Scouting The Apocalypse: “Twelve Monkeys” Filming Locations, Then and Now

I happened to read that disease-themed movies like Outbreak and Contagion are soaring in streaming viewership, which, honestly, strikes me as kinda nuts. Watching any remotely realistic portrayal of a virus ravaging the world is pretty much the last thing I’m interested in at the moment (though no judgement if you are!).

If anything, I’d much rather watch a film that makes our current hell look like a picnic by comparison. Which, coincidentally, is an accurate way of describing today’s film…

Twelve Monkeys opens in Philadelphia in 2035, and the city is an apocalyptic wasteland. We later learn that 99% percent of the world’s population was wiped out by an unknown virus in 1996, and the few survivors are holed up underground.

The opening shots depict Bruce Willis’ James Cole venturing out around City Hall to take samples of the outside world, and the decay of the buildings is chilling. This was achieved by shooting the actual structures, and then overlaying with effects in post.

Cole approaches the arched entrance on Market Street…

And then we begin to see the animals come out. A lion appears on the City Hall rooftop, the 1933 Market Street National Bank Building beautifully framed behind:

As Cole wanders about, he’s suddenly attacked by a bear…

…just outside the since-modernized entrance to the Marriott’s Notary Hotel in the former City Hall Annex building:

The bear scurries away down the arcade on the north side of the building:

Cole is sent back in time to 1996 to learn more about the viral outbreak. Except, something goes wrong, and he winds up in 1990 Baltimore. He is arrested and committed, leading to a number of scenes filmed at the beautifully decaying Eastern State Penitentiary.

No amount of pictures I could post will do Eastern State Penitentiary justice. If you’ve never been, make it a point to visit after our own outbreak finally goes away. In operation from 1829 through 1971, the remains of the prison have the exact sort of abandoned perfection that production designers dream about.

What I especially appreciate about Twelve Monkeys is that, instead of dousing the place in dark shadows, the lights are as bright as can be, making the absence of any sterility all the more evident.

After returning to the future, he is sent back again to 1996, where he kidnaps his old doctor, Kathryn Railly, from the institution, and forces her to travel with him to Philadelphia. There, they encounter a homeless population…

…who have their camp outside the now restored Metropolitan Opera House.

Built in 1908, the Metropolitan Opera House would later become a movie theater, a ballroom, a sports venue, and finally, a church. It fell into ruin in the 1980s, which Twelve Monkeys beautifully utilized:

The venue reopened in 2018 following a $45 Million renovation:

Cole manages to track down the animal activist group he believes has information about the Army of the Twelve Monkeys. Their corner storefront is at 2802 Kensington Avenue, literally just a block or two away from Rocky’s house!

A wonderful window over the door:

Another shot of the FAA Headquarters…

Cole flees across the street, and we get a brief glimpse east. Another Rocky crossover — the restaurant on the right was later used as a new location for the Lucky Seven Tavern in Rocky Balboa:

Much happens, and Cole and Kathryn realize the future can’t be changed and decide to flee to Key West. Cole waits for her outside an appropriately-dressed window at Macy’s, located in the Wanamaker Building:

They go inside to grab disguises, and we get a wonderful shot of the Wanamker Organ, the largest functioning pipe organ in the world in the store’s Grand Court.

Cole looks up and has a sudden vision of the future: the store’s ceiling decayed and cracked:

Meanwhile, the Army of the 12 Monkeys carries out their plan to release all the animals at the zoo later that night. Below, the Victorian Philadelphia Zoo, which opened in 1874:

Another shot of the lion out front:

To me, the most memorable imagery in the film comes from shots of the released animals wandering across Philadelphia. Below, an elephant crosses the now-replaced South Street Bridge:

A tiger stalks the fauna at the Washington Monument, which we also recently saw featured in The Sixth Sense:

Another tiger prowls around the entrance to the Philadelphia Museum of Art:

In view is the Prometheus Strangling The Vulture statue, by Jacques Lipchitz.

I wasn’t able to locate these two, but man is this peak Gilliam:

Cole and Railly race to the airport, which was shot in the Grand Hall of the Pennsylvania Convention Center:

Prior to being a convention center, this was the former main shed the Reading Terminal:

Twelve Monkeys ends ambiguously: thanks to Cole’s sacrifice, the future learns the details of the virus and how to stop it. But whether it will be used to help any other than the most powerful remains unanswered.

-SCOUT