The Real-Life Bedford Falls From 'It's a Wonderful Life' is in Trouble (Newsweek)

By Giulia Carbonaro
Senior Housing Reporter

There is a steel bridge suspended over a canal in the small town of Seneca Falls, New York, which looks a lot like the one which It’s a Wonderful Life’s George Bailey, played by James Stewart, considers jumping from. It is not just the bridge: Seneca Falls’ main street is almost identical to the one in the fictional city of Bedford Falls, where the film’s protagonist grows up—and is somewhat stuck—in, as one of the actors in the film, Karolyn Grimes, once remarked.

Legend has it that Seneca Falls actually inspired director Frank Capra, who visited it in 1945, to create the ultimate, idealized all-American small town which every Christmas feeds the country’s nostalgia for a simpler time and a tighter community life—Bedford Falls. Standing on the bridge, Stewart’s Bailey wishes he was never born. But a wingless angel sent from above comes to show him what his generous, selfless actions have meant for dozens of people, and how rich his life actually is—because he has friends.

But Seneca Falls, which inspired the film with its small town charm, has had a very different journey from the redemptive, heart-warming one experienced by Bedford Falls and George Bailey. Through the decades, however, concerns have been growing over the landfill’s environmental and health impact over the landscape around it and its residents, which include bad odor, methane release, toxic PFAS chemicals, and wind-borne particulate matters, among others.

The facility was destined to shut down this year, but the Texas-based corporation that owns and operates SMI applied for a permit to extend its operation until 2040 and grow the dump’s footprint by 47 acres and 80 feet in height.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/bedford-seneca-falls-its-a-wonderful-life-trouble-landfill-11265492