“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” featured scenes filmed at our dam, treatment plant

The marvelous story of sewers in the spotlight of Avengers lore.

Actors Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie, and Cobie Smulders — stars of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” — signed a wall in one of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District facilities where they filmed several scenes for the movie in 2012.

While Superman is the latest action hero to bring Cleveland to the big screen, Hollywood and the stars of Captain America: The Winter Soldier first left their mark in Cleveland in 2012. At our facilities, they even left their marks right on the walls.

Yes, two Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District facilities served as shooting locations in May of 2012 for Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier which was released in 2014. Those locations included a series of tunnels under our Southerly plant in Cuyahoga Heights, and Lakeview Cemetery Dam in Cleveland. When filming concluded at each location, the actors signed two walls where the scenes took place.

Members of the Avengers meet Nick Fury as he receives medical treatment. This scene was filmed in the tunnels under our Southerly plant.

Chris Evans and Anthony Mackie interact in a scene shot on our Lake View Dam.

“It was an amazing opportunity for us,” said Director of Administration & External Affairs Jean Smith who oversaw our involvement in the project in 2012. “We were able to accommodate the shoot without impacting our services.”

Crew signs showed the way through our Southerly plant’s labyrinth of tunnels to get to the filming location.

Local media reported that the Sewer District might have been one of several Cleveland shooting locations for crews and stars last summer, but we could not confirm that fact based on our agreement with the production company. Jean said the company was very grateful for the accommodations we offered, and it was a reflection of the welcoming reception they received from Cleveland overall.

In gratitude for allowing crews to film on our locations, producers made a donation to the Cleveland Food Bank, a partner our employees have supported in previous fundraising campaigns and a collaborator of ours in our Good Neighbor Ambassador program.

While shooting in downtown Cleveland took center stage that summer, many onlookers wondered where stars like Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Evans were while stunt doubles received most of the camera time. The signatures in our photos reveal where they might have been.

The Captain America: The Winter Soldier cast list included Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Chris Evans as Captain America, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Anthony Mackie as The Falcon, and Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill.

Actors Cobie Smulders and Scarlett Johansson’s signatures were left on an electrical access panel at our Lake View Dam.