Abhiroop Das
Co-created by Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason, ‘Castle Rock’ stitches together some of Stephen King‘s most iconic stories set in the eponymous town, and reimagines them in a new light. Castle Rock, quaintly nestled somewhere in Maine, has a darker underbelly that every resident is aware of, but none dares to explore. Every other chapter in its 400-year-long history unveils supernatural or occult secrets and mystical appearances that break through space and time. In this two-season horror mystery series, the vaguely interconnected lives of Henry Deaver and Annie Wilkes shape the bulk of the narrative, but the town manages to outlive both of their character arcs, ultimately resembling a character by itself. As such, every corner of this invented place has its own story to tell.
Castle Rock Filming Locations
Filming for ‘Castle Rock’ mainly took place in Massachusetts, with the towns of Orange, Worcester, Tewksbury, and Devens serving as the primary shooting locations. Additionally, more than a dozen other cities and towns in the state were used as backdrops to the show’s second season, including Gardner, Salem, Ayer, Leominster, Hudson, Westford, Clinton, Lunenburg, Shirley, Fitchburg, Littleton, Concord, and Haverhill. As per reports, over 800 Massachusetts residents participated in the production as cast and crew. Filming also extended to West Virginia, where the crew took over the city of Moundsville. Production of the first season began around August 2017, with additional shoots wrapping up around January 2018. Season 2 had a similarly long production window, with lensing starting in March 2019 and concluding in October of the same year.
Orange, Massachusetts
The majority of ‘Castle Rock’ was filmed in the town of Orange, in Massachusetts, which was transformed into the eponymous fictional town. The crew took over several downtown blocks, with the intersections at South and West Main Streets being temporarily blockaded for filming. The First Universalist Church of Orange, located at 31 North Street, was a key backdrop for both seasons of the show. Constructed in 1858, the fixture induced a historic charm to the narrative, alongside the town’s other Victorian-style structures. One such building, the Revival Wheeler Mansion, was refitted into Ruth Deaver’s house for the first season. Located at 75 East on Main Street, this 1800s mansion helped accentuate several climactic moments, shifting and turning its visual identity alongside Ruth.
Reportedly, production in Jump Town took place in multiple phases, possibly to accommodate various seasons in the storytelling. Around the fall of 2017, filming took place in and around the Central Cemetery, located at 49, Grove Street, which is a one-minute walk from the First Universalist Church. Around the same time, the downtown area was once again redressed, this time for a more modern look. In particular, the Slencil Company Buildings, situated at 36 South Main Street, provided the base for several fixtures. The left side of the building doubled as the Castle Rock Police Department, with the right side serving as R. Flagg Army Surplus on-screen. Molly Strand’s real estate office in season 1 was taped in a Mill building on the same road, where the exteriors for The Mellow Tiger Bar were lensed further up, at 14 South Main Street.
The town of Orange was initially developed as a mill town in the 1800s, and oozes with vintage charm and historical richness to this day. This is likely one of the many reasons why Alex Berard, a freelance location manager who worked on ‘Castle Rock,’ scouted the location. The town was an instant hit with the producers, and as development of the show continued, a strong bond emerged between the crew and the locals of Friendly Town. Reportedly, the production donated $3,500 to the town after season 1 wrapped up filming in January 2018, showing their respect and appreciation for the place.
Worcester, Massachusetts
One of the crew’s filming pit stops was Worcester, the second most populous city in the state. Here, the crew captured the show’s urban characteristics, with filming largely centering around two locations. First, Vernon Hill School, situated at 211 Providence Street, was taped in August 2017. Later, the lobby of a Mercantile building at 100 Front Street served as a shooting location around November 21 of the same year. Both locations brought several pivotal scenes to life, while also blending in with the overall aesthetics of Castle Rock. The City of the Seven Hills can also be seen in the backdrop of hit titles such as ‘Dexter: New Blood,’ ‘The Holdovers,’ and ‘Madame Web.’
Devens, Massachusetts
While a major chunk of the show was filmed on-site, with real locations doubling as fictional fixtures, the production also included extensive set-work, with New England Studios, located at 100 Studio Way, in Devens, taking charge of many interior sequences. Established in 2013, the full-service production studio boasts four gigantic soundstages, and ‘Castle Rock’ reportedly marked its first venture into big-budget television. It is likely that various indoor settings, such as the insides of Ruth’s house and The Mellow Tiger, were all carefully designed in the studio for season 1 and later reused for the sequel season. New England Studios has previously served as the location for movies such as ‘Tumbledown,’ ‘Central Intelligence,’ and ‘The Equalizer 2.’
Other Locations in Massachusetts
Alongside Orange, Worcester, and Devens, the creative team behind ‘Castle Rock’ relied on several cities, towns, and regions to recreate the mystical Castle Rock on screen. The Public Health Museum, located at 365 East Street in the town of Tewksbury, was transformed into Juniper Hills Psychiatric Hospital, which served as the setting for several landmark sequences in the first season. Additionally, filming extended to Lancaster town, near Worcester city, where the crew took over a Victorian-era house.
In season 2, Castle Rock was complemented by another fictional town, Jerusalem’s Lot, which quickly became a core setting in the narrative. Filming for Jerusalem’s Lot largely took place in the cities of Gardner and Clinton. As per reports, Clinton served as the filming base sometime in April and August 2019, with a former NAPA Auto shop at 625 Main Street being refitted into the show’s Emporium Galorium junk shop. Additionally, a former Buck Furniture market was turned into a fictional mall, giving the place a flair of its own. A portion of season 2 episode 5 was also lensed in the city of Leominster, particularly at a house on the city’s Prospect Street. Additionally, the crew also set up camp in the cities of Salem, Ayer, Hudson, Westford, Lunenburg, Shirley, Fitchburg, Littleton, Concord, and Haverhill.
Moundsville, West Virginia
One of the most iconic fixtures in ‘Castle Rock’ is undoubtedly the Shawshank State Penitentiary, which features in both the show and the classic film, ‘The Shawshank Redemption.’ As the location is a part of the larger Stephen King fictional universe, the crew decided to incorporate it into the story. Filming took place at the West Virginia State Penitentiary, located at 818 Jefferson Avenue, in the city of Moundsville. The gothic-style prison was built in 1866 and later decommissioned in 1995. As per co-creator Sam Shaw, the prison was chosen due to its unique topography. “Part of the reason we chose the prison that we chose to shoot at was that we loved the idea that there are houses literally in the shadow of the prison,” he told Inverse. As such, the show’s take on Shawshank prison marks itself as distinct from its film counterpart, while also feeding into the grim nature of Castle Rock as both a physical and symbolic setting.
Read More: Castle Rock Season 2 Ending Explained: Is Joy Dead or Alive? Is Annie Hallucinating?
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