Barns

A famous barn!

Here we go! This is a famous barn located in North Carolina.

Was a featured set in a successful movie shot in 1990.



When the movie was filmed, this barn sat out in an empty field but now there's a Nappa Auto Parts store in front of it.

Starred Tom Cruise with Randy Quaid and Robert Duvall and the female star is Nicole Kidman!

 


Coordinates: 35°35'42"N   80°52'42"W ...
Mooresville, NC. 
The Stock car racing capital of the world!

I was really lucky to be working in the business of stock car racing during the filming of the movie and watched the race where they shot the racing sequences to the film. They had two stunt cars all painted up and they actually ran in the regular races of Speed Weeks in Daytona Florida. (February of 1990.)

As memory serves, there's a scene in the movie where there's a bonfire in the background.  Do you think this is still the barrel from the movie?


I can't keep you in suspense any longer. 

It was the movie Days of Thunder! 


This poor old barn is in Mooresville and just west on highway 150, which intersects 77 freeway.  We were still able to park and walk over to it and had a great chat with a fellow who worked at Nappa. This was our umpteenth visit to the barn and Mooresville.

In the movie, this barn is the location of the race teams' shop where they supposedly built the race cars. There are several scenes inside this barn, although I can't for the life of me remember them individually. I do know that it looks a heck of a lot better in the film... And that was 20 years ago. (Argh! 20 years ago????)   

Certainly, as this fellow agreed, the barn is being left to fall by itself and is surrounded by commerce and new build subdivisions of expensive houses. You can see them in some of the shots behind.

Everyone agrees that someone should 'do' something, but nobody can agree on who.... (A familiar thing...)

Nature is starting to reclaim it's own and once the plants gain a foothold, it won't take too long.

The Spanish moss has more than a toehold.

 Seeds dropped by passing birds find purchase, sprout and flourish.
(Remember these photos were taken in February.)

This type of peak is so prevalent in North Carolina. It affords good protection to the opening.

 Still, the rafters are good and she has great bones. 

She was built with round head nails and milled lumber which means she isn't that old.

The termites have taken residence near the ground. I didn't dare go in to see how high the damage had gone.

I hope that the people who are able to will soon do something to preserve this building of unique beauty with it's particular claim to fame.  Apparently, the land is worth so much vacant that the likely hood of someone preserving this barn is minimal to none, so I'm glad I was able to snap the thirty some odd photos I did. Maybe someday it'll mean something to somebody. I can only hope so.


Mooresville is the self proclaimed home of Nascar racing and is where many of the famous moonshine boys live near, namely "Junior Johnson. There are  museums and many race shops that you can visit, including Dale and Kelly Earnhardt's JR Racing.


We just like the area which includes Lake Norman and we always stop either going to or from Florida. (Ok! So we're racing fans too!)


I should see that movie again, although having lived the actual life, I found the story cheesy, the characters unbelievable and the actual racing scenes unreal. 

BUT!

I have watched that sucker a gazillion times, loving it more every time.  So! I have to go to the video store and get it! 

Dick! (I yell!) 

Gas up the Magnum!


Rent or download the movie if you can find it and see if you can spot this old scarecrow in her heyday.



All of these photos were again shot and loaded directly from my Nikon P90 and then posted without alteration of any kind.