Where was The Shawshank Redemption filmed?

In the opening scenes of The Shawshank Redemption, we’re introduced to Andy and how he ended up in jail. The former banker is standing trial for murdering his wife and her lover, and we’re shown flashbacks to the night of the killings as the prosecution lays out its case. Andy does a less than convincing job of defending himself, and the audience is left wondering whether he’s capable of the violent crimes being described.

Clearly, the judge is unconvinced by Andy’s claims. “You strike me as a particularly icy and remorseless man, Mr. Dufresne”, the judge intones sternly. “It chills my blood just to look at you.” The judge sentences him to two consecutive life sentences, one for each of his victims, leaving Andy looking completely stunned.

This memorable introduction to our protagonist was filmed at the Wyandot County Courthouse in Upper Sandusky, roughly 45 miles west of Mansfield. The courtroom on the third floor was the one used in the movie, and there’s a historical marker outside the courthouse acknowledging that very fact. Many Wyandot County residents even featured as extras in the courtroom scene.

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One of the heartbreaking subplots throughout The Shawshank Redemption is the story of Brooks (James Whitmore), an elderly prisoner who becomes one of Andy’s first friends on the inside. But when Brooks is finally paroled after 50 years in jail, the audience watches his tragic attempts to adjust to life on the outside.

We see Brooks taking a job in a grocery store, sadly feeding pigeons in the park, and living in a halfway house. But it soon becomes clear that the world has passed him by. Brooks is scared, alone, and just wants his life to go back to the way things were.

He pens a heartbreaking suicide letter to his fellow inmates: “I don't like it here. I'm tired of being afraid all the time. I've decided not to stay. I doubt they'll kick up any fuss. Not for an old crook like me,” it reads. Then, after carving “Brooks was here” into a ceiling beam, he hangs himself. It’s one of the most memorable scenes in The Shawshank Redemption.

This halfway house is actually known as the Bissman Building and is found in North Main Street in Mansfield. Once the headquarters of the Bissman Company, it’s now in a dilapidated state but still easy to find on your Shawshank Redemption movie adventure.

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Who knew that with a rock hammer, a poster of Raquel Welch, and a whole lot of hard work and patience, anything is possible.

After an anxious night worrying about Andy’s state of mind, Red is alarmed when his good friend doesn’t answer the morning call. The prison guards are stunned when they find Andy’s cell empty. It seems as if he’s simply disappeared into thin air, until his escape tunnel hidden behind the Raquel Welch poster is discovered.

As sirens sound and the search begins, we see how Andy made his daring (and stomach-churning) escape through the sewers. As Andy finally makes it to freedom and turns his face to the sky in the pouring rain, his story of redemption is complete. “Andy Dufresne, who crawled through a river of (expletive) and came out clean on the other side,” Red narrates.

As mentioned above, you can visit the Ohio State Reformatory to see where many Shawshank State Prison scenes were filmed. Among the exhibits and displays on show here is the fake sewer pipe that Andy uses to escape — something very cool to see for any Shawshank Redemption fan.

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One of the recurring scenes throughout The Shawshank Redemption is Red’s regular parole board hearing, held every 10 years. In the first two, Red tries to tell the parole board what he thinks they want to hear — that he’s rehabilitated and ready to return to society — and his application is rejected.

But finally, after 40 years behind bars, Red feels like he’ll never get out and instead tells the truth. In a memorable speech to the parole board, he talks about being able to go back in time and talk to his younger self to tell him how the world works, but he knows he can’t.

“That kid’s long gone. This old man is all that’s left. I gotta live with that,” Red says. “Rehabilitated? It’s just a bull–– word. So you go on and stamp your forms, sonny, and stop wasting my time.” To Red’s surprise, his application for parole is approved.

The parole board room is another of the iconic filming locations from The Shawshank Redemption that you can check out at the Ohio State Reformatory. Make sure you stop by for a look while taking a tour of the prison.

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Red is stunned after being paroled, and viewers get the sense that he is struggling to work out what to do next. But there’s one thing that keeps him going: the promise he made to Andy about visiting “a big hayfield up near Buxton”, and finding something buried under a rock under an old oak tree.

So Red goes to the hayfield, finds the tree and the rock, and digs up a box with a letter inside. It’s from Andy, of course, and there’s money and a letter inside. In it, Andy invites Red to meet him in Mexico to help out with his new business.

“Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies,” the letter reads.

Sadly, this majestic old oak tree is no longer standing. It was located on a private property near Malabar Farm State Park, a little over 10 miles southeast of Mansfield. The tree was toppled by violent winds in 2016, but its timber was used to make a host of Shawshank-themed merchandise items for keen fans of the movie.

But even if this iconic tree is no longer there, visiting this site is still a bucket-list experience for any Shawshank fan.

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In the original novel by Stephen King, on which this film is based, readers were left not knowing for sure whether Andy and Red ever reunited on the outside. Happily, the movie decided to take their story a step further.

After reading Andy’s letter, Red sets off on a long journey to Zihuatanejo, Mexico, to meet up with Andy. Once again, the thing keeping him going is hope. “I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope,” Red narrates.

Andy is on a secluded beach, scrubbing an old boat, when he looks up to see a smiling Red strolling along the sand. And as the camera pans out, Andy climbs down from the boat and the two men share a tear-jerking hug.

This scene was actually filmed on Sandy Point Beach in St. Croix, which is in the US Virgin Islands. It may not be Mexico, but it’s still a gorgeous spot for two ex-cons to while away their remaining days in peace.

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