This one shot of Chicago in Stranger Things Season 2 and why it bothers me
(Also a solution, I guess)
The Skyline is clearly not Chicago in 1984 (Way too many new buildings, it's almost like they just looked up "Chicago skyline at Night")
This is Downtown Chicago viewed from the East, meaning that they're currently in the middle of Lake Michigan
They used the wrong kind of Subway Cars (CTA cars are shorter than most other subway cars because Chicago's Loop requires sharp 90° turns)
The L doesn't really head directly east until you get really far south, and even then it's only for about a mile
Chicago doesn't even have any Elevated Rail Structures that look like this (It's mostly metal, thin concrete pillars or embankments)
& Bonus Fact™: The antennas on the Sears Tower were the same length until June 2000
For reference, here's the same view Chicago in 1984
Wow! It's the edge of the lake! Not really that big factory area they were looking for.
"But mAybe there just wasn't an area like that in Chicago" I hear you saying,
w r o n g
It's even more annoying that there's an area with everything they wanted in this shot:
- A large warehouse
- A good view of Downtown (not terribly difficult to find, the whole place is flat)
- A CTA line passing by
- And a railyard (also not difficult to find, it's Chicago)
It's right here:
1537 S Wood St.
(Stolen from Google Maps)
+I get that it's a Netflix show on a budget, but this wasn't at all difficult to find and is at least more believable than LakeBuilding in FutureCity USA