Figuratively speaking of course. Soon after moving to the Wesley Chapel area of Florida (outside Tampa) in 2005, I discovered that the next town over was one of the filming locations for the Tim Burton classic Edward Scissorhands. Google told me that a tiny subdivision in Lutz (pronounced lootz), FL named Carpenter’s Run was where the infamous cookie-cutter neighborhood of the movie was filmed. The small, single-story ranch homes had served as the backdrop for one of my favorite movies of all time, and I could drive to it and see for myself. So I did. [Nine years after this article was first posted, I’ve updated the links and videos.]
Edward’s Neighborhood
I decided to do some further research and was able to drive through the Carpenter’s Run subdivision and attempt to find Edward’s house. Or Winona Ryder’s, really. Edward’s house, the Gothic castle-like mansion at the end of the street on a hill (a site that would’ve been pretty noticeable in the flat, Florida landscape), was actually just a facade built in a separate location. Keep reading to get to a fun local news story showing the construction of the castle in Dade City. The neighboring town of Land O’ Lakes was also used to gather the plants needed for filming.
Shopping Plaza and Cast Hotel
More exterior shots, in the shopping center, were filmed in nearby Lakeland, FL and most of those locations are also still intact today. In addition, the Edward Scissorhands cast stayed at the Saddlebrook Resort, a golf and tennis compound which also features condos, townhomes and houses to vacation in or own. Saddlebrook is actually in the town I lived in back when this article was first posted, and just a few miles down the road from where I lived.
Driving through the Carpenter’s Run neighborhood, I couldn’t easily tell which houses were used in the filming. Tim Burton had them all painted pastel like Easter eggs for filming. In order to achieve that cookie-cutter uniformity, Burton even boarded up windows or other architectural details. When filming was complete, all of the houses were returned to their ‘normal’ state. Now 30 years have passed, and I’m sure many neighbors have made their own changes to the homes there. I was able to find out that the family home was actually on the corner of Tinsmith Circle. I never would’ve recognized it without knowing.
I love little back-stories and behind-the-scenes facts like this. Since I live in central Florida, most of the behind-the-scenes facts I write about are Disney-related. I’m not one to get starstruck, but it would be fun knowing Johnny Depp hung out in your house.
In updating this article, I found an Edward Scissorhands filming locations then and now photo set. The videos below also show you the locations first hand. The local news story from Dade City is pretty funny to watch 30 years later. Enjoy!
Be sure to check the comments below. You’ll read some more fun first-hand accounts from folks who experienced this filming or have more insight. I hope you enjoyed learning more about Edward Scissorhands filming locations. Has anything been filmed in your back yard?
The rest of Zannaland features Disney content, so feel free to stick around and read some other fun articles!
The man who did the topes for Edward is the same man who did the carvings at Wilderness Lodge! He also developed the techniques and methods which are used for all the topiaries at WDW this day!
Wow, that’s a great little fact, Jud!! Thanks for sharing that!!! 😀
Wow, that’s a great little fact, Jud!! Thanks for sharing that!!! 😀
Wow, that is cool!
William Robertson, now retired, living in Orlando, is the man. About 82 now. He saw the logs being brought in for the lodge and said, hey wait a minute! Well, I am sure (beinga woodcarver myself) that it was more than a minute, but he had them taken back out to the parking lot- which at the time was in effect a huge lumber yard (82 flatbed trucks from the Northwest loaded with gigantic logs) and set up and carved the tops (and occasionally sides) of each post. That was not in the original design. He also, as you might well have guessed, did the Mickey Totem outside the store. The true Totems that are on each side of the lobby were not done by him, but were done in four sections each in the Northwest and assembled on site. But later, moved a bit…
Okay, something totally crazy–I was a Freshmen almost Sophomore at Land O’ Lakes High School when the film crew for Edward Scissorhands descended on our small town. LOLHS was the only school in that part of Pasco County, so it’s reach was wide–it went from Highway 52 and Shady Hills Road all the way to 52 and Ehren Cutoff–all the way over into what is now Wesley Chapel proper and then all the way back up to 54 and about to where the Suncoast is now. Carpenter’s Run was a brand new subdivision then; I heard it was built for the film, but residents were allowed to buy the houses and I had a couple of friends whose families lived there.
Yes, Johnny Depp did drop by dear ol’ Land O Lakes High on a school day, but was kept away from students. He was allowed to observe because “he wanted to know what high school kids were like in town.” It wasn’t until I was a freshman at Saint Leo when I heard that the school scenes were filmed in one of the classrooms there on Saint Leo’s campus.
Okay, something totally crazy–I was a Freshmen almost Sophomore at Land O’ Lakes High School when the film crew for Edward Scissorhands descended on our small town. LOLHS was the only school in that part of Pasco County, so it’s reach was wide–it went from Highway 52 and Shady Hills Road all the way to 52 and Ehren Cutoff–all the way over into what is now Wesley Chapel proper and then all the way back up to 54 and about to where the Suncoast is now. Carpenter’s Run was a brand new subdivision then; I heard it was built for the film, but residents were allowed to buy the houses and I had a couple of friends whose families lived there.
Yes, Johnny Depp did drop by dear ol’ Land O Lakes High on a school day, but was kept away from students. He was allowed to observe because “he wanted to know what high school kids were like in town.” It wasn’t until I was a freshman at Saint Leo when I heard that the school scenes were filmed in one of the classrooms there on Saint Leo’s campus.
This is amazing! Way to do some digging!
As for my backyard… The Biltmore Estate was used in, among other things, Hannibal. And quite a bit of the upcoming The Hunger Games was filmed around here. I also love that my hometown of Tampa was used all throughout The Punisher.
Do you live in Asheville?
Really cool facts 🙂 We live in the adjoining neighborhood just a few streets from there. Have to admit, we drive or walk by often just to see where it was filmed. Love Disney, Tim Burton & Johnny Depp oh, and Danny Elfman too, it wouldnt be a Burton movie without his music!
I WAS THE HOUSE KEEPING MANAGER AT SADDLEBROOK IN THE EXECUTIVE SUITE WHERE WINONA AND JOHNNY, A FEW YEARS AFTER I OFTEN TOOK MY BREAKS IN THERE AND WOULD JUST LOOK AT THE BATHROOM, WHERE…JOHNNY ON A WHIM DECIDED TO DYE HIS OWN HAIR AND RUINED THE CARPET, IN THE SMALL TOILET AREA, EVEN BROUGHT MY KIDS TO SEE THE NOTORIOUS SUITE, LOL, DROVE BY CARPENTERS RUN WHEN IT WAS A PASTEL COLORED WORLD….GREAT MEMORIES
SHOULD SAY WINONA AND JOHNNY STAYED’
You know I love Edward Scissorhands! One of the very few movies to actually make me cry.
One of the very many reasons I like you so much. 🙂
Its so great to know that someone out there is actually answering the random questions that I ask in my head. I’ve been wondering about this but funnily enough always thought it was filmed in Celebration. I wish Florida was push for even more movies to film here.
I’ve thought it was Celebration up until today. And that it was built for the movie.
Awesome blog here guys! Me and my wife make it over to ‘Scissorhandland’ at least once a year to visit the Tin Smith Circle location. We love scouting old filiming locations, and being Florida natives, you dont get the oppurtunity very often to visit such an iconic movie location. Just to think that Jonny and Winonna (both engaged to each other at the time) walked the streets in this little Florida housing development years ago is super, super cool!
Does anyone know if Edwards old house is currently being lived in? It looks so “un-maintained” for lack of a better word. I wonder if anyone has ever just rang the door bell and asked for an inside tour before, lol!
Very great article but the social media plugin is getting in the way for mobile viewing
Thank you for letting me know, I’ll look into fixing that. 🙂
I drove by the house today and someone does live there now. They’re not big on landscaping I guess, lol. The house next to it is for sale, would be cool to buy it just to be a little part of history. I like how out neighborhood Publix supermarket has a bunch of sculpted animal hedges in front of it, so cool!
I go to that Publix sometimes! Lol, now I know why the hedges are there! COOL!
That publix was not there when the movie was filmed- publix was in the k-Mart shopping center. The land where the publix is now was not developed at all.
Please can anyone help answer a couple of queries i have….
I design models based on houses/ sets in movies and the house in Edward Scissorhands is a real labyrinth!
On this video you say that outside those french doors is where Edward was planting flowers… but actually in that shot in the movie there is a door inside the house behind Winona, when actually that french doors (in your video) lead to the open plan living room.
The amount of rooms in the movie do not seem to fit in the frame/size of the house.If anyone has any knowledge, picture, plans, or even just ideas based on this house and its possible layout please reply to my message.Thanks alot!
My step son had a piece of purple carpet he used for years in his apt. We live right across form the subdivision.
I live close to this neighborhood. When they were filming, we had friends who lived on the other side of the loop. (Their house was not painted) and they stay in their house, so at night they would walk down and watch the filming! I went to several of the night scenes. It was pretty cool! Met the cast too! Anthony Michael Hall was very nice to us. The cast “hang out” was across the street. You can see it in the 2nd video at 2:02. It was a fun experience!
I spent the first 3 years of my life in LA, California. When I returned to visit 17 years later and went to see my first house, I discovered that I was living a mere three minutes away from Elliot’s house in ET. My family never knew, even back then.
the mansion was built on 41just past the phcc campus west of dade city at the top of the big hill down a small dirt rd about 100a yards off the pavement on the right.
I grew up nearby and wondered what that old spooky mansion was all about! U.S. 41 is a very scenic route and I always wanted to live in those hills but on a teacher’s salary-well, need I say more?The mansion on the hill made a great picture with the sun setting to the west. I did teach science at nearby Pine View Middle from 1988 through 1991 while all this was going on. The photos are lost so no need in asking.
Platt Rd, right of Blanton Rd in Mountain View. Probably the only hills in Florida.
t grow up in tampa-temple terrace -thonotosassa fl from1967 thru 1984. years ago someone told me that the movie used a neborhoodin clair mel because the houses were small and mid century style i belived it because i had a friend who grow up on libby lane . and her neiborhood really looked likethe houses in the movie except the colors . never knew it was really lutz
by the way resently visited the area and clair mel is such a slum now . very sad ………..
Thanks for all the post I think it is very interesting learning more about the real towns and to see what they look like then and today….I haven’t had any filming done in my town but I live about a hour and 15 mints from savannah Georgia famous movie forest gump…. Always love to look up castle they use in movies that’s how i came across this thanks for doing the research and taking time to tell all of your stories….can’t wait to see more
I live on Tinsmith CIr. And did during the filming. I met Johnny,Wynonna and Michael Anthony Hall. Johnny and Wynonna were engaged at that time and both held my infant son. Very nice and humble people. I saw the filming and construction. The development was not built for the movie.they gave the residents money,free special edition premiere t-shirts and 4 tickets to the special premier. I also have a partial script that blew across my yard. I never wore the shirts and have them still today…along with the script. The castle was never at the end of the culdesac. Just the castle gates. The castle was in Dade city.
Thank you for sharing some insight on that location whch made possible the greatest romantic movie ever, Edward Scissorhands.
I watched this just last night on cable. I lived in Zephyrhills for 10 years as a kid in the 1970s-early 80s right off of St. Rt. 54. After all these years, I came to find out this was filmed just down the highway. I vividly remember passing the Saddlebrook Resort every time we went to Tampa. A middle-school buddy of mine that now lives in South Carolina grew up in Wesley Chapel, so I texted him last night. He was still around during the filming and said that his wife often waited on Depp and Ryder, and he ran into Anthony Michael Hall several times in a nearby bar. Pretty wild. As an 8th grader in Zhills, it seemed like nothing ever happened in our sleepy part of the state.
What great memories, thank you for sharing! 😀
The Edward Scissorhands castle was constructed right behind my house – not US 41, but rather near SR 41 in Blanton (south of Spring Valley Road, north of Platt Road and west of Blanton Road aka SR 41. My husband and neighbor would walk up to set during filming and were allowed to eat with the crew. It was torn down soon after filming. The standard poodle in the movie belonged to a neighbor who lived on Tranquilview Lane off Spring Valley Road in Blanton. The Carpenter Run subdivision was certainly not built for the movie, but rather used for location shots.
do you have any pictures of that before they tore it down that would be cool to see
Wow this is so cool! I visit filming locations for a hobby and would love to see where they built the castle…what should I put on my GPS? I live in Orlando. Thank you