Two Oregon towns featured on HGTV list of ‘must-visit’ movie filming locations

Oregonians already know our state has provided a scenic location for several movies, ranging from much-loved classics like “The Goonies” to more obscure fare. Now, the HGTV website is taking note of two Oregon towns that served as locations for the ever-popular films “Twilight,” “Stand By Me” and the Disney Channel TV movie, “Halloweentown.”

In a feature called “Must-Visit Small-Town Movie Sets Across America,” the HGTV website has rounded up small towns that have enjoyed moments of big-screen fame. According to the post, “Filmmakers know small towns make great movie locations because they feel authentic. Fans who don’t live in big cities like L.A. can identify with small town settings and often snap up tickets, turning movies about small-town life into blockbuster hits.”

The introduction to the list also says that “Movies set in small towns also hold down production costs for filmmakers, although some spend money to revitalize flagging downtowns. Residents benefit even more when the movies debut, tourism picks up and the local economy gets a boost.”

The Oregon towns in the HGTV spotlight are St. Helens, about 29 miles from Portland, and Brownsville. “Twihards” are well aware that scenes from the first movie in the “Twilight” franchise were filmed in St. Helens. As the HGTV list says, “With its small-town feel, natural beauty and quaint parks, boutiques and eateries, St. Helens, Oregon, was a perfect stand-in for Forks, Washington, where fictional characters Bella and Charlie Swan lived in ‘Twilight,’ released in 2008.”

The post says fans can rent the “Swan” house as an Airbnb, “see costumes and decor from the movie, eat at the same dining table the actors used and sleep in a bedroom furnished with a lifesize cut-out of Jacob, Bella or Edward.”

OK, that lifesize cut-out sounds a bit unnerving, but anyway.

As the Oregon Office of Film & Video notes, the HGTV list also mentions the Oregon Film Trail, and directs attention to another St. Helens claim to fame, namely the annual “Spirit of Halloweentown Festival,” which celebrates the town’s status as a location for the Disney Channel 1998 TV movie, “Halloweentown.”

The entry for Brownsville, Oregon’s second “must-visit” movie filming location, notes that the 1986 movie, “Stand By Me,” filmed in the Brownsville area. As the site says, Brownsville, located north of Eugene, “was transformed for the movie, set in 1959. You can still see a Coca-Cola sign painted for the film on the exterior of the 1903 Bank of Brownsville on Main Street.”

“Stand By Me” movie locations in Brownsville, the list says, “included the Calapooia River Bridge on Main Street, two homes, a treehouse on School Avenue, a Baptist cemetery, The Brownsville Saloon (a pool hall called “Irby’s” in the film) and Pioneer Park, where locals worked as extras in the big pie-eating scene.”

The HGTV list also mentions the annual “Stand By Me Day” in Brownsville, held on July 23. The event has, as the entry says, included guided walking tours of the movie’s locations, displays of vintage cars, and more.

More of our coverage:

Oregon film tourism trend brings visitors to communities where movies and TV shows filmed

19 Oregon-filmed movies that take you on a virtual tour around the state

— Kristi Turnquist covers features and entertainment. Reach her at 503-221-8227, kturnquist@oregonian.com or @Kristiturnquist

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