Independence Day was filmed in Los Angeles, New York, Wendover, & Washington D.C. in the United States of America.
Julius's Home
In movie
Scene where David makes his way to his father's house so they can leave the city together.
Real
Destroyed Los Angeles
In movie
Scene where Jasmine searches through the streets for a way out of the city and gathers a small band of survivors including the First Lady.
Real
Scene was shot Once the largest steel plant on the west coast which employed over 2,500 people at its peak, the plant was mostly shut down in the 80s and much of the site was redeveloped. More information on the site can be found at the Center for Land Use Interpretation.
Fontana Dam
U.S. Bank Tower
In movie
Scene where Jasmine's friend Tiffany and a bunch of other UFO nuts stand atop the building in downtown L.A. under the center of the giant alien spacecraft.
Real
Wells Fargo Center
In movie
Scene where A group of UFO fanatics party atop of downtown skyscraper.
Real
The White House Lawn
In movie
Scene where The President and others leave the White House on Marine One.
Real
Scene was shot Constructed on land purchased by Walt Disney in 1959, Golden Oak Ranch is a 890-acre movie ranch located at the entrance of Placerita Canyon to the east of Santa Clarita. The ranch contains suburban & downtown backlots as well as a variety of cabins and outdoor areas for filming.
Newhall
Highway into Washington D.C.
In movie
Scene where Julius and David continue their journey to the capitol.
Real
The White House
In movie
Scene where One of the alien spaceships settles in over the White House.
Real
Empire State Building
In movie
Scene where The ship stops over the Empire State Building and then destroys it.
Real
Crash Corner
In movie
Scene where A police officer stops in the middle of the intersection to look at the spaceship and causes a traffic accident.
Real
Basketball Court
In movie
Scene where A group of kids playing basketball under the bridge when they see the spaceship emerging from the clouds.
Real
Jasmine's House
In movie
Scene where Captain Steven Hiller wakes up to find the neighborhood panicking and when he heads outside he sees the spaceship hanging over Los Angeles.
Real
Compact Cable
In movie
Scene where David arrives at work and notices a strange code embedded in their satellite signals.
Real
Scene was shot Former home of the Hughes H-4 Hercules until it was moved in 1980.
Los Angeles
First Lady's Hotel
In movie
Scene where The First Lady talks to the President over the phone from her hotel room in Los Angeles. After the aliens arrive she flees the hotel via a helicopter on the roof.
Real
Scene was shot The grand Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel opened in 1923 as the largest hotel west of the Mississippi. The hotel was designed by Schultze & Weaver in a mixture of styles from around the Mediterranean. The lush interior of the hotel includes murals by artist Giovanni Smeraldi who has also painted works for the Vatican and the White House. In addition to being featured in hundreds of films and TV shows over the years, the hotel was also the location where the Academy Awards were planned in 1927 and hosted the ceremony eight times over the years.
Los Angeles
Helipad
In movie
Scene where The military helicopter equipped with light panels for communication lifts off and heads towards the alien spacecraft.
Real
Scene was shot LAX is the fourth busiest airport in the world (2nd in the United States) that covers over 3,500 acres near the beach between Westchester & El Segundo. The airport first opened in 1930 under the name Mines Field and got its current name in 1949. Four parallel runways serve the airport the longest of which is almost 13,000 ft long. LAX has nine passenger terminals with 128 gates as well as a cargo terminal and heliport. The distinctive googie-style Theme Building in the center of the terminal complex was designed in 1961 by architect Paul Williams. The arched structure contains a panoramic retro-futuristic restaurant with views of the airport.
Los Angeles
Biking through Streets
In movie
Scene where David Levinson bikes through the packed traffic on his way out of town.
Real
New Jersey Park
In movie
Scene where David and Julius play chess in the park before David has to head to work.
Real
Diner
In movie
Scene where Russell is drinking at a local diner when the locals start talking about his alien abduction story. Constructed for filming next to one of the hangers.
Real
Wall Street Panic
In movie
Scene where People panic when the spaceship arrives over Wall Street.
Real
View from Jasmine's House
In movie
Scene where Jasmine heads outside and sees the alien spaceship which has arrived over downtown.
Real
Highway to Washington D.C.
In movie
Scene where Julius drives David to Washington D.C. against the flow of traffic.
Real
D.C. Street
In movie
Scene where Julius drives David through a deserted downtown Washington D.C. towards the White House.
Real
El Toro (gate)
In movie
Scene where Jasmine drives up to the gate of the air base and sees that it has been destroyed.
Real
L.A. Street
In movie
Scene where People run from their cars while the city explodes.
Real
Tunnel
In movie
Scene where Jasmine is stuck in traffic with her son when she sees the explosion behind her. She runs into the tunnel and manages to escape into a service corridor.
Real
Scene was shot A tunnel running 4.5 blocks under downtown Los Angeles from Figueroa to Hill, the 2nd Street Tunnel was opened in 1924 to help reduce traffic on the nearby 3rd Street Tunnel. The tunnel is lined with distinctive glossy white tiles which cast distorted reflections giving the tunnel a very visually interesting appearance which has led to its popularity in film and television.
Los Angeles