed from how it looked in the film to its present appearance.
The basement has been left intact, whichever story is correct, but the small window at the right of the doorway has been blocked by a handicap ramp. Even though it’s covered on the outside by a handicap ramp, the window that Steve and Jane eventually escaped through is still visible from inside.
This is not to say that the new diner doesn’t have its own claim to cinematic fame, having been featured in the 2000 thriller Killer Instinct featuring Corbin Bernsen and Dee Wallace.
Sgt. Jim Bert (John Benson) shoots at the wires, but the attempt is unsuccessful at killing the Blob. The diner catches on fire.
This is the Samuel K. Barkley Elementary School in Phoenixville, PA. To the left you will see the same entranceway that was used in the filming of the movie. A fan wrote to me and told me that in 1957, when the movie was filmed, the school’s name was Memorial Junior High School (courtesy of Gerry Fox).
While traveling through town, Steve and Jane see the old man’s dog huddled by the doors of the market owned by Steve’s father. When they approach the dog, they discover the doors to the store are unlocked and the lights are on, even though it’s after midnight. They go in to investigate. The Blob begins to chase them and to escape they retreat to the meat locker. For some unknown reason, the Blob doesn’t follow them in.
The case of Jerry’s Market (and to a lesser extent the Cadillac/Downingtown Diner) is an example of the sadder and more frustrating side of location hunting. In the half-century since the production of the film, the building the once housed the Royersford Jerry’s Market has undergone numerous renovations, making it difficult to identify today, unless one knows what they’re looking for. In this case, you’d be looking for what is now the Lewis Road Plaza in Royersford, with a string of shops added onto the old Jerry’s Market, turning it into the anchor for a small strip mall.
For several years, through the 1990s and into the new century, the former Market section of the plaza was a Drug Emporium drug store, with a blue facade erected that blocked the distinctive arched roof of the market. (I wonder if the original Jerry’s Market sign still hangs underneath that facade, waiting to be rediscovered.) However, if one gets to the right angle in the parking lot, you can still catch a glimpse of the original roof. Compare the roof with the black and white picture taken during the filming of the scene and you can see the same rounded structure.
In November 2004, the