New York is a fantastic place to film because of its cultural diversity, as well as its iconic architecture and landmarks. Film directors take advantage of New York’s widely varying atmospheres to enhance their films and capture specific moods that propel their characters and stories. The city has a rich history and a robust social scene that captures the imaginations of filmmakers and moviegoers alike.
Whether creating an intense thriller like American Psycho, Silence of the Lambs, or Taxi Driver or filming comedies like Ghostbusters, When Harry Met Sally, or Zoolander, we understand the charming appeal that New York has on screenwriters and actors. If you’re ever lucky enough to visit this bustling city, you will instantly recognize the eight famous NYC film locations we’ve listed in this article and the movies they featured in.
Famous Film Locations To Visit and Unique Things To Do in NYC
Most people who visit New York look forward to visiting places that are made famous by movies, but many other less-known places are even more interesting. If you’re interested in other unique locations and tours in New York, then you’ll definitely want to check out the Tour of the Catacombs of NYC by Candlelight featured on Harlem World Magazine, along with 14 other truly one-of-a-kind NYC experiences. These intriguing NYC attractions will make you fall in love with the city.
New York City Library
The New York Public Library, which is located at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street in Manhattan, was used in the iconic opening scene of the 1984 Ghostbusters movie. The librarian, Alice, walks through the library’s third-floor main reading room before descending to the basement catalog area. As Alice shelves books, the audience sees books floating from shelves and catalog drawers opening themselves, before streams of index cards start streaming out of the drawers. Alice is frightened and attempts to flee, when a ghost roars in her face, after which the scene cuts to nearby Columbia University.
The library sets up the perfect eerie mood for the rest of the film and adds a humorous feel to the movie because who hasn’t felt a little wary about what lurks between the book stacks? The New York Library is one of many unique film locations because of its ornate interior and old-world architecture.
The Queensboro Bridge
The Queensboro Bridge, sometimes called the 59th Street Bridge, spans the East River in New York City between Manhattan and Queens. It is featured in many movies like Manhattan (1979), Spiderman (2002), and The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
Its most iconic movie appearance is in The Great Gatsby movie (2012) when Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby drive across the bridge into Manhattan. The bridge is a symbolic connection between the social classes of the newly rich of West Egg and the old money snobbery of East Egg. It’s also a metaphor for Gatsby’s desire to reconnect with his long-lost love, Daisy.
Nick Caraways’ narration aptly conveys the intrigue of the Queensboro Bridge when he says, “The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time. In its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world. Anything can happen, now that we have slid over this bridge, I thought. Anything at all.” This perfectly describes the feeling of entering into another world when crossing the bridge.
Crossing the Queensboro Bridge feels like entering into a magnificent world with endless possibilities.
TWA Flight Center
The TWA Flight Center was designed by Eero Saarinen and opened in 1962 at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Its unique minimalist and abstract design symbolizes the freedom and glorious feeling of flying. This is probably why it was chosen as the location for the fashion show scene in Ocean’s 8—an entertainment movie with strong feminist themes. Its sleek design and modern feel fit perfectly in a movie where female con artists team up to outsmart the wealthy elite in New York.
The TWA Flight Center’s sleek and modern layout is timeless.
The Mansion Diner
If you recognized The Pickle Diner in the hit TV series Only Murders In the Building, starring Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin, then you’re probably thinking of The Mansion Diner in New York. This quaint restaurant is one of the places where this trio gets together to solve mysterious murders and eat delicious food. And if the local reviews are anything to go by, then the food tastes even better than it looks on screen. Apparently, the milkshakes are to die for.
The Flatiron Building
The Flatiron Building got its name from its distinctive iron-like shape. It is located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, in the Flatiron District of Manhattan. All three of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies feature the Flatiron Building, which star Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man.
In the movies, the structure serves as The Daily Bugle’s central office, where Peter is the newspaper’s freelance photographer. The building is iconic and symbolizes Peter’s duality in the movie as he struggles to juggle his personal life and superhero duties.
The Museum of Natural History
The Museum of Natural History in New York City is the main setting for the Night at the Museum movie, starring Ben Stiller as Larry Daley, a night security guard who discovers that a mystical Egyptian tablet causes the exhibits in the museum to come to life after dark.
Robin Williams plays Theodore Roosevelt in the movie, which features many of the museum’s real-life exhibits and halls, such as the Hall of African Mammals, the Hall of Ocean Life, the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs, the Hall of North American Forests, and the Rose Center for Earth and Space. You can visit the museum and see many of the exhibits featured in the movie, especially when they run their senior’s day specials and tours.
Magnolia Bakery
Magnolia Bakery is a famous bakery in New York City that was featured in the popular TV show Sex and the City. The bakery is known for its cupcakes, banana pudding, and other delicious classic American baked goods.
The famous scene where Carrie and Miranda eat Mognolia’s cupcakes was filmed in front of the actual Magnolia Bakery on Bleecker Street. The bakery was already popular among locals, but after the show aired, it became a tourist attraction and a cultural phenomenon. You’ll probably have to queue around the block to get your hands on one of their baked delights, but it will be worth the wait.
The Bethesda Terrace and Fountain in Central Park
This famous fountain, with its Water Angel sculpture, has been featured in many movies like The Avengers, Gossips Girl, and One Fine Day, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney. But one of its most iconic movie appearances was in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York when Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Macaulay) is running away from the “Wet Bandits.”
At the terrace, Kevin meets a mysterious woman who feeds the pigeons and befriends her—and when the bandits catch Kevin, this lady is the one who saves him later on in the film. This popular film location has all the New York Christmas vibes we love feeling when walking through Central Park.
Central Park is the perfect location for Christmas footage when you’re in NYC in the winter months.
Conclusion
Everyone who comes to New York falls in love with its charm and adventurous spirit. It’s no wonder that this cultural and social hub has been so popular in movies and TV series, with its magnificent buildings and intriguing landmarks. Creative filmmakers have been capturing NYC’s moods and atmospheres as they shape their stories and convey their messages to audiences worldwide. And we still marvel at the city’s unique appeal when visiting these iconic places in person.
