cinespace Chicago Film Studios is based in Chicago and specializes n the development, management and operation of studio space and support facilities for the film, television, and digital media production industry. Since opening in 2011, Cinespace has become a major filming location and is the largest soundstage in the United States outside of Hollywood. Four network shows (“Chicago Fire,” “Chicago PD” and “Chicago MD” and “Empire” — the top-rated show on television) are filmed at Cinespace. The films “Transformers,” “Divergent,” and “Jupiter Ascending,” have been filmed at the site, too.

Since Ryerson Steel shut down this 52-acre facility, the 1.45-million-square-feet of buildings left behind have been repurposed into film and television production studios. The Cinespace campus is tucked away in a corner of North Lawndale that is also home to Lagunitas Brewing Company. It is slowly being converted into a backlot with outdoor filming spaces to rival Hollywood. The cavernous buildings are carved up into soundproof stages of various sizes. The stages have been rented for a variety of projects including television shows “Empire” and “Chicago Fire,” as well as films in the Transformers and Divergent series.