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I know it was set in the 1940's but where was the physical setting? I'm told it was filmed in Cleveland, OH, but in the film I see and hear references to various Midwest cities (Cleveland's Terminal Tower can be seen at the start of the film, the family lives on Cleveland Street, but the old man talks about the Bears and Griffith, IN, and adult Ralphie talks about Terre Haute and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The houses do have a Midwestern look to them, so I'm thinking somewhere in the Great Lakes region...
One line in the movies says specifically "northern Indiana," and another mentions their proximity to Lake Michigan. So yeah, Hammond seems like it'd be about right.
To find an American city resembling an Indiana town of the 1940s, director Bob Clarke sent his location scouts to twenty cities before selecting Cleveland, Ohio, as the site for filming.
The people of Cleveland were incredibly cooperative during filming, donating antique vehicles from every corner of the city. These vintage vehicles helped to enhance the authenticity of the production design.
Ralph's school exteriors were filmed at Victoria School in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
The department store scene with Santa was filmed in downtown Cleveland in Public Square at the old Higbee's department store (now Dillard's.)
My mother worked for Higbee's at the time, and a few of her friends were willing to be there as extras at two and three in the morning when the scenes were filmed!
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