Where was Paper Moon filmed?

In the opening scenes of the movie, Addie Loggins stands at her mother’s funeral with a few others in attendance. Their singing is interrupted by a sputtering engine of a passing vehicle. We see a man hop out of the vehicle, pick up a bunch of flowers placed on another grave and head towards Annie Loggins and her group. When he arrives, everyone mentions how he looks similar to Annie and that since he’s headed to Missouri, he should take her to her aunt’s. She later asks, “How come you’re taking me?” He replies, “Because I’m going that way, honey.” This opening scene is set in a relatively flat and sparse area which aids the film in showing just how virtually nobody knows who Annie Loggins is or whether she has a father still living. This filming location in Paper Moon was set in McCracken’s Nickel Cemetery and it's relatively easy to get to this filming location, as it's located at the intersection of Rush County Road 160 and Avenue East. To get there, take the K-4 that leads out of McCracken and then a right at Avenue East. You’re sure to get to the cemetery where this opening scene of Paper Moon was shot.

Introducing Addie Loggins to Mr. Robinson, Moze asks him, “Ain’t she a sweet child?” to which he replies with “No, she ain’t a sweet child.” Moze then starts blackmailing Mr. Robinson, claiming that he will get the best lawyer in all of Kansas to fight for Addie Loggins and that half of all of Mr. Robinson’s assets will be frozen because of her. To this, he asks how much Moze wants, and when Moze says a couple thousand, Mr. Robinson says two hundred dollars to which Moze agrees upon, which he then uses to fix his car. This scene in Paper Moon was shot in the town of Wilson, along the current railroad that runs through the town. The name of the area where they shot this scene in Paper Moon was the Sunflower Coal buildings which are now abandoned. However, you can still visit this location as the buildings still stand to this day. To get there, you can travel along the Old U.S. 40. Turn on Avenue East where you will find the original building used to film this scene for Paper Moon.

Seeking to make a profit off his scamming, Moze aims to drop Addie off at the nearest train station so that she can get to Missouri, and he can go elsewhere with his extra cash and fixed vehicle. Moze kneels on one knee and says to Addie “Here’s your train ticket and here’s 20 dollars for your aunt Billie.” Seeing as they have to wait some more, Moze asks Addie if she’s hungry and takes her to a restaurant to eat some food before he tries to leave her. This scene was shot at the Gorham Train Station, which no longer exists today. However, it is still possible to visit the town of Gorham and there is still a railway line that runs through the town as well as the silos which can be seen in the original film.
To get to the area where the Gorham Train Station was, which served as one of Paper Moon’s shooting locations, travel along the Old US Highway 40. Head to the intersection between Chicago Street and 2nd Street to see the building that used to be the Gorham Train Station.

With Moze being head over heels with Miss Trixie Delight, an “exotic dancer” he found at a local carnival, Addie, and Miss Trixie’s maid Imogene, devise a plan to get Moze’s head out of the clouds and back to earth. While Moze is out, they convince the hotel clerk to head to Trixie saying that she’s in “… room 235,” and that “she’s waiting for ya!” The hotel clerk responds with, “Ok, you tell her I’m on my way up sweetheart.” They later tell Moze to head up to room 235 and when they see him again, he tells her, “Get your things Addie, we’re leaving.” Indicating that Addie and Imogene’s plan worked out. The hotel that was used for this part of the movie was the Midland Railroad Hotel which is located in Wilson. There are many ways in which you can reach the Midland Hotel, which served as one of the film sets for Paper Moon. Drive along the Old U.S. 40 and then up Avenue D. After heading past the railroad, you turn left along 26th Street where you will see the Midland Railroad Hotel & Restaurant.

Caught by the bootlegger's brother, the sheriff, Addie and Moze devise a plan to escape their pursuers and it involves a lot of danger. While feigning needing to use the restroom, Addie beckons Moze to run with her as they head up the stairs and out of the Sheriff’s Department to a nearby car which she stole the key for. While they attempt to escape the Sheriff, they have to dodge a few bullets and beat the car that’s chasing them. Almost hitting the sheriff who arrested them, Moze exclaims that, “I could’ve killed him, they could’ve had me up for murder!” One of the few action scenes in Paper Moon, this scene was shot in White Cloud and the exterior of the Sheriff’s Department was here also. Getting to this location is an easy task as the town of White Cloud is small. Drive along County Road and down Main Street towards the Missouri River. You’ll spot the building they used for the film along the left side of the road close to the Missouri River and the KS-7.

Wanting to end his misfortune by being together with Addie, Moze hops on a truck and aims to leave her with her aunt in Missouri. The audience sees Addie with all of her baggage clearly wanting to travel with Moze. Moze tells her, “I told you, I don’t want you riding with me no more.” And when he gets angry that Addie brings up the fact that he still owes her 200 dollars, Addie exclaims, “Moze look!” Moze turns around to see his truck headed down the hill. He takes Addie’s baggage and tells her to hurry up as they both climb into the truck and head off for their next adventure. This scene was shot in an isolated area called Kings Hill, on Codell Road located close to Plainville. To get to this location, drive along the KS-18 out of Plainville headed toward Codell. You then travel along Codell Road all the way down until you reach Kings Hill. You will see the location where they shot the ending scene of Paper Moon.