"Dawn of the Dead" Mall

"Slow down, will you wait for me?" I hear echoing through the parking lot.
I turn around to notice my companion lagging far behind, as I briskly rushed to the mall's entry way. I'm not a big fan of shopping, there were no great going out of business sales, yet I made a special detour on our trip to visit this commercial haven.
As I approached the staff elevator I could barely contain myself. I felt like a giddy young boy getting a peep at my first nudie magazine. Or a horror geek posing by a photo of the Godfather of the zombie film, George Romero, which I was! On the wall are various other photos taken during the filming of the horror classic, paying homage to both the mall and the movie.
The Monroeville Mall, on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, played a central character in the movie "Dawn of the Dead." George Romero used the mall as a safe haven for our protagonists, while feeding on our needs for consumerism and gore, I'm still not sure which is the more disturbing habit. Unfortunately most of the mall has been made over tremendously since the filming took place here in 1977, but the die hard fans are sure to still recognize some similarities. The mall still gladly embraces it's unusual fame and recognition, just pay a visit to the Monroeville Zombies attraction in the mall and see for yourself!

"The Blob" Movie

Hope everyone enjoyed our "Blob" tour. If you'd like to take your own; pick up the "Blob Tour" zine on Etsy!

...and now for our feature presentation!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4


Part 5

Intermission

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Finale

Videos shared from The Blob 1958 YouTube channel.
Buy "The Blob"

"Blob" Tour-High School

Taking the advice of Jane's father, Steve and his gang of delinquents headed to the local high school. After shattering the windows, the gang rounds up all the fire extinguishers they can muster. In a show of heroism the misfits and the authorities banded together. Collectively the brave citizens fight back against the gelatinous mass from outer space.

After paralyzing the mutant blob, the town had the Air Force transfer the monster to a cold demise in the Arctic. Thanks to Steve and his quick wittedness this small town and the rest of humanity were saved from "The Blob."

The school still has the same entrance as was used during filming. The only real difference is a name change. During the time of filming the school was Memorial Jr. High School, today it's the Samuel Barkley Elementary School. Located at 320 2nd avenue in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.

Lucky for us not all these places have succumbed to suburban sprawl and we still have pieces of movie history to admire...even if it's a cheesy drive-in classic!

"Blob" Tour-Downingtown Diner

After narrowly escaping death at the Colonial Theatre, the movie goers cower for cover in the nearby diner. Our protagonists follow suit after witnessing Jane's little brother innocently attempt to shoot the blob with his toy gun.
While hiding out in the eatery the massive ooze outside begins to devour the entire diner. Steve and the crowd gathered inside take refuge in the basement. Outside the local police attempted a plan to electrocute the blob. Unfortunately the officers plan backfired and the diner caught fire. Quick witted Steve briskly grabbed the nearest CO2 fire extinguisher and began to suppress the flames. During the chaos a strange phenomenon was witnessed. The massive blob seemed to be affected by the blistering cold of the extinguishers. The local juveniles had found a weak spot. Now where would they find more extinguishers?

The original Downingtown Diner is long gone. After filming the diner was relocated to Hollywood. Not to be discouraged another retro style diner took it's place and is actually located over the original basement. The current Chef's diner was used in the low budget horror film "Killer Instinct".

In the film the movie patrons run directly across the street to the diner. It's actually 18 miles away in Downingtown. 81 W. Lancaster, Avenue Downingtown, Pennsylvania.

"Blob"fest

Every year around the same time something strange occurs at the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. Hundreds of spectators run rampant out of the theatre and onto the streets. Their look of terror assumes they just saw a monster. Perhaps they did! But chances are they're just re-enacting the famous scene from the campy sci-fi classic. The film originally cost $120,00 to produce. It starred Aneta Corsaut who played Jane, and a hot newcomer; Steven McQueen. This was the last time he used Steven as he later became ubercool Steve McQueen, and unfortunately met a tragic fate. An interesting fact with the film is McQueen was offered $2,500 or 10% gross of the film. He chose the $2,500 figuring the film would tank, the movie caught a buzz and made over $4,000,000.00.


Filmed mainly at Valley Forge Films, Director Irvin Yeaworth used local landmarks in the film to add authenticity, including local homes, a landmark theatre, diners, and even a local high school.

Every year thousands flock here to pay homage. The annual Blobfest occurs every July in the town of Phoenixville. The festival features numerous vendors, B-movie screenings, costume contests, a fire extinguisher parade, and of course the infamous theatre run out.

Follow us the rest of the week as we continue our "Blob" tour!

Harrisburg State Hospital "City on the Hill"

If only walls could talk, what kind of stories would they tell us? If I went looking for any walls to talk to in the Keystone State, I’d want to start at the Harrisburg State Hospital.

Social Reformer Dorothea Dix helped lobby to get help for the mentally handicapped in the state. In 1845 the Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital and Union Asylum for the Insane was founded. In 1848 the name was changed to the less controversial Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital, after $50,000.00 was allotted to build. The hospital was completed in in1851, admitting its first patient on October 6^th, becoming the first Mental Hospital in the state.

The Kirkbride building was one of the first insane asylums in the United States using the Kirkbride Plan. Kirkbride was a Philadelphia Psychiatrist in the mid-1800’s, who advocated a system of mental asylum design. The asylums tended to be large with Victorian design.

The Kirkbride building seemed to suffer from poor construction as it only lasted approximately 50 years. Between 1893 and 1912 the hospital was rebuilt, going for the more popular cottage plan. This would consist of several small buildings connected with long partially submerged tunnels, as opposed to one large building.

In 1921 the hospital again changed names, this time more appropriately just the Harrisburg State Hospital. At the hospital’s peak, it consumed more than 1,000 acres and over 70 buildings, and held as many as 2,441 patients. During its lowest levels of employment, it was scary how disproportioned it was, with 1 nurse to 166 patients. The state hospital earned the nickname “City on the Hill” for its self-sufficient ways, including having its own farm, stores and even a power plant. In 1986, the hospital was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1999 the site was used for the setting of the movie “Girl, Interrupted.” In fact, the administration sign that still hangs is a leftover from the film. On January 27, 2006 after 150 years of helping the mentally disabled, the doors were closed, though not completely. The state still uses the buildings as administrative offices.

Movie Trailer from "Girl, Interrupted"

Outta the Way! Goes to the Movies Part 2

A lot of residents of Pennsylvania may not even be aware that a movies been made about all the quirky characters living in the keystone state. From the good hearted, confused country boy to the Civil war buff a little too fascinated with Jennie Wade's butt. Throw in a few Amish who like television, and a quirky shop keeper with a fondness for elephants. The result is Route 30, a small budget independent comedy, filmed mainly along the famed route 30 also known as the Lincoln Highway.

But a lot more odder places in Pennsylvania have made it to the movies. The historic state hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania played an important role in the film Girl, Interrupted. The imposing structure and the massive size of the place allowed it to be another character in the film.

Director M. Night Shyamalan has always been drawn to filming his movies in his home state. For his upcoming film The Last Airbender he found some Asian influence in the hills of Pennsylvania. Quite a few of the scenes were filmed at the pagoda, perching high on the hilltops overlooking the city of Reading.

There's a 12 mile stretch of abandoned turnpike in Pennsylvania completely desolate. So much so that the filmmakers of the movie The Road decided to use it for the post- apocalyptic thriller. With grass and trees fighting through the asphalt, and such a deserted sense of eerieness it's no wonder they were attracted to this lost highway.

The near ghost town of Centralia, Pennsylvania has been an inspiration for a few movie settings. The 1991 debacle Nothing but Trouble takes place in a rural Pennsylvania town that's on fire. Sound familiar? Even The Simpsons Trash of the Titans episode was loosely based on Centralia. When Homer becomes sanitation commissioner, he charges other towns to dump their trash into Springfield's abandoned mine, eventually causing the town to relocate.

The most famous movie inspired by Centralia was actually a video game first. Silent Hill tells of a mother searching for her lost daughter in a town full of smoke and fallen ash due to a prolonged mine fire. The film depicts characters wandering through fog and smoke wearing mining gear. It also depicts the mother battling monsters within the town. Of course if you wanna get a real look at Centralia without leaving the house, I'd recommend The Town that Was. This is a full length documentary focusing on the remaining residents, sharing what the town was like before and what's in store for it's future.

Jerry's Market (The Blob)

In July's zine we are taking a Blob Tour. Though the Jerry's Market scene played a key part in the film, we omitted its presence from the zine as it is now part of a strip mall.

During the film Steve and Jane hid from the blob in the walk-in freeze and made a shocking realization that helped to save us all.

At the time of filming, Jerry Fahringer owned 2 markets: 1 in Phoenixville and 1 in Royersford, which was used for filming. Though difficult to identify today as it has changed such much over time. What you are looking for is New Lewis Road Plaza in Royersford. Today it is mostly the Sly Fox Restaurant and Brewery. The meat freezer Steve and Jane run into is apparently now the microbrewery. Cheers to that!

Located at Lewis Road and Oak Street in Royersford, PA.