A steel town in Pennsylvania · cast from eight places, summer 1977
The Deer Hunter
Meryl Streep 1978
Christopher Walken 1984
Robert De Niro 1973
Michael Cimino 1981
The film is set in Clairton, Pennsylvania, and was hardly shot there. Its town was put together from Mingo Junction, Weirton, Follansbee, Cleveland, Duquesne and Mount Baker.
Where this comes from
The furnace is ready.
Behind: A coal barge on the Monongahela passing the U.S. Steel coke plant at Clairton, Pennsylvania, April 1973: the real town the film is named for. Photographed by John L. Alexandrowicz for the EPA’s Documerica project. Public domain. Meryl Streep, PBS press photo, 1978–79, public domain. Christopher Walken, Hurlyburly publicity photo, 1984, public domain. Robert De Niro, Mean Streets trailer, 1973, public domain. Michael Cimino at Cannes, 1981, Uploader’s uncle (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 4.0. We found no free photographs of Walken, De Niro or Cimino from 1977–78.
The Upper Ohio Valley · June and July 1977
One July dressed as autumn.
With the temperature in the upper 90s, the crew strips leaves from trees and browns the lawns to make it autumn, and the cast work in winter clothes.
Where this comes from
95°Outside, at the plastic mill gate: 25 takes
110°Inside Welsh’s, between takes
22 DecThe date the bar scene is set
Bay 1
The 600 block of Commercial Street, Mingo Junction, in 2014: part of the Commercial Street Historic District. Nyttend · Public domain
Commercial Street, Mingo Junction
Mingo Junction was the main shooting town. The opening scene was filmed at the mill on a Monday at the end of June 1977, with De Niro, Savage, Walken, Cazale and Dzundza.
The crew built a mill gate on land next to the Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel works in Mingo Junction, to be taken down after the shoot. The gate, No. 6, was plastic, dressed with plastic pipes, railings and check points. The scene was shot 25 times over about five hours in 95-degree heat.
The tavern scenes were shot in Welsh’s in Mingo Junction. The bar scene is set on 22 December; between takes the tavern reached 110 degrees, despite the air conditioning.
A local steelworker who played a bar patron told the crew that Rolling Rock was the local beer, and the film switched to it from Miller.
Shop signs in town were changed from Mingo Junction to Clairton. One, Clairton Laundromat, was left up at the owner’s request. In August 2018 a 24-by-16-foot mural went up at 454 Commercial Ave., with six scenes from the 1977 filming, among them Welsh’s Lounge and a mill shift change.
Where this comes from
A public main street on the Ohio River. The mural is at 454 Commercial Street; the mill land behind the town is not open to visitors.
Bay 2
Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia, looking north, May 2025. Cutlass · CC0
Main Street, Weirton
The Weirton shoot began over the 4 July weekend of 1977, round Main Street above Avenue A.
Interior scenes were shot in an L-shaped house trailer on a lot on the west side of Main Street, with exteriors outside it. A tyre warehouse on the south-west corner of Main Street and Avenue A was given the front of a tavern.
Neighbours watched from portable chairs in the weeds of a Main Street lot. One couple filmed it with a home movie camera, and De Niro waved to them.
Local officials and mill operators tried to stop filming at the Weirton steel mill. The governor, Jay Rockefeller, intervened and the mill was opened to the crew.
Where this comes from
A public street in the north of Weirton. Many shopfronts are empty now; look from the pavement.
Bay 3
A commercial block in Follansbee, West Virginia, 2015, by Carol M. Highsmith. A street view of the town, not the house used in the film. Carol M. Highsmith · Public domain
A family house in Follansbee
In July 1977 the production filmed in the side yard and inside a family house in Follansbee, across the Ohio River from the Mingo Junction steel plant.
Shirley Stoler played Steven’s mother here, in a scene in which De Niro’s character visits her home.
Where this comes from
A family home: named by its town only, not mapped. Follansbee’s main street gives you the place.
Bay 4
Downtown Steubenville and the Ohio River from the hills, 2022. PokéTube · CC BY-SA 4.0
Steubenville
Press reports in 1977 named Steubenville, with Youngstown, Struthers and Follansbee, among the towns the production used.
About 250 people from the area were cast as extras. A film spokesman put the money spent locally at about $2.5 million.
Gilbert-Empire, a Steubenville sign company, was to put the original shop signs back after the crew’s Clairton signs came down. That July Steubenville hoped to hold the premiere, at the Cinema Theater in the Hollywood Shopping Center.
Where this comes from
The county town, a few miles up the Ohio River from Mingo Junction. Its downtown streets are public.
The cast house
Clairton wasn’t filmed. It was cast.
Open the gates on the runner one at a time. Each mould pours one piece of the town you see on screen, from the place it really came from.
Eight gates on the runner. Open one to pour a piece of Clairton.
Nothing poured yet. The mill gate is gate 1.
And the real Clairton
A street in Clairton, Pennsylvania, with part of the coke plant behind, May 1973. Documerica photograph by John L. Alexandrowicz. John L. Alexandrowicz (EPA Documerica) · Public domain
Clairton, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
In July 1977 the Weirton Daily Times reported that hardly any mill-town or hunting scenes would be filmed in Clairton itself.
Clairton’s mayor, Lloyd Fuge, demanded a meeting with Cimino, who reportedly told him the film was about relationships.
The real town of the title, on the Monongahela south of Pittsburgh. The coke works is private; see it from the public streets and the river bridge.
Where this comes from
The Dorothy Six blast furnace at U.S. Steel’s Duquesne Works, photographed by Jet Lowe for the Historic American Engineering Record. A view of Duquesne’s mill, not the lot used in the film. Jet Lowe (Historic American Engineering Record) · Public domain
Duquesne, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
The funeral scene was shot in Duquesne, on an empty lot made into a temporary cemetery.
The local school district stored vehicles used in the scene. Duquesne is not named in the film’s credits. The Duquesne poet and screenwriter James Ragan consulted on the film.
A Mon Valley town a few miles down the river from Clairton. The lot used for the funeral is not identified; the town’s streets are public.
Where this comes from
Tremont, Cleveland · the wedding
The domes are going back up.
The wedding is shot inside St Theodosius Cathedral in Cleveland, the set for a 51-minute sequence. In May 2024 the cathedral burned. In September 2026 the first copper went back onto the roof.
Where this comes from
Summer 1977 · the wedding
28 May 2024 · the fire
23 March 2026 · two domes come down
September 2026 · the copper goes back up
Still to come · the main dome
Summer 1977 · the wedding.
It was the set for the film’s 51-minute wedding scene. The cathedral was dedicated on 19 July 1913. The local architect Frederick C. Baird took features from the Church of Our Saviour in Moscow.
Where this comes from
St Theodosius Cathedral on Starkweather Avenue, Cleveland, in April 2022, two years before the fire. w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0Inside St Theodosius, September 2023: the painted main dome and its chandelier, eight months before the fire. Ronrodjr · CC0
Under repair after the 2024 fire; the parish hopes to be back inside for Easter 2027. See the domes from Starkweather Avenue and Interstate 490.
Lemko Hall at West 11th Street and Literary Avenue, Tremont, 2011. It is now homes and shops. THD3 · CC BY-SA 3.0
A short walk away
Lemko Hall
The wedding feast was filmed here in 1977. The hall was built as a saloon in 1909–10 and bought by the home branch of the Lemko Association, formed in 1929.
In 1987 it was converted into shops and 11 townhouse apartments. It was declared a landmark in 1988.
Homes and shops now: see it from West 11th Street and Literary Avenue, a short walk from the cathedral.
The crew moved to Washington on 15 August 1977 to shoot the deer-hunting scenes at Mount Baker.
Several hunting scenes were filmed at Heather Meadows. Mount Baker stands in the background for the Pennsylvania mountains. As early as July 1977 the plan was hunting scenes near Mount Baker and war scenes in Thailand.
At the top of the Mount Baker Highway. The visitor centre closes after the last weekend in September and has no phone; the last stretch of road closes with the first snow.
Where this comes from
Diablo Lake from the Diablo Lake Overlook on State Route 20, June 2023. Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 4.0
Diablo Lake
Hunting scenes were also filmed at Diablo Dam and at Colonial Creek Campground on the North Cascades Highway.
The overlook at milepost 131.7 on State Route 20 looks over glacier-fed Diablo Lake to the historic dam. The lake is at its most turquoise on sunny days from July to September, coloured by glacial flour.
The overlook is a free pull-off at milepost 131.7 on the North Cascades Highway, with parking and a toilet. Check the road before you go in winter.
Where this comes from
Mt. Baker Lodging
Mt. Baker Lodging
Maple Falls, Washington · 7425 Mt. Baker Hwy · rates on booking · 800-709-7669
Privately owned cabins, cottages and chalets, self-catered, along the Mount Baker Highway round Glacier and Maple Falls, on the road up to Heather Meadows.
Meryl Streep in a PBS press photograph of 1978–79; the release names her as an Oscar nominee for The Deer Hunter. PBS · Public domainMeryl Streep photographed by Jack Mitchell between 1976 and 1979. Jack Mitchell · CC BY-SA 4.0Christopher Walken in a publicity photograph for the play Hurlyburly, 1984. We found no free photograph of him from 1977–78. Lascher · Public domainRobert De Niro in the trailer for Mean Streets, 1973. We found no free photograph of him from 1977–78. Warner Bros. (trailer for Mean Streets) · Public domainMichael Cimino at the Cannes Film Festival, 1981. Uploader’s uncle (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Won
Best Picture · Barry Spikings, Michael Deeley, Michael Cimino and John Peverall
Won
Directing · Michael Cimino
Won
Actor in a Supporting Role · Christopher Walken
Won
Film Editing · Peter Zinner
Won
Sound · Richard Portman, William McCaughey, Aaron Rochin and Darin Knight
Nominated
Actor in a Leading Role · Robert De Niro
Nominated
Actress in a Supporting Role · Meryl Streep
Nominated
Cinematography · Vilmos Zsigmond
Nominated
Writing, original screenplay · Deric Washburn; story by Cimino, Washburn, Louis Garfinkle and Quinn K. Redeker
Where this comes from
The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, July 2022. Benoît Prieur · CC0
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Vietnam Veterans Against the War protested at the ceremony, and there were arrests.
The film had opened in Los Angeles on 8 December 1978 at Mann’s National Theatre, and in New York on 15 December at the Coronet.
On Grand Avenue at the Music Center, home of LA Opera. The plaza is open; the hall opens for performances.
Where this comes from
Out of the cast house. Every place, as it is now.
Where it is now
13 places you can visit, from Commercial Street in Mingo Junction to a meadow under Mount Baker and a pavilion on Grand Avenue. The Follansbee house is a family home: named by its town, not mapped.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: area · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public main street on the Ohio River. The mural is at 454 Commercial Street; the mill land behind the town is not open to visitors.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: area · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A public street in the north of Weirton. Many shopfronts are empty now; look from the pavement.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: area · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. The county town, a few miles up the Ohio River from Mingo Junction. Its downtown streets are public.
1The 600 block of Commercial Street, Mingo Junction, in 2014: part of the Commercial Street Historic District. Nyttend · Public domain
Commercial Street, Mingo Junction, Ohio
Commercial Street, Mingo Junction
Mingo Junction was the main shooting town. The opening scene was filmed at the mill on a Monday at the end of June 1977, with De Niro, Savage, Walken, Cazale and Dzundza.
A public main street on the Ohio River. The mural is at 454 Commercial Street; the mill land behind the town is not open to visitors.
Where this comes from
2Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia, looking north, May 2025. Cutlass · CC0
Main Street above Avenue A, Weirton, West Virginia
Main Street, Weirton
The Weirton shoot began over the 4 July weekend of 1977, round Main Street above Avenue A.
A public street in the north of Weirton. Many shopfronts are empty now; look from the pavement.
Where this comes from
3Downtown Steubenville and the Ohio River from the hills, 2022. PokéTube · CC BY-SA 4.0
Steubenville, Jefferson County, Ohio
Steubenville
Press reports in 1977 named Steubenville, with Youngstown, Struthers and Follansbee, among the towns the production used.
The county town, a few miles up the Ohio River from Mingo Junction. Its downtown streets are public.
Where this comes from
Stay
A cabin under the mountain.
Self-catered cabins and chalets along the Mount Baker Highway, on the road to Heather Meadows.
Mt. Baker Lodging
Mt. Baker Lodging
Maple Falls, Washington · 7425 Mt. Baker Hwy · rates on booking · 800-709-7669
Privately owned cabins, cottages and chalets, self-catered, along the Mount Baker Highway round Glacier and Maple Falls, on the road up to Heather Meadows.
Live marketplace results for guided days in Cleveland. None is a Deer Hunter tour as such, and the cathedral is closed for repairs: check each itinerary.
Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.
New copper turns green. See the domes while they still shine.
Where this comes from
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
14 of 14 places · 26 of 26 Moments
Commercial Street, Mingo Junction
Commercial Street, Mingo Junction, Ohio
The first scene, at the mill
The opening is shot at the mill in Mingo Junction: De Niro, Savage, Walken, Cazale and Dzundza walk out with the shift.
Gate No. 6
The mill gate is plastic, built on land next to the Wheeling-Pittsburgh works and dressed with plastic pipes, railings and check points. The scene takes 25 takes in 95-degree heat.
Christmas in July
The bar scene at Welsh’s is set three days before Christmas. It is shot in midsummer, and the tavern reaches 110 degrees between takes.
Autumn, made by hand
With the temperature in the upper 90s, the crew strips leaves from trees and browns the lawns to make it autumn, and the cast work in winter clothes.
Clairton on the shop signs
Shop signs in Mingo Junction are changed to read Clairton. One, Clairton Laundromat, stays up at the owner’s request.
Rolling Rock
A local steelworker playing a bar patron tells the crew the local beer is Rolling Rock, not Miller, and the film switches.
The mural
Mingo Junction unveils a 24-by-16-foot mural of the 1977 filming at 454 Commercial Ave.
Main Street, Weirton
Main Street above Avenue A, Weirton, West Virginia
A trailer on Main Street
In Weirton, interiors are shot in an L-shaped house trailer on a Main Street lot, and a tyre warehouse gets a tavern front.
The governor opens the mill
Local officials try to keep the crew out of the Weirton steel mill; Governor Jay Rockefeller steps in and it is opened to them.
A family house in Follansbee
A private house in Follansbee, West Virginia
Steven’s mother’s house
Shirley Stoler plays Steven’s mother in a family’s house and side yard in Follansbee, across the river from the Mingo Junction mill.
Steubenville
Steubenville, Jefferson County, Ohio
Two hundred and fifty neighbours
About 250 people from the valley are cast as extras, and the valley hopes for the premiere.
Clairton
Clairton, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
The mayor of Clairton
Clairton’s mayor, Lloyd Fuge, demands a meeting with Cimino, who reportedly tells him the film is about relationships.
Duquesne
Duquesne, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
The funeral
The funeral is shot on an empty lot in Duquesne made into a temporary cemetery.
St Theodosius Cathedral
733 Starkweather Avenue, Tremont, Cleveland
The wedding
The wedding is shot inside St Theodosius Cathedral in Cleveland, the set for a 51-minute sequence.
The fire
A fire breaks out during roofing work. About 70% of the roof burns from inside, and the main dome has to be removed and scrapped.
Two domes come down
Repairs begin by taking down two fire-damaged medium domes.
The copper goes back up
Some of the copper domes are lifted back onto the roof. The main dome is the final phase, still being paid for.
Lemko Hall
2337 West 11th Street at Literary Avenue, Tremont, Cleveland
The wedding feast
The wedding feast is filmed at Lemko Hall, a few streets from the cathedral.
Heather Meadows, Mount Baker
Milepost 55, Mount Baker Highway (SR 542), Washington
The mountains
The crew moves to Washington to shoot the deer hunt at Mount Baker, which stands in for the Pennsylvania mountains.
Diablo Lake
Diablo Lake Overlook, State Route 20, North Cascades
Diablo Dam
More of the hunting scenes are filmed at Diablo Dam and Colonial Creek Campground on the North Cascades Highway.
Bangkok
Bangkok, Thailand
A scout in Thailand
Daranee Bunnag, wife of the Thai director Rom Bunnag, helps scout locations in Thailand. She is not credited.
Bangkok as Saigon
Bangkok stands in for Saigon, after the Thai government is assured the film is apolitical.
Kanchanaburi
Kanchanaburi province, west of Bangkok
Soldiers at the set
After a coup, Daily Variety reports heavily armed soldiers guarding the set in Kanchanaburi province.
Wrapped
Variety reports that filming has recently ended, after two and a half months.
Khao Yai
Khao Yai National Park, north-east of Bangkok
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
135 North Grand Avenue, downtown Los Angeles
Opening
The film opens at Mann’s National Theatre in Los Angeles on 8 December 1978, and at the Coronet in New York a week later.
Five Oscars
At the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion the film wins Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor for Walken, Film Editing and Sound, from nine nominations.
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