The Other Town That Doubled For Smallville

Longtime Smallville fans know that a lot of the outdoor scenes in the WB TV series were filmed in Cloverdale, British Columbia, Canada, with the Metropolis scenes often shooting in Vancouver and the studio backlot stages being found in a town called Burnaby. With all that, though, many have wondered: Where was the town in the overhead shot of Smallville? You know, when the credits often begin?

The actual place is in the United States, though Smallville itself never shot there, and the footage was mostly shot in 1995 for a movie that many have seen – the original Twister. No, not Night of the Twisters, which starred Smallville‘s John Schneider, and not the recent Twisters with some guy named David Corenswet. This establishing shot was more or less also re-used when The CW’s “Arrowverse” did their “Elseworlds” crossover event, where we visited the Kent Farm and heard that great music all over again. (That scene was also the first time we ever saw Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois!)

So where is it?

The town of Wakita, Oklahoma was used for Twister and several places were specifically built for use in the film only to be destroyed by a tornadoes. There are supposedly some Twister-related tourist attractions in and around Wakita for those who are curious. All this talk about tornadoes and superheroes makes someone think about how ridiculous it would be if Superman didn’t save his father from one if it was approaching, right?

You can see another look at the Wakita water tower below.

Craig Byrne

Craig Byrne has been writing about Superman TV since 1995, when the "Lois & Clark Krypton Club" launched. He founded KryptonSite.com in February 2001, becoming the first fan site for The WB/CW television series Smallville. He also wrote the Official Companion books for Smallville seasons 4-7 as well as the Smallville Visual Guide.

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