John Adams (TV Miniseries) - Shooting Locations

Shooting Locations

The 110-day shoot took place in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia; Richmond, Virginia and Budapest, Hungary. Some European scenes were shot in Keszthely, Sóskút, Fertőd and Kecskemét, Hungary.

One location used in Colonial Williamsburg was the interior of Bruton Parish Church which was the site for the town meeting during which Adams gives a speech from the elevated pulpit. The brick wall surrounding Bruton Parish church was the backdrop for a separate outdoor scene.

Another scene shot at Colonial Williamsburg was the one in which Adams first meets the British soldiers accused of murder for their roles in the Boston Massacre which was shot at the "public gaol", or jail where lawbreakers were held awaiting trial.

Greenhow store exterior was used in place of a Trenton, NJ tavern that Adams frequented. The Wythe House stood in for the president's house in Philadelphia, though it was modified by a brick facade to mask the wooden fence.

The Palace Green was used for the scene showing a tent and 40 coffins to represent Philadelphia's 1793 yellow fever epidemic. Sand scattered on the streets masked the modern pavement. The Palace Green also was the backdrop for a public riot staged in front of the George Wythe house, which represented the president's residence in Philadelphia. Scores of extras were used in this scene.

British officers ransacked an abandoned Continental Army war room in a separate scene set in the Robert Carter house. Williamsburg's Public Hospital was in the background of the tent encampment of the Continental army which Adams visited in the winter of 1776, which was replicated using special- effects snow. The College of William and Mary's Wren Building represented a Harvard interior. Scenes were also filmed at the Governor's Palace.

Richmond, Virginia was the site of the set, stage space, backlot and production offices, in an old Mechanicsville AMF warehouse. Sets which included cobblestone streets and colonial storefronts were created for filming outdoor street scenes in colonial cities of Washington D.C., Boston, and Philadelphia. Countryside surrounding Richmond in Hanover County and Powhatan County were chosen to represent areas surrounding early Boston, New York, and Philadelphia.