With the release of “Asteroid City” coming up this Friday, June 23, we’re rounding up local landmarks that we think would fit the Wes Anderson aesthetic. We enlisted some help from Matthew Dickey, the Streetscape Curator + ambassador for Accidentally Wes Anderson.
Curious how to identify an “Accidentally Wes Anderson” view? “Symmetry is always a driving factor, but it’s more about the way the eye is guided through color, shapes, and patterns,” Matthew said. Read up on the TikTok trend to see what we mean.
Now, let’s zoom in on 10 local spots that fit the bill.
South Station
The director has a soft spot for trains (think: The Darjeeling Limited”), so our city’s largest transit hub is a perfect fit. From its history during World War II to the visual contrast between the old station and glass tower, there’s no shortage of concepts for a movie plot.
Jamaica Plain Dragon House
Visit 17 Cranston St. to see this architectural curiosity in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood. The 12-sided house was built in 1871, but its full background is a bit of a mystery (meaning it’s the perfect enigma for Wes Anderson to explore).
This hidden library paid tribute to Wes Anderson in a Wes Wednesday post.
Photo by BOStoday
Boston Athenaeum
Our city’s newly renovated membership library has five floors of space just waiting to be featured in a bookish film. We could totally see a plot unfolding around the Anthology Society, the group that founded the space in 1807.
Bully Boy Distillers
With a colorful and playful interior design, this Roxbury distillery is serving up the right visuals for a Wes Anderson backdrop. Sip a Negroni or Old Fashioned at the cocktail garden and film your own version of the social media trend.
Brookline Dutch House
Picture a cast of characters sipping cocoa inside a small Dutch castle. That’s exactly the type of movie we’d expect to film at this replica of the Franeker City Hall in the Netherlands. See it for yourself at 20 Netherlands Rd. in Brookline.
The Harvard Lampoon building, Gardner Museum + Hotel Buckminster are patiently awaiting their Wes Anderson film moments.
Photos by @streetscapecurator
Harvard Lampoon Building
This Cambridge mini-castle, home of the Harvard Lampoon humor magazine’s office + currently undergoing a massive renovation, has the perfect quirky vibe for another journalism-focused Wes Anderson plot. Think: “The French Dispatch.”
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
This aesthetic Fenway museum and its dreamy courtyard are practically begging to be in a “whodunnit” following the events of real-life theft.
Hotel Buckminster
The Kenmore Square landmark’s wide-spanning history as the site of a Red Sox scandal, jazz and Black cultural space, and a prisoner-of-war holding center makes it ideal for some savvy Wes Anderson storytelling. It’s like “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” but Boston.
The colors of Contessa are Hollywood-ready.
Photo by @____mcmm
Contessa
The Art Deco vibe of this swanky Newbury Street restaurant achieves the saturation and lighting levels for a Wes Anderson film. Just picture a colorful dinner scene among the geometric tiles + pink seats.
Post Office Square
The local subject of Accidentally Wes Anderson’s “Coastal Postal Road Trip” naturally earns a spot on this list. The history of the downtown area, particularly the site of one of Boston’s first post offices at 31 Milk St., seems deserving of a spot on the big screen.
