The weathered sign for the Book Barn looks as if it has been at Richland Mall for years.

Appearances can be deceiving, however, as some shoppers at the Route 8 shopping plaza have discovered.

The sign isn't weathered. It's only a few weeks old. And the bookstore isn't for real.

Both were built as part of an elaborate set for the motion picture, "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh."

"We've had some disappointed customers who asked when the new bookstore was going to open," said Katie Grosick, of Hampton, a clerk at the nearby Shop 'n Save supermarket.

Members of the movie crew are asked similar questions each day, producer Jason Mercer said.

The Book Barn, its shelves filled with thousands of used and returned volumes, was a drugstore before the film company's construction crew rebuilt it, adding temporary walls and a fake elevator.

A peek inside reveals racks filled with books. Just out of camera range are bundles of electrical cables, equipment stands and a selection of wigs in styles that were popular 20 years ago.

The movie, based on the novel of the same name by Michael Chabon, is set in the early 1980s, which has meant finding or designing costumes for dozens of extras and leasing about 20 automobiles from that decade for street scenes.

"Lots of places around Pittsburgh still look like it is 1983," Mr. Mercer said.

Mr. Chabon, who earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Pittsburgh, will appear in the movie in a scene played in the bookstore.

"He visited the set about a week ago," Mr. Mercer said. "He'll have a bit part in the film."

Filming began Aug. 31 and is expected to continue until tomorrow. Film crews and actors have been shooting at 45 locations around Allegheny County.

Shooting days and nights for the crews of 50 to 75 have been long, Mr. Mercer said. He estimated that about one-quarter of the crew members are from Hollywood, with the rest hired locally.

After local shooting is finished, fans will have a chance to own a piece of the movie. Tentative plans call for selling off the Book Barn's stock and other props used during filming, Mr. Mercer said.

Government officials have been very cooperative during filming, he said. He had special praise for the staffs of Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and of the Pittsburgh Film Office.

Directed and written by Rawson Thurber, the movie stars Jon Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, Sienna Miller, Nick Nolte and Mena Suvari.

More information about "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" is available at the Web site, www.mysteriesofpittsburgh.com.