Thank You To Jess For Explaining To Me The Correct Football Field Location.
Thank You To Owen From The When Write Is Wrong Website For Doing The Research And Making The Graphics To Confirm The Location.
Thank You To Actor John Kapalos Or "Carl The Janitor" From The Movie Also Confirming This To Be The Right Location For The Football Field.
We All Knew He Was The Eyes And Ears Of That Institution.
- (0:03) Shermer High School / Maine North High School; 9511 Harrison Street, Des Plaines (Note: This Is Now An Illinois State Police Post)
- (1:34) John Bender Walking Across The Football Field After Getting Claire's Earring / Maine North High School; 9511 Harrison Street, Des Plaines (Note: The View Is Looking West And A Little Northwest. The Field Was On The East Side Of The School, As Confirmed By An Old Aerial Map Shown At The Bottom Of This Page)
Check Out The Reasons Why I Am Confident The Football Field Was Located At Maine North. I Have Added Three Images Taken From The Bing Website To Help Explain What Is Seen In The Background.The Purple And Red Arrows Identify Two Parts Of The East Side Of The Maine North Building, With The Purple One Showing What Looks To Be A Door. The Yellow Arrow Identifies Horizontal Openings On The Same Building. These Openings, On The Back Of The Northern Section Of The Building, Come Across As Darkened Windows In The Movie. In The First Bing Image, The Camera Is Facing West. In The Second And Third Bing Images, The Camera Is Facing North. The Yellow Rectangle In The Final Bing Image Shows Approximately Where The Football Field Was. The Blue Arrow Shows Where The Trees Are In The Background.
I Have Also Included An Old Aerial View Of The Property And A 1976 Maine North High School Yearbook Photo Of The Football Team. The Yearbook Photo, Which Shows The Bleachers And Press Box Seen In The Film, Was Provided By The Des Plaines Public Library.
So the Gym in the school/police post was converted to the library am I correct? Anyone know what this looks like today and if I contact them will they let me go in and take photos?
ReplyDeleteYes it was constructed in the gym and no the state police now occupy it-no photos or tours.
DeleteThe library was a set built in the gym so it's no longer there. The scenes from hallways are the ones that you can mostly recognize from inside the building. When Bender is bouncing the basketball that is the actual gym. I used to work for the State Police and got to wander around the whole building. I would doubt they would let you in to see the whole place but you can walk into the doors at the top of the steps into a lobby area, however, there isn't anything there that you would recognize. The ISP only take up a fraction of the building. A lot of it still looks like the school, it's not all offices.
ReplyDeleteAre the red lockers still along the walls of the hallway as they were in the movie? Is the gym still there or has the gym been converted to something else since the movie?
DeleteThe Red Locker Scenes, and Red Door Scenes, were filmed at Maine South.
DeleteThe interior of this former high school (Maine North High School) was used in the movie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
DeleteI was a student at Maine North and graduated in 1977. When you entered the school the original library face you as you walked in, the main office was off to the right. The library in the movie was different from the original which had a concrete stair case in the middle which lead to a few rooms upstairs one which was a study hall, the football field is Maine North and the school was behind the bleachers.
DeleteA few names in the football photo Mr. Lou Gardner head football coach was also my home room teacher for 4 years is the one on the left two players to his left #46 the black guy is Clifford Rowlands,#12 is Billy Nowicky, #61 is Travatola, #82 is Ronnie Brooks,#63 the black guy is Paul Gillian, #20 bottom row is Mike
DeleteConey, #77 not quite sure but looks like Same Jackson.
The football field is actually filmed at Maine South high school park ridge, il
ReplyDeleteWrong. The scene of Bender walking across the football field is clearly GBN (south side). You can see Salceda condos behind him
ReplyDeleteActually, no. I currently go to Maine South, and it was filmed at Maine South. You can distinguish them by the sound booth on top of the bleachers. That scene, and the Red Lockers/Red Doors scenes. The scene where they slide in front of the Red Doors, for example, was filmed in the C-Wing, right by Administration. Many of the same decorations are still there, as well as the wood paneling. Bender's locker was located in the C-Wing, right by the Library. His locker is actually the locker my brother uses now.
DeleteI was in high school when they filmed this movie none of it was Maine South. Sorry wishful thinking. Most of it Maine North certain scenes including football field was Glenbrook North John Huhhes alma Mater. Maine North football field was unavailable for the shoot, chicago soccer team practiced on it back then.
DeleteYes, I think those of us who were alive/attending Maine schools when the movie was shot would know best (next to the cast & crew ).
DeleteThe library was inside Niles East High School, Skokie, now demolished.
ReplyDeleteActually the library was in the gym they had to build the set for the library in the gym cause the actual library was too small.
DeleteCan anyone provide a photo comparison of the Glenbrook HS field against the Maine South field? I'm really curious now. IMDB, Wiki and other sites all disagree!
ReplyDeleteFerris Beullers Day Off was filmed at Maine North High School also.
ReplyDeleteThe field is Glenbrook North High School. If you watch the ending credits its says "THE PRODUCERS WHISH TO THANK THE FOLLOWING FOR THEIR GENEROUS COOPERATION IN THE MAKING OF THIS MOTION PICTURE"
ReplyDeleteThen down below on of them says "GLENBROOK NORTH HIGH SCHOOL"
The field is Glenbrook North, as well as some of the interior shots in the hallways. The rest was filmed at Maine North High School. Maine North had closed a few years before, due to low enrollment. The building was also used by Parkside Sport and Fitness Center, as well as the Chicago Blitz of the defunct USFL. I know this because I went to Parkside summer sports camp there when they were filming the movie. The entire main gym with the library set was closed off for filming and we were only allowed to use the small gym where you see Judd Nelson playing basketball.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely Glenbrook North. I drove by that field every day for 6 years and recognize the brick building.
ReplyDeleteDon't you forget about me
ReplyDeleteHate to throw further confusion into this, but IMDB says that the football field scene was filmed at Deerfield High School--not sure why, since if accurate it appears that that's the only scene not filmed at Glenbrook or Maine, but that's what it says.
ReplyDeleteThe football scene was filmed at Maine North, same as the movie. People do not know this, because the football field has since been torn down and replaced by townhouses. I was there the final two days of filming. I met Judd Nelson, Emilio and Ally Sheedy. I saw the shot being filmed. If you look at the scorebox, if clearly is NOT Glenbrook North. Also, on the left of the bleachers, you can see a white building, which is Maine North. Find someone with a Maine North yearbook and I'm sure you can compare for yourself.
ReplyDeleteHi, send me an e-mail as I want to discuss something. Thanks
DeleteDid you take any photos or video from that day?
DeleteCan't someone — a credible source — put this mystery to rest by providing an actual photo (or two) of the correct field/bleachers, as they looked around the time of filming? I'm so sick of all the conflicting online rumors. It was at Maine North. No, Glenbrook North. No, Maine South. No, Maine East. No, Niles West. No, Deerfield. Geez! Which is it? Everyone can't be right! Where's Judd Nelson when you need him?!
ReplyDeleteThe field is Maine North. I haven't seen this mentioned, but as Judd is walking you can see the 294 tollway in the background. The top of Maine North used to be visable from the tollway.
DeleteNow now, can't forget Maine West. ;)
DeleteCountless websites claim otherwise, Chas, but I’m confident this is the true location of the football field.
ReplyDeleteFor those who believe it was filmed at Glenbrook North because that school is mentioned in the credits: Glenbrook is probably mentioned because a) some interior scenes were filmed there (any chance Mr. Kapalos would like to confirm or deny this?) or b) that was Hughes’ alma mater, and the name of the street it’s on inspired him to use “Shermer” as the fictional town name. He was acknowledging the inspiration in the credits.
It makes sense that the ending was filmed at Maine North. The cast and crew was already there, and it’d be quite a procedure to load up all the equipment and go miles and miles away to film one relatively brief scene at a different school, especially when you consider that most high school football bleachers look so similar.
Back in the early ‘80s when the movie was filmed, the football field was east of the school. In the film, the camera was somewhere in the southeast corner of the field, looking northwest, toward the school and Harrison Street. (If you look to the left of the bleachers while watching the movie, what you’re seeing is the east side Maine North. What’s a tad confusing is that the areas marked with red and purple arrows on the images above are on the east side, while the area marked with a yellow arrow is on the back of the north side. Both sides are visible, however, when viewed at the northwestern angle used in the movie.) Judd Nelson was walking southeast on the field, near its south end zone. Inside the yellow/green box in your final image is a small white marker with orange trim. This is approximately where Judd Nelson pumped his first in that classic scene from an ‘80s classic.
Happy I could help clear up the confusion. I'm actually surprised nobody ever noticed the the scorebox from Glenbrook North looks nothing like the one in the movie, which is shown above. I'm also excited to learn about the site which has historic arials. Jess
ReplyDeleteI did this overlay comparison (http://imgur.com/bJBtsri). It appears that a large building, above the tennis courts, was also demolished. Does anyone know if that was the gym where they built the library? I had the opportunity to visit the Police Station recently, and got to walk down a few of the halls and in some of the stairwells. The stairwells are exactly the same. The halls look pretty similar, with the exception of the lockers. I was able to match up the floor and ceiling in the halls to the film. These elements are exactly the same and haven't changed. If you go to the front of the building, there is a downstairs area you can walk down to, without going into the building. If you peek in there, you can see the trophy cases you see in the credits, and you can see this strange shaped window you can see in the shot where they've just run all over and they have come to the gate that's closed. I bet if you got access to some of the hallways I didn't get to see, you could match up most of them from the film to the Police Station. What I didn't get to see is the "gym." I'm afraid from the arial photos I lined up, that the gym was destroyed. The people there seemed to think it was still standing, and was now offices. However, we do know that there was a small gym and a big gym. Small gym is where Bender is shooting hoops with Vernon, and the big gym is where the library was built. Can anybody provide any further information on the gym location? - like where it was/is specifically on the campus?
ReplyDeleteIf the "large building" you're referring to is the thing you've marked with the purple arrow, that is not a large building, and it's still standing. It's a bit misleading when looking at it aerially, but that is actually the portion of the building marked with red and purple arrows in Chas' third Bing image above. In the Historic Aerials image you used on the overlay you created, the area marked in purple is located where it says "ONLY." The entire building we see in the Historic Aerial image is still standing in the current aerial shots, which means all the rooms still exist ... though they could have been remodeled, of course. So, in short, that small gym where Bender shot hoops is still inside that building ... somewhere. Boy, I'd love to roam the halls of that building, looking for the gym and other "Breakfast Club" locales!
DeleteThe gym was located on the backside of the building facing the football field. I was a student there and graduated in 1977. The football field is Maine North's field there also was a parking lot there as well.
DeleteThe gym they filmed in was on the East side of the school, main floor. I can't imagine it is gone, since the building appears to look the same as it always has. Jess
ReplyDeleteI just saw the gym on January 18th. The lines of the basketball court are there yet the gym is used for storage.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome that you saw the gym on January 18th. I was on site last year, couldn't seem to find it and thought it must have been bulldozed. Shit, that is a historic place. Did you take any pictures? Was anything recognizable - I.E. did they keep the doors from the gym as part of the set? I always wondered if you could see the ceiling from the library in there, or if that was part of the set. When I was on site, a police officer let me in the main building and I was able to identify a few of the hallways. The stairwell is unchanged (from the running away from Vernon parts) and I noticed the style of concrete ceilings in the stairwell was matched in the Library set (or is it the roof of the gym?).
ReplyDeleteA sergeant walked us through the building for over half an hour. I took a couple of pictures in the hallways, their display case with the movie poster, and the gym through the window of the locked door. Seeing those staircases was unbelievable! The sergeant knew the room where the library was but unfortunately it was locked. Those doors didn't have any windows. The room is near an open area that looks like where employees would have lunch. It was all worth it though, especially when I got to stand on the former football field.
ReplyDeleteDo you have pictures you can post?
ReplyDeleteSome day I will get back there to take pictures.
ReplyDeleteChas, if needed, I can return to the location once spring is in bloom and forward you more photos.
DeleteI used to live in the apartments by the school when I was a kid. Seeing that place everyday was kind creepy because it was big and scary. The school changed back and forth for quite awhile before settling as a police station. I remember there used to be a family down one of the roads that had a bunch of animals that they never cleaned up after. The place was awful LOL. Despite that, I had lots of great memories in those apartments! My favorite courtyard was the one with the bridge in it.
ReplyDeleteI READ A "RUMER' A FEW YEARS BACK SOME ON THE INTERNET HERD A RUMER THAY WERE THINKING ABOUT DOING A BREAKFAST-CLUB 2 (SEQUAL) I HAVENT HERD ANYTHING ELSE ?
ReplyDeleteHUGE BREAKFAST CLUB FAN 80'S (PERFECTION) I LAUGHED SO HARD AT THAT MOVIE I WAS CRYING WHEN I WAS IN DETETION IN MY HIGH SCHOOL IN ST.LOUIS I DO REMENBER I WAS SITTING AT A LONG TABLE & TO THE LEFT WAS 1 OF THE SCHOOL SURCURITY GURDS TELLING ME I WASNT ALOWED TO TALK I WAS SO PISSED OFF AT HIM
LOL........GOOD MEMORIES
As a Maine North Class of '79 grad and a football player at Maine North for four years I can verify that the football field is indeed the one I used to play on all those years ago.
ReplyDeleteI always knew the whole thing was shot at North :)
DeleteFinding it fascinating that small details, like which football field was used for filming that final scene, can generate such disagreement. Though I remember this movie like it was released yesterday, I'm realizing how truly long ago that was. *YIKES* Nonetheless, thank you all. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading your comments. And, of course, thank you Chas for the site! It's fabulous!
ReplyDeleteGreat pic Ryan! Would you mind uploading any other images you took?
ReplyDeleteI think you are all over looking something. The "football field" scene was at New Trier West HS in Northfield. I am 100% positive about this.
ReplyDeleteHa, that's a new one. The cast has confirmed more than once it was Maine North 's field
Delete^ Actually no - it's confirmed it was filmed at Maine North and the school in the background clinches it.
ReplyDeleteThe school used was Maine North. My father worked for Maine Township school district 207 at the time and says that yes, the interior shots were filmed at the closed Maine North high school- a library set was constructed in the gymnasium as others have said, and the lockers were actually constructed in the basemen of Maine North.
ReplyDeleteNot 100% sure about the football field because I have heard compelling arguments for both MN and GBN, but considering that this was filmed going on 30 years ago, you can't prove anything solely on how things look now). Maine North had already been closed for awhile at the time of filming, and with the exception of the front shots of the school, the rest of the set was made up or revised for the sake of the movie. Things like fences/flags/scoreboards/goalposts/blechers, etc., could have easily been constructed or removed for filming. I wish my father was alive, so I could ask him for certain.
Confirmation it was Maine North football field...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/ct-the-breakfast-club-30th-anniversary-20150217-column.html#page=1
Awesome!
Deletehello, I would like to know the name of the Shermer High school 's architect. Could you help me ? Merci !
ReplyDeleteHi, wow I have no clue how to find that out.
DeleteOk Chas ! Thanks ! I try to find ! Merci !
ReplyDeleteI went to maine north for 4 yrs and I can tell you this:
ReplyDelete1. The library in the movie is definitely a set they built, similar looking to the actual library. However, the scene where judd nelson bounds down the staircase and says "I forgot my pencil" , that staircase is in the actual library.
2. The scene at the end when they are walking down the front steps, the scene just before they are walking down the hall in the lower level...so they would not be walking down those front steps, they would be walking up from the lower level stairs in the front of the school.
3. That is Maine North's football field. I spent many freezing days and nights in my little bare legged pompon uniform performing on that field. If you are familiar with the highschools in the area, you'd know that maine north was the smallest...that was the rinkydinkiest football field....
In ref to #1, referring to my yearbook...hard to tell if thats the staircase in the actual library. If it's not...it's an awfully good rendition
DeleteThe big gym was right across the hall from the small gym.
ReplyDelete-Maine North, Class of '77
I believe the school became a BD school in the mid to late 80's. For which my father was the dean at the time. He was there while they were filming. I remember him telling me they had converted the gym into the library and the crew didn't do the best job cleaning up afterwards. I remember him being annoyed about that. I stopped by to visit him their back than and got to walk around the halls and see the gym Bender was playing basketball in.I remember being surprised at how small the lockers actually were. It was all quite surreal after watching the movie countless times in jr. High. I do recall you can clearly see 294 from there.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt was a main North high school field. The film was finally agreed to be made because it would all take place in one location
ReplyDeleteA commenter said above: "The library in the movie is definitely a set they built, similar looking to the actual library. " Does this mean the "actual library" could still be on premises and could possibly still be viewable? Imagine, somewhere in that building could be a pretty close match to the on screen set, still standing after all these years.
ReplyDeleteI graduated from me North High School and my wife graduated from Glenbrook North High School and we both know what our football fields looked like and it was definitely filmed at Main North for the final scene
ReplyDeleteGBN grad and football player (82), it's not the GBN field. The movie scene shows large buildings behind the home bleachers. There were no such structures behind the home bleachers at GBN, it was practice fields and looking at google maps just now still looks the same now.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that there's been so much debate as to where the final scene was shot. The proof is in the pictures above - just compare the press box (some have called it a scorebox) at the top of the bleachers in the 1976 yearbook photo to the actual screen shot of the movie. They are absolutely identical, with the same three windows. Also notice how the railing right in front of the press box matches exactly. I know that press boxes can look similar sometimes, but these are obviously the same one. The location is Glenbrook North without question.
ReplyDeleteHaha, sorry, Maine North is the location. I put the wrong name in my above post ^^^. Too many high school names being thrown around in these comments.
DeleteI believe it was all filmed in one location simply cause it makes sense.
ReplyDeleteCan someone make a simple map/drawing of where I need to stand to re-create the last shot of the film?
ReplyDeleteI'm headed to IL in April and am confused about where to go.
My friend Owen mapped it out pretty good up where I listed the location. Just go into the open field way left of the police post.
DeleteWhere Bender is walking is the walk I made home everyday from school. Everyday. For four years. No mistaking that. I played football on that field. Caught an interception next to that taped up field goal post. There's no doubt what school it is. And I recently saw Emilio Estevez on WGN in the morning, and he confirmed that the school was Maine North. And to the person who said it couldn't be MN because the school was practicing soccer on that field at the time...impossible. The school closed down before the shooting of the movie. Oh, I also remember "running stairs" when the coaches were upset with us for one reason or another... I remember those stands very well! It is interesting how there is so much debate on this. Don't why that is? But, i guess the best part of this is that it keeps the memories alive.
ReplyDeleteWOW
ReplyDeleteIt's clearly MAINE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL...when Nelson walks toward camera, you can see cars behind him...that's Harrison Street
ReplyDeleteSeeing on the map where Bender pumped his fist, and realizing its just an empty field with everything torn down, and its just a random spot in the weeds behind some townhouses, kind of physically makes me ill. Talk about forgotten (and we were not supposed to forget). Somebody get out there and pound a stake in the ground or something. Uhg. Great work nailing down where it actually was.
ReplyDelete