going out on a limb now

Last night, imagining I might actually get to visit Woodstock, IL sometime, and watching the much clearer DVD copy of the movie than my usual copy I've got on my iPad, I spent some time comparing a few locations in the film to real locations in Google Maps. A few locations are easy. The park that served as Gobbler's Knob and the Tip Top Cafe and the Pennsylvanian Hotel are easy to find. The Cherry Street Inn exterior, then a house, is now a Bed and Breakfast called the Royal Victorian Manor, so it's easy enough to find; it's got a specific address. The Alpine Theater is still there (not called the Alpine, of course). And, the alley where O'Reilly dies is right in line with the theater (and just around the corner from where he's standing every morning in the film).

(And, I just found another person's site with photos from Woodstock, and apparently there is a plaque in"Old Man's Alley.")

Harder to figure out--but I did--was where Phil changes the old ladies' tire. When A.V. Club went there, the guide didn't even know where that happened... It was on Cass St, and the direction the car was traveling, they were headed west past Gobbler's Knob, and if the shot were wider, you could see the Tip Top Cafe behind them... if I were at home, I'd get a screencap.

And, though the DVD almost allows for reading the street sign behind Phil just before he saves the boy falling from the tree... as blurry as it is, I compared it to street names in Woodstock and figured it would be Pleasant St. But, I've got reason now to think it's actually Fremont St (the location of the "Cherry Street Inn") and in between the Bed and Breakfast and the house of Mary the piano teacher... this blogger says so anyway, and she's got photos and had a proper tour guide, so I suppose she might be right. She's got a shot of the gas station also (but doesn't provide an address) so I may just have to find that now on the map.

In the meantime, I can take pride in having located the tire change location. Screencaps on the iPad are easy enough, but my usual image location does not like my browser, so let's see if this works (if you see a blank space with, say a red X, I will try to fix it when I'm on my usual computer):

(EDIT: photos that weren't working last night should be working now.)

That pin marks the approximate location of the tire change.

INSERT: an amazing montage of me typing away like the Hollywood version of a computer hacker, and maps pop up and then maybe there's a blinking light on the gas station.

Or not. I realize now, that "tour" may have had a bus. The gas station might be nowhere near the rest of the locations.

So...

...just saying. I mean, how cool would it be to go to Groundhog Days! in Woodstock? They've got a film symposium on February 2nd... I believe it shall be my quest between this day and that to get to that symposium (cross your fingers or knock on wood or whatever works--

(None of it, I'm pretty sure, hence the donation mention.)

--for me to be not just be in the audience but up there on the stage as a special guest).

By the way, I did just figure out where Phil steps in front of the truck--it's only a block off "Gobbler's Knob" as you might be able to see below:

And, the Northern Federal Bank is now a Chase:

And, it isn't that far from where Phil changes the tire.

And, that's enough for today... especially, since those images might not work.

Today's reason to repeat a day forever: to make a shot for shot remake, like Gus Van Sant's Psycho of Groundhog Day because just taking photos of the locations won't be enough.