Movie Making in Miami Woods

This stout, many-branched oak tree has been growing on the bluff above the Chicago River for perhaps 150 years. It had its 15 minutes of fame a few years ago when it was featured in the movie "Dennis the Menace". The film company rented the tree from the Forest Preserve District and built a children's tree house amongst its branches. The adjacent bike trail was rerouted around the site during the filming and its Macadam surface covered with mulch to blend in with the surrounding forest locale. At either end of the shooting area, balled shrubbery was placed to limit the camera's reach. One of the most beautiful pictures ever taken in our local forest preserves was the opening scene at the beginning of the film that showed the tree house on the river's banks in the early light of morning with a doe nibbling at the greenery at the base of the oak.