Field and Farmhouse: Visitors leave the field at the film site used in the 1989 film “Field of Dreams”. The farm is located next to the field and is also available to visit. Photo by Gary Warren / ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos
When it comes to movies, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not very savvy but when I see a movie that I like, I like it a lot and I can watch it multiple times. This is the case with the 1989 film “Field of Dreams”. The film inspired many people to listen to their hearts and pursue their dreams.
It’s hard to believe that it has been 32 years since “Field of Dreams” was shown on the big screen. The film is based on the book “Shoeless Joe” by WP Kinsella and starred Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta and Burt Lancaster. “Field of Dreams” was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Picture.
The film is about corn farmer Ray Kinsella (Costner) who begins to hear voices in the cornfield which continue until he can no longer ignore the message “If you build it, they will come” referring to building a baseball field in the middle of his cornfield. . His wife (Madigan) agrees to let him build the field. The story gets more complex from this point on, but if you haven’t seen the movie I encourage you to watch it to see what happens in the movie. It is available on most movie streaming sources today.
The land that was built for the film still exists today, as does the farm where the Kinsellas lived. The owner of the property wanted the pitch to be accessible to anyone who wanted to visit and play ball on the pitch. In 2010, the property was put up for sale and was bought by investors who wanted to preserve the film site. Today you can visit the site, tour the farm and even play catch on the ball field. If you are truly a fan, the Farm Upstairs is available for rent starting at $ 500 a night!
It’s probably my favorite movie of all time and I’ve wanted to visit the movie site ever since I found out it was publicly available. The problem was that I had never been to Iowa and was not sure of the location of the site; until May. On an extended trip, we started by leaving Denver in May and spending the first few days in Iowa, including a stop in Dyersville, Iowa, the site of the “Field of Dreams” movie theater. I didn’t want to leave!
Editor’s Note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn were traveling across the country before the pandemic and he shared his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of Los Alamos Post of the day.
Playing Ball: A father and son visiting the film site play ball in the infield of the baseball field. If you look closely, you see a second ball field just beyond the film site. This field will be used for an MLB game on August 12, 2021 between the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees. Before the match, temporary seats for 8,000 fans will be built and after the event, temporary seats will be removed but the pitch will be maintained. The game will air on Fox. Note: The film site will be closed on August 12 and the house will not be available for rent that week. Photo by Gary Warren / ladailypost.com
Cornfield: If you want to see the site with mature corn as seen in the movie, plan to visit in July or August! We visited in late May and this year’s crop was only about 4-6 inches. I will see the adult crop when I watch the game on August 12! Photo by Gary Warren / ladailypost.com
