Before you venture in too deep, this is a nonsensical time wasting post and the amount of work to that went into it will make you chuckle. Our subject scene comes from the epic film Superman 1978 and it’s such brief one, you’ll be questioning our motivations. You wasted that many hours looking for an obscure movie location? With that comes a raucous “yes!” but we’re a bit weird that way.
Where as most locations from this movie are common knowledge, this one appears undocumented, so we knew much work lay ahead. That it was part of a minor byline made it all the more interesting to us and while it took a while, with a bit of elbow grease and much Google Streetview surfing, it was eventually found. We had a hunch the location was in Calgary, but that’s all we had to go with, so mostly we flew blind. As it played out our instincts were correct.
Superman 1978 Then & Now: Below the Dam – a silly little post by Chris Doering and Connie Biggart (BIGDoer/Synd)
This article could not have been made without help from “Anonymous Donor” and for this kind act, we send our thanks. Do the same…
That said, we’re here and ready to show you. First…what are we looking at in the movie? It’s a scene, only a few seconds long, showing a group of duplexes on a dead-end street. Big deal, right? Turns out they’re in the path of a wall of water, brought on by the partial failure of a huge (unseen) dam upstream, caused by an earthquake. Come on, who builds below a dam?! Either way, it’s a grim scenario and only Superman can clean up the mess, all the while the clock is ticking.
Scroll down for photos and to comment.
Clearly residents of the this street have heard to the news and they’re seen running about madly. “We’re all going to die!” I’d be in that Punch Buggy so quick your head would spin.
Of course all this mayhem can be traced back to the antics of supervillian Lex Luthor. Seems he got a hold a missile and decided the San Andreas Fault looked like a nice target to cause some earth-shaking chaos and this is the result. Still, it’s best to see the movie to know more.
Then Superman comes to the rescue and on building a wall of boulders a bit upstream to hold back the deluge, saves the community. How climatic! So this street has a brief brush with fame and is never seen again. I know…why bother?
Given the brevity of it all, it seems no one recorded where shooting took place. At least no one’s posted it in a public place. We know this – a lot of the movie was shot in Southern Alberta, so it seemed a natural this was also from the area.
The more distant houses and rock faces seen in back are a special effect, so we knew it was a simple cul-de-sac somewhere. That’s makes it an easy start as most streets (of the time) here in Calgary were not dead-ends.
Calgary often made sidewalks with those curved curbs so that was also a hint. They’re not unique to here, but were super common especially in the 1970s. And the storm doors on the houses, also common to the area, similarly suggested we were somewhere up this way. Again, there are not exclusive to here, but you’ll see most houses of the era have them. Even our shack had one till we got a new, modern double-duty door.
We knew the buildings seen were new-ish at the time of filming (the neighbourhood is mostly from the first half of 1970s), so that offered yet another clue. So all we did was fly around on Google Earth, in neighbourhoods of the era and look for cul-de-sacs. It was a painfully simple process and one dreadfully labourious, but after an hour or two (done over lunch and while waiting for calls) we had our target. Bingo!
We’re in the Northwest Community of Huntington Hills and why this location got specifically picked by the producers we can’t say. That it was just so typical? Anyway, here we are and this non-descript corner is the place.
You’ll have to take our word for it that change here has been minimal since the movie guys left. All those trees are kind of in the way. Still, I can see it being a hard sell. Sure the sidewalk is as it was, but all we have left to connect then and now is a door. A plain old door. Everything else remains blocked from view – damn pesky Mother Nature. It is the place.
We wonder how many people living here today know the connection? All things considered, few if any we bet. We got some quizzical looks, incidentally, from people out in their yards. “What are those guys with cameras up to?”
Interestingly, it’s something we never noticed before about the movie scene…the house on the left I guess is a restaurant in the film. See the sign? Cheeseburger to go please! And make it quick.
This may be one of the last Superman 1978 Then & Nows we’ll do. We’ve shot them all already, or most I think (search Superman on this website and see – warning some cringe attempts in there) and so have run out of subjects. That is unless we revisit the ones we already did in the past – yeah we could do that. We’re better at it now than when we started and anyway, we really enjoy the process. Now all we have to do is find the time and that’s been lacking lately. Then & Nows are always done for fun so a low priority compared to work that brings in income to support this crappy website.
Now wasn’t that a cool diversion? We had a blast and till we do it again, good day and stay super…
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Date of Adventure: May, 2020. Location: Calgary, AB. Article references and thanks: Jim Bowers of the Caped Wonder Superman Podcast and the City of Calgary.
This is great! You folks make these so interesting. We spent some time near Bentley and met some people at a church pancake breakfast who told us about a place nearby called Lockhart (my last name). All that’s there then was a community hall that used to be the school we think. There was nothing else around it at all. Need to go back the next time we are in Calgary visiting our son.
Google Earth and Streetview are some our best research resources and biggest time-wasters. We start looking around, get distracted and soon it’s hours later. It’s hard to resist!
(A long read) After twelve years it's time to put a face to the name and come clean on something. That's rarely-seen Chris in the photo, one half of Team BIGDoer, my best friend for almost thirty years and orchestrator of everything you see here. For his entire adult life, he's battled a deep depression.
Mostly it's manageable, but there are extended bouts where it's crippling and his life comes to a grinding halt. Sometimes there are days or weeks where he's lost. Sleep does not come easy at this time and further aggravates the issue. As he ages, it's worsening and seems intent on destroying him from the inside.
If you see a lack of posts here, or ones poorly worded, confusing or simply off, it's from one of these periods.
Through all this, he remains as kind, thoughtful and loving as ever, but is somewhere else. To the family, it's just Chris and accepted as it should be. The kids and grandkids adore him no less. Until today, however, this has been hidden from the outside world, although closer friends and some readers were probably already suspect of his condition. I hope admitting this does not break the site.
He finds clarity when we're out and doing things, hiking or documenting something historic and it's only THE reason this page and our website exists. It's therapy. Then he's a new and passionate person, but the monster as he calls it always returns. The Beer Parlour Project has brought out a side I've never seen and when out in the field he's never been so on point and confident.
This post is not for sympathy but to inform. Just so you know where he is and here's what you can do to help (a last ditch request)...
If you see a missed comma or oddly worded sentence in a post, please be kind. You'll probably see his uncertainty when he's off and be nice there too. But if you like what you see, even if the write up could be presented better, post your encouragement. Say something and say it loud...it's important and will keep him sharing. Help Chris get better by cheering him on.
Other than some photos that are mine, everything else comes from him. All the tiring research and the writing (he admits he's NOT a writer), are his.
Chris puts every dollar he makes into this "project of a lifetime", and it's supplemented by donations from readers who enjoy the content. If you want to help...
Admittedly he was not thrilled with the idea of posting this but agrees it probably should be said, even if it makes him uneasy. He doesn't like appearing in photos either. He's so shy, thinks he looks goofy and hates his husky eyes. I love them and they're windows into a wonderful, complex and quiet, but tortured soul. It breaks my heart when he's in a bad space.
This image comes thanks to photographer Arturo Pianzola and was captured while exploring the historic Riverview Mental Hospital in Coquitlam BC. Chris thought since he was in the area last year, he'd stop by to visit with a grandfather he never really knew, who spent his last years at the facility and is buried on the grounds.
Thanks for listening and your understanding. Hopefully we'll see you next week. Johanna (Connie).
Journey of Natty Gann (Disney 1985) and the same location in the Crowsnest Pass 2014. We're visiting the Pass over the new year, as we often do, and this time we'll be staying at a house that appears (briefly) in the film. How cool, eh? Chris has decided it's time on this visit to reshoot this and other Natty Gann comparison shots we did from ten years ago. Stay tuned!
This scene was shot in historic downtown Coleman and shows the former Holyk's Grocery. It was built in the early 1900s and the store closed in the '60s. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
From 2015. Rob Pohl and his strange old-style view camera joined us in documenting the Laing House (with permission). Head down to the comments to see an amazing coincidence with something I found inside.
From the Crossley slides, it's an undated view of Towers School, out near Cluny Alberta. It was originally called Swastika School but that's before the word and symbol were ruined by negative connotations. Built 1922. Gone? _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
The same alley in downtown Calgary's west end, in the 1970s & today. You have to look hard to see the connection! The area was quite run down back then and is in stark contrast to all the shiny condo towers seen present day. Calgary Place West, an apartment block, appears in both images although it's barely a sliver in ours. Check the comments for more info.
Photo credit: James Tworow collection. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
Lost highways (2022): a section of old #93 in Southeastern BC. That BIGDoer-mobile is gone now but quite famous and had a following of its own. Old mine roads, cow paths, 4x4ing across fields - no problem and people would recognize us out in remote areas just by this car. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
This is great! You folks make these so interesting. We spent some time near Bentley and met some people at a church pancake breakfast who told us about a place nearby called Lockhart (my last name). All that’s there then was a community hall that used to be the school we think. There was nothing else around it at all. Need to go back the next time we are in Calgary visiting our son.
To borrow a phrase from some other comments, cool!
That’s so cool.
You might say it’s super.
What a find! So thankful for the efforts you put in to document all of this. Not a post goes by that isn’t appreciated.
Much appreciated!
How?! How do you find these?! That’s incredible.
I’d like to say it’s all skill, but mostly it’s dumb luck and a stubborn determination.
Unreal. Didn’t know this shot was Calgary!
It’s not documented, but it looked like Calgary when were saw the scene. And then a seed was planted.
Well where is it?
Huntington Hills as mentioned in the write up.
New neighborhood at the time.
That was our clue in finding it.
Keivers lake was in the 1st movie and not far from Calgary.
Can’t place the scene. Do you mean the ice lake in the third installment?
Wow, that’s amazing! How do you do it?
It’s our superpower I guess. Lot of good it does…haha!
I remember seeing this in theatres after it first came out, didn’t realize this scene was shot in Calgary!
It’s so brief a scene that most people might not even notice. We love the obscure stuff.
Awesome, very interesting.
It’s what we do…or try to do anyway. Glad you like it.
Neat!
Thanks for stopping by.
So fascinating !
We love that you love it!
It’s nice to see how a area has changed since I movie was shot. Good job.
Our pleasure!
Parts of the movie was filmed at the Turbo refinery in Balzac.
The refinery is gone now.
That was the third film in the series.
I love when you do these kind of pictures!
They are so much fun, but a lot of work!
Lots of this film was shot around High River.
That’s was the third installment and the town plays prominently in that film.
We do that with supernatural locations in Vancouver.
That we have to see…messaged you.
So cool!!
Cool is the word of the day!
Very cool.
Yes!
So the city of Calgary cut down and hauled away the mountians and planted the evergreens, lol
They did and it’s not even close to the craziest thing they’ve done.
Oh yeah!
Yeah!
I’m pretty sure you guys have the most interesting content on Facebook. Well done!
That’s a mighty fine compliment! Thanks.
Good detective work. I waste a good portion of my life looking around in Google maps.
Google Earth and Streetview are some our best research resources and biggest time-wasters. We start looking around, get distracted and soon it’s hours later. It’s hard to resist!