 The bar was specially constructed in an empty storefront in Mingo  Junction, Ohio for $25,000; it later became an actual saloon for  local steel mill workers. Robert De Niro (qv) visited the homes of  steelworkers and went to local bars to prepare for the film. U.S.  Steel allowed filming inside its Cleveland mill, including placing  the actors around the furnace floor, only after securing a $5  million insurance policy.