Some infrastructure projects go beyond their original purpose and become true icons of popular culture. Bridges, roads, buildings and major engineering works are not only places crossed every day by millions of people, but also settings capable of telling stories, eras and visions of the future.
Cinema has transformed many of these structures into universal symbols, making them protagonists of some of the most memorable scenes in film history. From landmarks of American engineering to roads that have become part of the travel myth, these infrastructure facilities continue to live between reality and imagination, becoming “stars” that bring together technology, landscapes and culture.
1 – Hoover Dam (Lake Mead Hydraulic Tunnel)
In the Nevada desert, Hoover Dam has been one of the most powerful symbols of American engineering for almost a century: a dam capable of transforming the course of the Colorado River and creating Lake Mead, one of the largest artificial reservoirs in the United States.
Within this system, the Webuild Group built the Lake Mead Hydraulic Tunnel, an underground project designed to secure water supplies for the Las Vegas area even under increasingly challenging conditions.
The monumental scale of the dam and the spectacular landscape surrounding it have also turned Hoover Dam into a cinematic icon, providing the setting for films such as Superman and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, where its imposing presence became part of the story itself.
2 – New York Subway
The New York City Subway is one of the city’s most iconic infrastructure projects: an underground network that has connected neighbourhoods and communities for more than a century, becoming an essential part of New York’s urban identity.
The Webuild Group contributed to its evolution through modernisation works on the F Line in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, within one of the most complex urban environments in the world.
Tunnels, stations and trains have also transformed the New York subway into a cinematic icon, appearing in films such as Money Train (1995), The Taking of Pelham 123 (1974 and 2009) and Joker (2019), where the city’s underground world becomes an integral part of the narrative.
3 – Empire State Building
In the heart of Manhattan, the Empire State Building has become much more than a skyscraper: it is one of New York City’s most recognisable symbols and an expression of America’s 20th-century ambition to build upward.
Opened in 1931, with a height of 381 metres (443 metres including its antenna), it remained the world’s tallest building for decades.
The unmistakable silhouette has made the Empire State Building one of the most iconic locations in film history: from King Kong’s legendary climb in the 1933 movie to appearances in films such as Sleepless in New York and Independence Day, the building has become a symbol of strength, ambition and achievement.
4 – Route 66
More than just a road, Route 66 has become a symbol of the American journey: a ribbon of asphalt stretching from Chicago to Santa Monica and embodying the ideals of freedom, discovery and the frontier.
Opened in 1926, the “Mother Road” accompanied generations of travellers, gradually becoming an icon of popular culture thanks also to cinema and television.
Its landscapes of diners, motels, gas stations and small towns along the route entered the collective imagination through films such as The Grapes of Wrath and Easy Rider, and later through the animated world of Cars, which brought renewed attention to the charm of the road and the communities built around it.
5 – Brooklyn Bridge
Between Manhattan and Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Bridge is one of New York’s most recognizable symbols and one of the structures that best represents the transformation of the modern city.
Opened in 1883 after more than a decade of construction, the Brooklyn Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time and one of the most extraordinary engineering achievements of its era.
Its granite and steel structure, with its distinctive neo-Gothic towers and massive suspension cables, has also made it a cinematic landmark, appearing in films such as Spider-Man, I Am Legend and The Dark Knight Rises. More than a physical connection between two shores, the Brooklyn Bridge has become a universal image of New York.
6 – Golden Gate Bridge
Amid the fogs of San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge has become one of the most recognizable symbols of American engineering and global cinematic imagination.
Opened in 1937, with its iconic orange towers suspended above the ocean, the bridge represented one of the greatest construction challenges of the 20th century.
Its powerful visual presence has made it a protagonist in numerous films, from Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, where it becomes part of the story’s atmosphere and tension, to major productions such as X-Men: The Last Stand, Star Trek and San Andreas, which used its symbolic strength to portray futuristic or catastrophic scenarios.
