Location found.

I think that Caldwell, NJ is the most interesting because it could be studied to see all the changes. It's also interesting why they chose that site, obviously because it's so any-town USA looking.

The mall was an easy one; I had seen that also. I think some of the filming was done inside there, judging from the scenes themselves. I think the conversation may have been filmed in the studio. But if some shots were made within the mall, they would have time capsule value also.

Some scenes were in Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden, probably North traipsing through the woods leading to the mall. One might be able to see how some trees have grown in 20 years, like the big, forked-trunk oak(?) tree.
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The story is king.

If you're a fan of North you should definitely get the iTunes Store HD version. It's $12.99. Amazon only has an SD download available currently. The HD is stunning.

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The story is king.

The scenes at the baseball field were shot in West Caldwell, at Richard Park, which was renovated just for this movie. I grew up on Richard Ave. and played at this field all the time as a kid.

Google Richard Park in West Caldwell, NJ and check out Earth View. You'll see that when North rode his bike across the field at the end (with 9 minutes to go before the deadline), when he ran into the woods, in actuality he wasn't going anywhere. We went exploring in these woods many times growing up. There's nothing back there but woods and the Passaic River, which a kid would be unable to cross.

The original baseball field faced the opposite direction, with home plate being located in the South corner. In "North", home plate is in the North corner. The field had become overgrown and really wasn't playable anymore until the movie crew came in. They added the fence, scoreboard and stands, flipped the field, and basically rejuvenated the park.