A Groundhog Day Guide to Historic Woodstock Square

This February 2^nd celebrate Groundhog Day at historic Woodstock Square. You just might end up staying another day.

Ask any local, and you will be told that the movie Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray and Andie McDowell, was indeed filmed in Woodstock, Illinois. We all know that Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, is the real life home to the shadow-seeking rodent at the heart of the annual festivities. But just 570 miles west along Interstate 80 sits the charming town square of Woodstock, Illinois, home to the fictionalized Gobbler's Knob, Ned's Corner, and Pennsylvania Hotel from the 1993 film that the Library of Congress recently tapped to join some 450 American films from every era and every genre in the National Film Registry.

Why Woodstock, Illinois? "It just felt right," according to the producers of Groundhog Day.

Woodstock Square is located just 65 miles northwest of Chicago, 35 miles east of Rockford, Illinois, and 70 miles southwest of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It offers the perfect jaunt for city dwellers and suburbanites alike. Go there, walk in the footsteps of Phil Connors (Bill Murray) from Groundhog Day -- puddle and all -- and discover one of the most charming small towns the Midwest has to offer.

A brief description of the more recognizable sites from Groundhog Day to be found in and around historic Woodstock Square follows.

Cherry Street Inn. The "very nice bed and breakfast on Cherry Street" where Phil Connors stays is actually a private residence on Madison Street. It is located a couple blocks off Woodstock Square. This is where the Bill Murray character wakes day after day -- in turns bemused, angry, scheming, dejected, and finally with a sanguine resolution towards self-perfection-- at exactly 6:00 AM to the sounds of Sony & Share's "I Got You Babe."

The current residents may not appreciate your slouching in their family room, however, swilling Jack Daniels while questioning all the answers to "Jeopardy" before they leave the mouth of Alex Trebek.

Ned's Corner. Bing! This is where Phil runs into insurance-selling Ned Ryerson, the forgotten old buddy from high school who never did "turn pro with that belly button thing." The intersection of Benton and Cass streets, at the northeast corner of Woodstock Square, boasts a small plaque marking it as "Ned's Corner." Another will be found at your feet near the curb a half block west on Cass Street. It simply reads, "Bill Murray's Puddle." Splash. "That one's a real doozie!"

Gobbler's Knob. Fans of Groundhog Day will recognize Woodstock Square Park as the site where weatherman Phil Connors sarcastically reads daily weather report, after daily weather report, after daily weather report to his viewers back at Channel 9-Pittsburgh. Gobbler's Knob, where all the official festivities take place, was a temporary set erected at the southwest corner of this park.

The Civil War Memorial where Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell build a snowman and bombard a few kids with snowballs is towards the southeastern corner of Woodstock Square Park. Groundhog Day enthusiast will also recognize the large gazebo where Phil picks up Nancy Collins, and where he later shares a romantic dance with Rita.

Tip Top Café. This is where Phil Connors first tells Rita he's been "living the same day over and over. This day. Groundhog Day." Andie MacDowell's character, when not reciting Sir Walter Scott poems to a vile, egocentric, overindulgent Bill Murray character who stuffs his face with pastries, is still "waiting for the punch line."

Now fully remodeled and called Tip Top Bistro, it is one of the more upscale restaurants on historic Woodstock Square. Check out the menu and book reservations at www.tiptopbistro.com. It is on the corner of Cass and Main streets, directly behind Bill Murray's Puddle.

Bar Scenes. When Phil Connors bellies up to the bar next to Rita, perfecting his approach, it was at Woodstock's old jail house. There, you can order sweet vermouth, on the rocks with a twist, "say a prayer and drink to world peace."

These scenes were filmed at the Jailhouse Restaurant. This really was an old jailhouse. One can actually dine in the very cell (bars and all still intact) where Eugene V. Debs, future presidential candidate on the Socialist Party of America ticket, was imprisoned for a stretch owing to his role in the railworkers Pullman Strike of 1894.

How's that for ambience! Word is they've got pretty good steaks here, too.

Adjacent to the old jailhouse is the Old McHenry County Courthouse. This is one of the first buildings shown in Groundhog Day as the Channel 9 TV van comes pulling up on the cobble-stoned streets of Woodstock Square. Inside are public art studios to explore, as well as the Chester Gould-Dick Tracy museum, dedicated to the life and work of Woodstock, Illinois' most famous resident comic strip creator.

Among the many historic sites to be found in Woodstock Square, the Old Courthouse and Jail were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

The Pennsylvania Hotel. This is where Rita stayed in Groundhog Day. Undoubtedly the centerpiece landmark overlooking Woodstock Square, this Victorian gem is anything but the "flee bag" rejected by Phil Connors. It is the Woodstock Opera House. One of the most unforgettable scenes from the movie was Phil Connors plummeting to his death, face down and arms outstretched, from atop the Opera House's five story bell tower.

Built in 1889 as City Hall, the Woodstock Opera House has long been one of the top performing arts centers in the Midwest. A young Orson Welles plied his trade here as a Shakespearean actor in the early 1930s. Other notables to make their stage debut at the Woodstock Opera House include Paul Newman, Tom Bosley, and Geraldine Page.

Not all thespians have enjoyed such success on the Opera House stage though. Local legend holds that one young 19th-century actress, commonly called Elvira, was utterly dejected after losing a starring role. She, too, took the Bill Murray plunge from atop the bell tower, and her spirit is said to haunt the building to this day.

That's one way to get an audience ...

Certainly Phil Connors, accomplished concert pianist, would have booked a gig there, too, had his Groundhog Day not been so preoccupied with perfecting the art of ice sculpture, rescuing various Punxsutawney friends from certain death, and seeking out Wrestle Mania tickets to give away to young newlyweds.

The Woodstock Opera House joined the Old Courthouse and Jail on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. You can check out a seasonal schedule, featuring resident theatrical goup, Townsquare Players, and the best of local, regional, and national performers at www.woodstockoperahouse.com. There's also a more recent annex, the Stage Left Cafe, offering a cold beverage before or after the show.

A map of these famous sites (and a few more) from Groundhog Day will be found at the city's website.

Woodstock, Illinois, puts on quite a schedule of Groundhog Day festivities every February 2^nd. This includes free showings of the movie at the Woodstock Theater -- otherwise known as Alpine Theatre -- located on Main Street just north of Woodstock Square. (This was the setting of that odd scene where Bill Murray does his best Clint Eastwood impersonation.)

There's also a chili cook-off, a wood-carving demonstration, and a philosophical symposium about the greater depth behind this newly-christened national treasure. Movie times and a full schedule of events, along with the aforementioned map, can be downloaded at www.woodtstockil.gov, or simply call the Groundhog Day Hotline (seriously!) at (815) 338-2436.

Celebrate your Groundhog Day at Historic Woodstock Square. "Let's live here," you might say to your mate after a full day of festivities. "We'll rent to start."