Batwoman Filming Locations in Chicago

[Slimybug]

As someone who doesn't live far from Chicago, I've been meaning to go check out some of the Dark Knight trilogy filming locations sometime. However, it's come to my attention that some of the exteriors from Batwoman were also shot there. I was wondering if someone could help me out finding them.

Apparently, Wayne Tower is the Chicago Board of Trade building, just as it was in Batman Begins, but this isn't mentioned at all on that building's wikipedia page.

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Does anyone know what this building is, apparently the Gotham City Police Department, where the bat-signal is found in Eleworlds. It's seen below from a distance, from atop the Chicago Board of Trade Building.

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[signalman112]

Maybe this site will answer some of your questions.

https://www.atlasofwonders.com/2019/...-location.html

[Godlike13]

I should know this given I work in the CBOT.

[Flash Gordon]

The CW can afford to film in Chicago? I thought they solely filmed in someone's backyard in Vancover?

Pretty cool.

[Air Wave]

The CW can afford to film in Chicago? I thought they solely filmed in someone's backyard in Vancover?

Pretty cool.

I was wondering about these locations. Batwoman looked like Chicago to me and I knew a lot of CW stuff was shot in Vancouver. Does anyone know what cities are posing as Central City and Star City? What about National City?

[Osiris-Rex]

The CW can afford to film in Chicago? I thought they solely filmed in someone's backyard in Vancover?

Pretty cool.

Black Lightning films in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. That's part of the reason that Black Lightning hasn't been connected to the Arrowverse up until now.

[Jim Kelly]

Some scenes for Elseworlds were filmed in Chicago. I'm not sure about the pilot episode. They might have done some extra filming in Chicago for that, too. But they would have enough stock exterior shots that they can re-use for the rest of the series.

Since then, it's been filmed in Vancouver, but not in my backyard. The Orpheum Theatre made its bow on BATWOMAN (in the episode just before Crisis), thus qualifying it as a transdimensional portal between all cities, all time periods and all worlds--a wonder, since its a heritage building and, with all those fight scenes on the stairs, you'd think that would cause a lot of damage.

[Slimybug]

I was wondering about these locations. Batwoman looked like Chicago to me and I knew a lot of CW stuff was shot in Vancouver. Does anyone know what cities are posing as Central City and Star City? What about National City?

All the five main shows (not counting Black Lightning) shoot in Vancouver. Chicago is used for some external shots in Batwoman, and the skyline of National City is absolutely Los Angeles (the main skyscraper, the U.S. Bank building, being a dead giveaway)

I admit I haven't seen Batwoman proper yet, and was wondering about those shots in Elseworlds.

FTR, I found it all out. Wayne Enterprises in Elseworlds is the Carbide Building on Michigan Ave (though apparently they changed it in the series proper to the Chicago Board of Trade, which was what it was in Batman Begins [but not The Dark Knight]). The police station where Kara, Barry, and Iris find the Batsignal (with Kate watching from atop the Carbide Building, in a spectacular helicopter shot) is 365 Michigan Ave. I can't imagine they fly the cast across the country on a regular basis, so it must have been a special occasion.

Also in the 3rd episode of Elseworlds, right at the beginning, Barry and Oliver find themselves in a locale that has clearly been used a hundred times as National City in Supergirl, yet they're supposed to be in a different city on a totally different Earth.

The exterior of the police precinct where the 3 are bailed out of is actually Chicago City Hall, and Chicago flags are actually flying on the front of it.

The view from Kate's office in Elseworlds is also consistent with it being the Carbide Building. So either that was a heck of a bluescreen shot or even that was filmed in Chicago.

[Air Wave]

All the five main shows (not counting Black Lightning) shoot in Vancouver. Chicago is used for some external shots in Batwoman, and the skyline of National City is absolutely Los Angeles (the main skyscraper, the U.S. Bank building, being a dead giveaway)

I admit I haven't seen Batwoman proper yet, and was wondering about those shots in Elseworlds.

FTR, I found it all out. Wayne Enterprises in Elseworlds is the Carbide Building on Michigan Ave (though apparently they changed it in the series proper to the Chicago Board of Trade, which was what it was in Batman Begins [but not The Dark Knight]). The police station where Kara, Barry, and Iris find the Batsignal (with Kate watching from atop the Carbide Building, in a spectacular helicopter shot) is 365 Michigan Ave. I can't imagine they fly the cast across the country on a regular basis, so it must have been a special occasion.

Also in the 3rd episode of Elseworlds, right at the beginning, Barry and Oliver find themselves in a locale that has clearly been used a hundred times as National City in Supergirl, yet they're supposed to be in a different city on a totally different Earth.

The exterior of the police precinct where the 3 are bailed out of is actually Chicago City Hall, and Chicago flags are actually flying on the front of it.

The view from Kate's office in Elseworlds is also consistent with it being the Carbide Building. So either that was a heck of a bluescreen shot or even that was filmed in Chicago.

So Star City & Central city are BOTH Vancouver? Why do they look so different? Or are they just doing a really good job.

[Jim Kelly]

So Star City & Central city are BOTH Vancouver? Why do they look so different? Or are they just doing a really good job.

They are doing a good job, but for me as a native of Vancouver, I'm not often fooled. All the series (with maybe the exception of LEGENDS) use the same downtown location for a lot of the exterior shots--often the same four block area and even the very same block. But the camera is pointed in a different direction. If they did a 360 pan, then you'd see all the same buildings, but because FLASH points the camera southwest and ARROW points the camera northeast, it looks like two different cities.

With so many movies and TV shows shooting in Vancouver, local crews have gotten very good at making the city and the environs look like every other place on the planet--and even on other planets. Matte shots and filters also help sometimes to disguise an area for something else.

[Bat-Meal]

Some scenes for Elseworlds were filmed in Chicago. I'm not sure about the pilot episode. They might have done some extra filming in Chicago for that, too. But they would have enough stock exterior shots that they can re-use for the rest of the series.

Batwoman shoots in both Vancouver and Chicago. If you keep an eye on the cast social media you'll find every so often they are back in Chicago, so it's more than just exterior skyline shots.

[Slimybug]

They are doing a good job, but for me as a native of Vancouver, I'm not often fooled. All the series (with maybe the exception of LEGENDS) use the same downtown location for a lot of the exterior shots--often the same four block area and even the very same block. But the camera is pointed in a different direction. If they did a 360 pan, then you'd see all the same buildings, but because FLASH points the camera southwest and ARROW points the camera northeast, it looks like two different cities.

With so many movies and TV shows shooting in Vancouver, local crews have gotten very good at making the city and the environs look like every other place on the planet--and even on other planets. Matte shots and filters also help sometimes to disguise an area for something else.

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Where would I find this locale that keeps popping up?

[Jim Kelly]

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Where would I find this locale that keeps popping up?

At first glance this looks like around the Bentall Centre by Burrard Street near the Skytrain station. So I took a field trip, but I should have had this pic with me--I was going by memory--the red-brown building in the background looks like it could be the HSBC bank tower, but when I was in the area I couldn't get an angle that would include both buildings in the same shot. So it might be another location. There's a lot of places in Vancouver that look like that. If I knew some of the episodes it pops up, I could probably figure it out for certain.

I also went exploring other places downtown and I was sad to see that the old main post office is but a shell, a mere skeleton. It was a grand beautiful building--a historic landmark completed in 1958. My father, brother, three sisters, one brother-in-law and myself all worked in that building at one time or another--and the exterior was used quite a bit on ARROW. Not only is it deconstructed, with trucks and barricades all around it, but other locations adjacent which also have been used quite a lot in the Arrowverse shows are now being torn up or covered in tarp--so I imagine a lot of the shooting will be in different locations from now on for all the shows.

And this is just across from the central library which is another frequent location and that is just up the street from the BC Place Stadium which you can see in the background for a lot of shots (you can see it in Crisis) and it's also STAR Labs (with some CGI masking). And all of these buildings are right close to the viaduct(s) used a lot for car chases (featured heavily in DEADPOOL, too).

[Bat-Meal]

Some Chicago locations:

[Slimybug]

At first glance this looks like around the Bentall Centre by Burrard Street near the Skytrain station. So I took a field trip, but I should have had this pic with me--I was going by memory--the red-brown building in the background looks like it could be the HSBC bank tower, but when I was in the area I couldn't get an angle that would include both buildings in the same shot. So it might be another location. There's a lot of places in Vancouver that look like that. If I knew some of the episodes it pops up, I could probably figure it out for certain.

I also went exploring other places downtown and I was sad to see that the old main post office is but a shell, a mere skeleton. It was a grand beautiful building--a historic landmark completed in 1958. My father, brother, three sisters, one brother-in-law and myself all worked in that building at one time or another--and the exterior was used quite a bit on ARROW. Not only is it deconstructed, with trucks and barricades all around it, but other locations adjacent which also have been used quite a lot in the Arrowverse shows are now being torn up or covered in tarp--so I imagine a lot of the shooting will be in different locations from now on for all the shows.

And this is just across from the central library which is another frequent location and that is just up the street from the BC Place Stadium which you can see in the background for a lot of shots (you can see it in Crisis) and it's also STAR Labs (with some CGI masking). And all of these buildings are right close to the viaduct(s) used a lot for car chases (featured heavily in DEADPOOL, too).

That location is from the Arrow episode Legends of Yesterday, 30 minutes in. I believe it's the same location seen in the beginning of Elseworlds Part 3.