Designated Survivor Filming Washington, DC in Toronto & North York

 

 

Mystery building to the left of the street light on the far side of the road. (Click to Enlarge)

This summer I was meandering around my neighborhood in North York (fine, I was playing Pokémon Go and was on a poke-walk! Don’t judge me!) when I noticed this weird building to the west of the Allen Rd in what was either Downsview Airport or the grounds of the upcoming Downsview Park TTC Station. It looked like it was a medieval castle but not. I knew I needed to find out what it was so I came back with my point-and-shoot camera that has 21x optical zoom and took a bunch more snaps.

I asked friends and neighbours if they knew what it was and showed the photos but no one had any better idea what the mystery building was.

 

Fast forward to September 28 when I watched the second episode of the new Kiefer Sutherland show, Designated Survivor made by ABC and aired here in Canada on CTV. The show’s plot involves the destruction of the US Capitol building and they were showing the destruction’s aftermath when I noticed some familiar shapes.

I googled “Designated Survivor filming location” and saw “Toronto, Canada” on IMDB and at once knew what that mystery building was, the set for that scene of the show! They had added a ton of CGI but it was 100% the same building. I even grabbed some screenshots of the 2 scenes where I noticed and confirmed my mystery building and included them below

I thought I recognized other locations in Toronto while I continued watching the show but never really confirmed it until a few weeks ago when I happened to notice them filming a car chase on University Avenue between Dundas & Queen. My earlier theory of University Avenue standing in for…Pennsylvania Avenue? (I don’t know really because I don’t know Washington DC well enough) in a the second episode of Designated Survivor came when I noticed a speed limit sign supposedly in urban DC which said “MAXIMUM 50” which I knew must be a sign for a speed limit in kilometres per hour and not miles per hour.

Ironically, this means the car chases passes by the American Consulate in Toronto. (I wonder if that was on purpose as a type of inside joke.)

Finally, I was passing through Downsview Park again, this time way further to the west, and I came across this set which appears to be the West Front of the US Capitol building. 

Since there were no real fences or anything and I saw some other people walking their dogs on the site I decided to walk around and check it out up close.

I got a bunch of pretty great panoramic shots of the set. You can even see the cherry picker they used to get some of the more aerial looking shots. I couldn’t guess what they used the tents for aside from shelter. Maybe safely storing equipment in case of rain or snow?

And then I climbed the stairs and got up on the balcony. Wonder what happens in the show where that black mark is…I am guessing it is where someone is to stand so he or she is in the right place for the scene.

I even took a video showing off where it is in the park relative to the surrounding buildings and landmarks.

I wonder what other parts of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area have been masquerading as Washington D.C. for this show. Also, it really is amazing how much they use CGI to make sets look like complete scenes…but I guess that’s showbiz!