The Movie Ended, the Set Stayed (10 Photos)

Movie sets that stayed after filming

A Star Wars dome on a salt flat, a cartoon village on a Maltese cove, a baseball field in a cornfield. These ten filming locations outlived their movies. Some sets were rebuilt in lasting materials; others were saved by fans, farmers or new owners.

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🏡 Bag End, Hobbiton Movie Set — Matamata, New Zealand 🇳🇿

This set was half torn down after filming, then came back for good. The New Zealand Army helped build 39 temporary hobbit holes on the Alexander family’s sheep farm in 1999; after filming, a first attempt to dismantle them left 17 bare plywood façades, and tours began in 2002. When Peter Jackson returned for The Hobbit in 2009, the set was rebuilt in permanent materials. It now has 44 hobbit holes, on the farm outside Matamata.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsHobbiton Movie SetMatamata · New Zealand44 Hobbit HolesWorking farmMatamata1The permanent set contains 44 reconstructed Hobbit Holes.hobbitontours.com2According to Guinness, the façades were built at different scales to change actors’ apparent size.guinnessworldrecords.com1998Farm selected during aerial scouting1999Original temporary set created2009Set rebuilt as permanent structures201427 SepBag End photographed by Tom Hall20231 DecBagshot Row interior opened202525 AprBag End photographed (Wikimedia Commons)Read the full file →

📷 Photo: Tom Hall / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

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⚓ Popeye Village — Anchor Bay, Malta 🇲🇹

Popeye, starring Robin Williams, came out in 1980. Its village never left. A crew of 165 began building Sweethaven in June 1979: 19 wooden buildings, with logs and planks shipped from the Netherlands, shingles from Canada and eight tons of nails. Nobody tore it down after filming, and the crooked houses are still standing on the cove.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsPopeye VillageBuilt for Popeye (1980) · 1979 · Mellieħa, MaltaBuilt for Popeye (1980)19 wooden buildingsAnchor Bay, Mellieħa1The village’s 19 wooden buildings were built as the backdrop for Robert Altman’s 1980 film Popeye, starring Robin Williams.GuideMeMalta2Planks were reportedly imported from the Netherlands and roof shingles from Canada, according to Wikipedia.Wikipedia1979June construction photo resurfaces198023 JanFilming begins20091 JunVillage photographed from above the bay20239 FebBoulder from cliff damages set20233 JunReopens after repairs2026Operator lists 2026 opening hoursRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Felix König / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

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🌅 Lars Homestead — Chott el Djerid, Tunisia 🇹🇳

This dome was Luke Skywalker’s home in the first Star Wars film (1977). The crew left it on the salt flat, came back to use it again for Attack of the Clones, and left it once more. By 2012 it was crumbling, so Star Wars fans paid for the repair themselves and sent a volunteer team out to re-plaster it. This photo was taken in 2010, before the repair.

💡 Place Fact: Luke’s underground home was filmed somewhere else: it is the Hotel Sidi Driss in the town of Matmata, a traditional Berber home that became a hotel in 1969.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsLars HomesteadStar Wars production · Chott el Djerid, TunisiaLars Homestead exteriorInteriors shot in MatmataFan-restored in 20121Fans raised more than $11,000 in donations and reinforced, plastered and painted what was left of the dome, according to NPR.NPR2The dome has reportedly been built, rebuilt or restored six times, most recently in a GIZ-funded restoration in May 2022, according to Galaxy Tours.Galaxy Tours2000Lucasfilm rebuilds dome for prequels2010Dome reported crumbling, roof wrecked201228 MayFan-funded Save Lars restoration begins20121 JulNPR reports fans fixed the home201828 AprDiscover Tatooine restoration202224 MarDome photographed from the road2022GIZ-funded restoration in May202530 AugGuide lists restored igloo as visitable202623 AugMagazine reports the dome “stable”Read the full file →

📷 Photo: Stefan Krasowski / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

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⚾ Field of Dreams — Dyersville, Iowa, USA 🇺🇸

The baseball diamond was cut into an Iowa cornfield for a 1989 movie. When visitors kept showing up, farm owners Don and Becky Lansing left the field in place. In 2021 the White Sox beat the Yankees 9–8 in a real Major League game, in a ballpark built next to the movie field.

💡 Book Fact: The movie was adapted from W.P. Kinsella’s 1982 novel Shoeless Joe, and its famous line is actually “If you build it, he will come”. The “he” is White Sox outfielder Shoeless Joe Jackson, disgraced in the 1919 Black Sox scandal.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsField of Dreams Movie SiteField of Dreams production · 1989 · Dyersville, Iowa, USAOriginal diamond & farmhouseShoeless Joe adaptationLansing family farm1The film’s popularity inspired farm owners Don and Becky Lansing to keep the movie field intact, according to MLB.com.MLB.com2A 2015 survey found the movie field too sloped for a Major League game, so MLB built a mirror-image ballpark beyond left field.MLB.com1988Lansing farm chosen as film location201311 JunLansings’ sale of farm reported201523 MayMovie field and farmhouse photographed202112 AugMLB game played next door202613 AugAP: fans enter through movie fieldRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Jana Taylor / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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🐴 Villa Villekulla — Kneippbyn, Gotland, Sweden 🇸🇪

Pippi Longstocking’s house was a real building, and it was about to be demolished. After the 1968–69 filming, Kneippbyn’s owner Einar Nyberg bought it at auction and moved it in one piece on iron beams to his resort, where Pippi on the Run was later filmed and where it still stands.

💡 Author Fact: Astrid Lindgren first wrote the Pippi stories down in March 1944, while resting a sprained ankle, as a present for her daughter Karin’s 10th birthday.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsVilla VillekullaPippi Långstrump TV production · 1968 · Kneippbyn, Gotland, SwedenOriginal TV-series houseInteriors shot in studioMoved whole from Visby1Painters added pink to the pale yellow villa and carpenters added towers and crooked chimneys for filming.Astrid Lindgren Company2According to Kneippbyn, Einar Nyberg bought the house at auction on condition that it be moved.Kneippbyn1968TV series filming begins on Gotland19698 FebSeries premieres on Swedish TV19694 MayAftonbladet appeal to save the house1969Moved to Kneippbyn (winter 1969–70)201113 JulPhotographed at Kneippbyn201510 JunStuttgarter Zeitung visits Kneippbyn202610 MayTime Out: original house still thereRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Shippmeansen / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

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🏜️ Mos Espa — Ong Jmel, Tunisia 🇹🇳

Anakin Skywalker’s hometown was built to last one shoot, and the desert at Ong Jmel has been trying to bury it. Scientists tracked a crescent-shaped dune that moved about 15 meters a year toward the 1997 set, and a 2014 clean-up dug out 8,000 cubic meters of sand so the buildings could stay above it.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsMos EspaStar Wars: Episode I production · Ong Jmel, TunisiaBuilt for The Phantom MenaceMos Espa on TatooineNear Nefta, Tozeur1A barchan dune near the set was measured moving about 15 metres a year.The Planetary Society2A 2025 restoration reportedly costs 132,000 dinars, according to La Presse.La Presse201317 JulDune measured moving 15 m/year20149 Apr8,000 m³ of sand cleared202224 MarMos Espa street photographed202510 OctRestoration works reported 10% completeRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Habib M’henni / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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🏛️ Cleopatra’s Palace, Atlas Studios — Ouarzazate, Morocco 🇲🇦

An Egyptian palace stands in the Moroccan desert outside Ouarzazate, painted columns and all. This set from Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (2002) is still a stop on the Atlas Studios guided tour.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsCleopatra’s Palace, Atlas StudiosMission Cleopatra production · 2002 · Ouarzazate, MoroccoAsterix & Obelix film setAtlas Studios backlotPainted Egyptian columns1Travel writer Michael Turtle called it the largest set by far in the main section of Atlas Studios.Time Travel Turtle2According to Time Travel Turtle, Mission Cleopatra was reportedly the most expensive French film made up to that time.Time Travel Turtle201414 MayTravel blog describes the Mission Cleopatra set20152 MayPalace stairs and columns photographed201823 OctCleopatra’s palace replica pictured20252 DecTour group visits the temple complex20268 OctGuide lists Cleopatra’s palace on tourRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Benh LIEU SONG / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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🤠 Alamo Village — Brackettville, Texas, USA 🇺🇸

John Wayne needed an Alamo, so a rancher let him build an entire frontier town. Construction began on James “Happy” Shahan’s ranch in 1957 for The Alamo (1960). Afterward it stayed open as a tourist town and a backdrop for other westerns until it closed in 2010; its props and memorabilia were sold off in 2018, but the family kept the town itself. This photo is from 1993.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsAlamo VillageThe Alamo production (Batjac) · 1957–1959 · Brackettville, Texas, USABuilt for The Alamo (1960)Adobe-brick movie townUsed in Lonesome Dove1More than a million adobe bricks reportedly went into 200,000 square feet of permanent buildings, according to the Handbook of Texas.TSHA2At the 2018 liquidation sale the props were sold, but the family kept the land and buildings, according to FOX 7 Austin.FOX 7 Austin1957Construction began (December)1993Margolies photographs the village stores2004Alamo chapel replica photographed20093 JulExpress-News photo of the replica2010Attraction closed permanently (August)20118 MarSunset photo of the Alamo replica201413 OctKSAT: set “struggling to stay up”20144 DecAP photo inside the saloon201818 JanFOX 7 drone footage before sale201820 MarTexas Monthly: derelict structures (January visit)Read the full file →

📷 Photo: John Margolies / Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons (public domain), border cropped

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🐎 Craig’s Hut — Mount Stirling, Victoria, Australia 🇦🇺

This mountain cattleman’s hut looks a century old, but it was built in 1981 as a temporary set for The Man from Snowy River. It was replaced with a sturdier hut in 1993, burned in a bushfire in December 2006, and was rebuilt again in 2007. This is the hut that stands on Mount Stirling today.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsCraig’s HutThe Man from Snowy River production · Mount Stirling, Victoria, AustraliaMan from Snowy River setMount Stirling, VictoriaRebuilt after 2006 fire1The original hut was only a prop and had no floor, according to Mountain Huts Australia.Mountain Huts Australia2The Great Divide Fire destroyed the hut on 11 December 2006, and it was reconstructed in 2007.Buller Huts Trail1981Temporary film set built1993Volunteers build sturdier replacement (February)200611 DecBurnt down by wildfire2008Rebuilt hut reopens (January)201610 AprNight photo of rebuilt hut2026Trail guide describes hut today (July)Read the full file →

📷 Photo: Sean Lanigan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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🌵 Fort Bravo — Tabernas, Almería, Spain 🇪🇸

Europe has a Wild West town because Spain’s Tabernas desert could pass for the American West on camera. The set went up in the mid-1960s, and part of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was filmed here in 1966; a stuntman later bought it. Film and ad shoots kept coming, and since 1984 cowboy shows have staged gunfights on the same main street.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsFort BravoJuan García’s set · 1960s · Tabernas, SpainSpaghetti-western setStunt shows since 1984Fort and Indian camp1Stuntman Rafael Molina and Paco Ardura bought the set in 1981, reportedly for six million pesetas, according to La Voz de Almería.La Voz de Almería2The first western show for visitors was staged in 1984, and the site took the name Texas Hollywood in the early 1990s.Fort Bravo1966Part of Leone’s film shot here1981Bought by Rafael Molina, Paco Ardura1984First western show for visitors20109 JanWestern street photographed202629 SepOwner Rafael Molina dies, aged 74Read the full file →

📷 Photo: Luis Rogelio HM / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)