Woodstock, Illinois ~ The Real Groundhog Day Movie Location
If you’ve seen the movie “Groundhog Day” with Bill Murray, you might think it was filmed in Punxsatawney, PA. But truth be told, the movie was filmed just a few towns north of where I live in Woodstock, Illinois. I’ve heard that the movie makers passed through Woodstock on the way to film the Blue Brothers and made a mental note of the idyllic town for a future film. Hubby and I recently made the trip to Woodstock on a pretty, snowy day.
This gorgeous home served as the Cherry Street Inn (today known as the Royal Victorian Manor) where Phil Connors (aka Bill Murray) relived Groundhog Day over and over before finally figuring out how to behave properly.
Just down the street is the house where Phil Connors takes his piano lessons.
Today this home is a private residence.
Woodstock Square, aka Gobbler’s Knob, is the location where Phil the Groundhog makes his prediction for the masses.
You may remember several scenes from the movie filmed in the town square.
Woodstock’s Opera House was the Pennsylvanian Hotel in the Groundhog Day movie.
On the other side of the village square is the site of the Tip Top Cafe where Bill Murray and Andie McDowell had coffee.
Woodstock, Illinois is filled with beautiful architecture.
Lovely old homes with picket fences that didn’t earn a spot in the movie.
A variety of home styles dot the quiet streets of Woodstock, Illinois.
There’s no shortage of house colors in this lively, little town.
Our trip to Woodstock this day resulted in several vintage finds from one of the antique stores.
The snowy streets resembled the snowy scenes from the Groundhog Day movie.
This burnt orange beauty is one of my favorite homes in Woodstock.
It sits on top of a hill so has great views.
I’ve always been a fan of two-tone windows like these and have them on my own home.
Another gorgeous red home. I would love to tour the inside!
Perhaps a blue-green home is more to your liking?
Note the size of the porch light on this house!
If moving wasn’t so much work, I’d try to live in a different historic house every couple of years.
It’s easy to see why the producers of the Groundhog Day movie took note of Woodstock, Illinois.
If you’re ever in the area, be sure to check out the town’s Groundhog Days festival!
Have a Happy Groundhog Day!!
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Love loved the house tour, loved that movie and the homes and hotel and the quaint little center of town, loved the photos, and the references to the movie…so enjoyed the post…I will be back again…come for a visit
O how I wish I could just hop in my car and visit this beautiful town. Thanks for sharing!
Marian
Love this post and all the images of the real-life town setting! The houses’ characters and colors are terrific, especially against the snowy background, I use the reference of Bill Murray a LOT whenever something seems to be repeating itself for any reason – it’s just really drives the point home. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I went all the way to puxatawney one year from Canada, imagine my shock to discover the movie wasn’t filmed here. Haha it’s a great town also, but if can’t wait for the road trip that takes me to Woodstock . Watch the movie every year at least once .and Groundhog Day is my favorite day of the year cause no matter how you slice it. Winter is half over thank goodness. Thanks for the post. The pictures are beautiful.
I LOVE that movie, Jennifer! Love Bill Murray, too, so this is always a favorite to watch. I hope they play it all day again like one station did last year. These houses are all gorgeous. What a nice looking town, too. I love to walk through towns like this just looking at the buildings and houses.
Love the movie, and love your tour! How fun to be able to see it all in person. 🙂
Love this movie! If we weren’t in the middle of yet another storm here in Chicagoland I’d jump in my car and take a little road trip today! So pretty and thank you for the lovely pictures.
Wow. What a beautiful little town! That is a great movie and I should try to find a copy and watch it again. I may be too late to watch it for tomorrow’s Ground Hog Day though. I could live in any of those sweet Victorian style homes. Such a pretty town! Thanks for taking us on the tour, Jennifer, and I hope you enjoy Ground Hog Day. I think it will be cloudy here – a good sign. 🙂
Your home tours are such fun! Such a beautiful little town and a hubby who goes antiquing with you – kudos!
I was thrilled to see Woodstock, IL on your home tour. I grew up outside Woodstock and was still living in the area when they filmed Ground Hog Day. It’s a wonderful and charming town. Thanks for highlighting this Midwestern jewel.
Love the painted ladies but the very best part…..seeing them decorated in the snow….just gorgeous! Lovely little town.
What a charming town and the architecture is to die for. Location managers took note of the little street I lived on last year and chose my house to be that of the leading character in the movie due out in July. What a thrilling experience that was. What a beautiful post you did. Thank you.
Such a lovely tour of my hometown. Us Woodstockians are very proud of our town and love having visitors and hearing how much they loved and enjoyed their visit as much as we love our town. Thanks for sharing 🙂
What a lovely blog! I am now following via bloglovin & instagram from the blog hop 🙂
Jennifer, I loved this tour! Sooo much fun seeing these beautiful historic homes in the snow. Groundhog Day is one of my all time fave movies. I love the concept of the movie, although I wouldn’t want to live it. lol Bill Murray is such a hoot! Thanks for this wonderful tour!
SO fun to see your pix of Woodstock! My parents lived in Woodstock (Bull Valley) for several years, including while the movie was filmed. Andie MacDowell lived in the house next door to them while filming. It was a lot of fun for our family to see the cast and crew filming some of the scenes in town, as well as the car and driver that routinely came for the actress.
All the while I’ve been reading your blog, I’ve always felt that you’d be such a lovely person to know. The more I read of places we both frequent, I wonder if we’ve crossed one another’s path without knowing! Enjoy the sunshine today~~snow is coming back tomorrow.
It was great to see Woodstock again. I am originally from Cary, IL another small town near Woodstock and have now lived in the South for over 20 years. My mom and my siblings and their families all live in the Woodstock area. It is interesting to see how a movie is filmed and then edited….streets that do not intersect now do in a movie, houses are shot from their best angels, etc. Have always loved the town. It brings back memories of getting my first drivers license at age 16 at the Woodstock DMV!!