A drawbridge over a river, moored sailboats and clapboard storefronts a few steps from the water.
What Mystic looks like
The river runs through the middle of the village. US Route 1 crosses it on the , which lifts for boats.
From the air, the center is a dense block of two- to four-storey buildings along the water, with clapboard and red brick fronts. A yellow building with open balconies stands near the middle of the block. Parking lots sit behind the waterfront row, and sailboats are moored in the harbor beyond.
Restaurants stand on either side of the bridge, including the real at 56 West Main Street. After the film, that building was renovated to resemble its set.
sits on Greenmanville Avenue, and its re-created 19th-century seafaring village has clapboard houses and brick paving. The , built in the early 1850s, is a white clapboard house with a bay window and a small entry porch.
On the river, a wooden dock with a railing looks out over the water. Across it, sailboat masts rise above a row of buildings on the far bank.
About two and a half kilometers from the bridge, stands on Coogan Boulevard. It has a research department and beluga whales.
Shot in Mystic
The 1988 film Mystic Pizza filmed its most notable Mystic scenes at the Seaport planetarium and the drawbridge. Most of its other locations were in neighboring towns. Mystic Christmas is a 2023 Hallmark Channel film about an animal expert who works at the Mystic Aquarium. The production filmed there.
Amistad, 1997
Mystic Seaport village
Played New Haven harbor, New Haven, Connecticut, 1839 and 1840
Amistad used the museum's 1800s outdoor village to help re-create New Haven in 1839 and 1840. None of the film's New Haven scenes were shot in New Haven. The city's harbor was recreated here. Its streets and courthouse were filmed in Newport, Rhode Island.
FedEx lobster commercial, 2005
Mystic Seaport
FedEx filmed a commercial about the New England lobster business at Mystic Seaport in 2005. A large anchor stands on the brick paving at the entrance, beside a sign reading Welcome to Mystic Seaport.
Stonington Borough is a densely built point of land on Little Narragansett Bay, with two main streets and one of Connecticut's last remaining fishing fleets. Mystic's waterfront row and moored boats give a similar working harbor frame at street level. The fishing fleet and the 1840 stone Stonington Harbor Light give the Borough away in a wide shot, so frame tight on the street. Try searching Stonington fishing fleet now.
Rocky Neck is a rocky peninsula inside Gloucester's working harbor, with many art galleries and studios. Gloucester Marine Railways, one of the oldest working shipyards in the country, sits at the very end of the peninsula. Working boats share that frame. Wider shots that take in the rest of Gloucester give the place away, so frame tight on the waterfront. Try searching Rocky Neck working harbor now.
