Filming Locations Guide: The Trial of the Chicago 7 Court House & City Park

The Trial of the Chicago 7 was primarily filmed in New Jersey, with additional key scenes shot in the Windy City itself.

The movie was under development since 2006; director and writer Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, A Few Good Men) had planned to involve Steven Spielberg in the project.

Sacha Baron Cohen was originally cast to play the Yippie activist Abbie Hoffman that year before he became world-famous after the success of Borat.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 is a legal drama telling the real story of the Chicago Seven (who were actually eight). The leaders of a peaceful protest against the Vietnam war were charged with conspiracy after the demonstrations turned into a violent clash with the police during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

The all-stars academy awards of protests is also composed by Eddie Redmayne (Fantastic Beasts) as Tom Hayden, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen, Aquaman) as Bobby Seale, and Jeremy Strong (Succession) as Jerry Rubin. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Frank Langella, and Michael Keaton are also featured in the cast.

The exterior of the courtroom was filmed at the gorgeous Newark City Hall.

The stunning interior lobby of this 1902 Beaux-Arts style building with a golden dome is also featured in the film.
Image courtesy of Netflix and Google Maps

Sorkin commented to Variety that the elegant courthouse room where most of the film takes place was built somewhere in New Jersey.

A reader who worked in the filming as an extra revealed that the courtroom was set in the Community Baptist Church Of Love in Paterson.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map

The production was able to be shot on location where the real events took place at Chicago's Grant Park.

The sequence when the demonstrators try to take the hill of the John Alexander Logan Monument was made by combining archival footage, matching real images, with actors.

The film director ordered his camera operators to get into the crowd and shot like if they were making a documentary.
Image courtesy of Netflix and Google Maps

The scene when the activists try to get out of the park, near a police station, was filmed at Polk Street and Plymouth Court in downtown Chicago.

The building on the right side is the old Dearborn Station, the 1885 railway station with a magnificent clock tower that has nowadays transformed into a shopping mall.
Image courtesy of Netflix and Google Maps

The Haymarket Tavern where a group of protestors clashes with the National Guard riot police is located at 14th and Garden streets in Hoboken, New Jersey.

The bar is actually called Dino and Harry's Steakhouse, an elegant 19th-century saloon with stained glass.
Image courtesy of Netflix and Google Maps

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1 comment:

1- Anonymous - Jul 20, 2024, 11:30 PM
Does anyone know where Ramsey Clark’s house was filmed?