Maps of Movies

Oppenheimer (2023)

Where Oppenheimer says it takes place, and where it was really shot.

The Los Alamos town and the Trinity tower were built in New Mexico, and Cambridge and Göttingen are one building in Los Angeles.

Scenes and places

Cambridge, the lab he hates (1926)

A young Oppenheimer works in a Cambridge lab he does not enjoy, and is pushed to leave it and go where he can think. The theory he is steered toward shapes everything after.

Set in University of Cambridge — The English university where the young physicist studies in the lab. Google Maps · Apple Maps

A historic English university town; on screen it is a Los Angeles campus building.

Filmed at UCLA Kerckhoff Hall, Los Angeles (UCLA campus, Los Angeles, United States) — The Cambridge scenes, and the Göttingen ones, were filmed in this campus building over three days. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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Berkeley, a school of quantum theory (1929)

Oppenheimer meets Ernest Lawrence on campus and says he is starting a school of quantum theory. Lawrence invites him to help build a machine; he declines but wants to test his theories on it.

Set in University of California, Berkeley — The campus where Oppenheimer builds a school of theoretical physics. Google Maps · Apple Maps

The campus where the film places his 1930s teaching, next to the Radiation Lab.

Filmed at UC Berkeley campus (UC Berkeley campus, Berkeley, United States) — Campus scenes were filmed on the real Berkeley campus. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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Filmed at Pasadena, California (City centre, Pasadena, United States) — Scenes set in the city of Berkeley were filmed in Pasadena. The city centre point is used, not a street. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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Los Alamos, a secret town (1943)

General Leslie Groves picks Oppenheimer to lead the Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer proposes a new laboratory at Los Alamos and recruits the physicists who will build the bomb.

Set in Los Alamos Laboratory — The secret New Mexico site where the bomb is designed. Google Maps · Apple Maps

A New Mexico plateau where the real lab stood; its 1940s look is now gone, so exteriors are a set.

Filmed at Ghost Ranch set, New Mexico (Ghost Ranch, Abiquiú, United States) — A 1940s Los Alamos town built on a plateau at Ghost Ranch took three months to build and was used for six shooting days. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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Filmed at Women's Army Corps dormitory, Los Alamos (Town centre, Los Alamos, United States) — Lecture-hall and meeting interiors were shot in a historic Women's Army Corps dormitory in the real town; the town centre point is used. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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Trinity, the first test (1945)

In July 1945 the Army runs the Trinity test, the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. Oppenheimer stands at the centre of it.

Set in Trinity Site — The New Mexico desert where the first nuclear test takes place. Google Maps · Apple Maps

The real test site is in the New Mexico desert; the film rebuilt the tower elsewhere.

Filmed at Belen, New Mexico (Belen area, Belen, United States) — A replica of the original 100-foot tower was built near Belen; White Sands was open only at inconvenient hours. The town centre point is used, not the tower. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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Strauss's 1949 birthday (1949)

In 1949 the Soviet Union tests a plutonium bomb, and Oppenheimer pushes for arms talks instead of escalating. Lewis Strauss, the Atomic Energy Commission chairman, is frustrated by him.

Set in The Plaza Hotel, New York — The New York hotel where Strauss's birthday is celebrated. Google Maps · Apple Maps

A grand New York hotel, here played by a Los Angeles one.

Filmed at Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles (Downtown, Los Angeles, United States) — The Biltmore stood in for the Plaza Hotel in Strauss's 1949 birthday celebration. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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Filmed at Old Post Office, Albuquerque (Downtown, Albuquerque, United States) — The New York hotel scenes were shot in this building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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1954 security hearing (1954)

In 1954 Strauss and Borden set up a security hearing. Counsel Roger Robb replays the accusations of disloyalty, and Groves, Rabi and Kitty testify for Oppenheimer.

Set in Security hearing room, 1954 — The room where Oppenheimer's past is replayed in 1954.

A bare office-block room standing in for a government hearing.

Filmed at Former C.F. Braun building, Alhambra (City centre, Alhambra, United States) — The security hearing was shot in a disused office building in the former manufacturing headquarters for C.F. Braun & Co. The city centre point is used, not the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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1959 Senate confirmation (1959)

In 1959 Strauss is up for Secretary of Commerce and the Senate is expected to confirm him. At the hearing he is questioned over what he did to Oppenheimer.

Set in United States Capitol — Where the Senate questions Strauss over his nomination. Google Maps · Apple Maps

Washington's Senate hearings, filmed in New Mexico's capital.

Filmed at State government buildings, Santa Fe (City centre, Santa Fe, United States) — The Washington, D.C. scenes were shot in state government buildings in Santa Fe. Which building is not stated; the city centre point is used. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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Princeton, the talk with Einstein (1947)

Strauss claims Oppenheimer turned scientists against him, starting with Albert Einstein at Princeton in 1947. The meeting is replayed later.

Set in Institute for Advanced Study — The Princeton institute where Oppenheimer talks with Albert Einstein. Google Maps · Apple Maps

An academic institute in New Jersey where the film's one-on-one with Einstein is set and filmed.

Filmed at Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, United States) — Filming took place on location at the Institute in the second week of April 2022. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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Filmed at UCLA Kerckhoff Hall, Los Angeles — Göttingen Google Maps · Apple Maps

Filmed at Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles — Mark Hopkins Hotel meeting with Tatlock Google Maps · Apple Maps

Filmed at Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles — Petition hotel in Washington Google Maps · Apple Maps

Characters

• J. Robert Oppenheimer — The theoretical physicist who leads the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos laboratory.
• Lewis Strauss — The Atomic Energy Commission chairman who clashes with Oppenheimer over arms talks.
• General Leslie Groves — The Army general who approaches Oppenheimer to lead the Manhattan Project.

Questions answered on the map

• Where was the Trinity test in Oppenheimer really filmed?
• Where was Los Alamos in Oppenheimer really filmed?
• Where were the Cambridge scenes in Oppenheimer really filmed?