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Lake Oswego's Hobbit Court street sign was stolen just two weeks ago from an area laden with J.R.R. Tolkien-themed sign names. The signs go missing every time Peter Jackson releases a new Tolkien film.

(Justin Runquist)

If you've ever wondered where to find J.R.R Tolkien's Middle-earth, you'd have some luck looking in Lake Oswego.

A Google Maps search of the city reveals an area between the Palisades Neighborhood and a much smaller subdivision next to it named Tolkien Heights, where the streets are named for the author's classic works, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Take a drive through the hilly streets, and you'll spot Hobbit Court, Tolkien Lane, Riven Dell Road and Gimley Court among a list of other homages to Tolkien.

Groupings of signs like this one for Tolkien Lane make up one of several areas in Lake Oswego with themed street names.

And every time director Peter Jackson releases a new Tolkien film in theaters, a number of the signs go missing.

Jackson's latest film – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – premiered at midnight today. Just two weeks earlier, three of the signs were stolen.

The trend began more than a decade ago when Jackson launched his film rendition of The Fellowship of the Ring, said Jim Bateman, who works for the city's Public Works Department. By the time Jackson's 2012 film – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – had left theaters and made it onto HBO, the signs were going missing every week.

"I mean, it's just insane," Bateman said. "It's been going on now for about 10 years, but since this last movie came out, it's been the worst."

The area is one of many in Lake Oswego bearing themed street names, said Anthony Hooper, a public works management analyst for the city. Some of the others are named for racetracks, trees, birds, or famous writers, artists and composers, but none seem to stand out as much as the area named for Tolkien, he said.

A man who lives in the small cul-de-sac of Hobbit Court said he occasionally wakes up in the middle of the night to the sound of teens removing the sign. It's happened several times in the past few years.

Bateman suspects kids from nearby neighborhoods are behind the missing signs.

"I've actually had the schools call me, and we've picked them up from there," he said.

With the release of the new film as winter break approaches, Bateman expects the activity to pick up. But he warns the stolen signs come with a growing cost to the city.

The city pays hundreds of dollars to replace the signs every time they go missing, Bateman said. The department recently spent more money installing new posts buried deeper in the ground and welding bolts onto the signs, making them harder to remove.

-- Justin Runquist