Here’s the Ultimate Ghostbusters Fan’s Guide to New York City
May 6, 2024
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| It’s impossible to think about the Ghostbusters franchise without conjuring images of New York City—the main branch of the public library, City Hall, the firehouse that doubles as the Ghostbusters headquarters. NYC’s sights, streets and, yes, spirits are as much characters as are any of the leads, past and present. As ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ hits theaters, we’re looking at some of the prominent NYC landmarks featured in the films, including the latest installment of the franchise. The original movie begins with strange goings-on at one of the City’s most hallowed (and apparently haunted) institutions. A ghost pushes books from shelves and gobbles up papers in the stacks below, drawing the attention of paranormal experts Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler. Look for a return in Frozen Empire. And note that while the stacks are inaccessible to the public, you can admire the restored Rose Main Reading Room and, like Ray did, scamper down the marble front steps.  Ladder 8 Ghostbusters Firehouse Tribeca Manhattan, NYC | Courtesy, Vincent Tullo |
| Columbia University 2960 Broadway The college shows up a few times in the original and its follow-up: it’s the place the three fellows have fellowships in the fictional Weaver Hall Psychology Department, and where Spengler later works at a research institute. We don’t recommend running ESP tests on students—even if they volunteer—but we do recommend seeing the Low Memorial Library and the campus green. And fear not; if there’s any ghostly activity, it’s probably happening in the underground tunnels. Ladder Company 8 14 N. Moore St. The most famous location in the flicks is undoubtedly the firehouse the Ghostbusters commandeer as their office: Ladder Company 8, in Tribeca. Look for the sidewalk paintings out front (with a rather liberal interpretation of the familiar Ghostbusters logo and another from the more recent version) and imagine what it’s like to slide down the fire pole and jump into a ghostbusting uniform. For Frozen Empire, the gang reunites—with the next generations of Spenglers—and reclaims the original HQ. For more on the building, see our look at the real-life heroes of Ghostbusters HQ.  Ladder 8 Ghostbusters Firehouse Tribeca Manhattan, NYC | Courtesy, Vincent Tullo 55 Central Park West Dana Barrett—musician; potential love interest of Peter Venkman; bodily host of Zuul, the Gatekeeper of Gozer—lives in this posh Upper West Side apartment building. Sure, it seems to have some, er, structural issues, but we’d guess it’s worth putting up with for such prime NYC real estate. The art deco coop is an architectural landmark, notable for the gradated color on the façade and the details on the roof. Tavern on the Green #1 Tavern on the Green Barrett’s across-the-way neighbor, the hapless accountant Louis Tully, desperately searches for a way into the classy restaurant after being chased through Central Park by a particularly fearsome beast. The customers inside the glass seem unruffled by the whole affair—a fitting representation of the divide between high society and high anxiety.  Tavern on the Green – Manhattan, NYC | Courtesy, Maura Daley City Hall Broadway and Murray St. We’re sure City Hall has been the site of many a showdown between warring factions, and we’re equally sure that’s never been played for laughs as well as it is here, when the Ghostbusters have a showdown with EPA inspector Walter Peck in front of the mayor and the archbishop. Another City Hall encounter takes place in Frozen Empire, with the the next generations of ghostbusting Spenglers center stage. Lincoln Center 70 Lincoln Center Plaza The water pyrotechnics of the central fountain are a bit different these days from what’s depicted in the film, thanks to a renovation a few years back, but the plaza remains a great place for a meeting or picnic—or to woo a cellist from the Philharmonic. |
 Lincoln Center UWS NYC | Courtesy, Kate Glicksberg Manhattan Bridge Enter at Bowery between Canal and Bayard Streets (Manhattan side) The Brooklyn Bridge tends to get a lot more love, but the Manhattan has its fans—and is just as worthy a byway on which to have an existential discussion about judgment day, as Ray Stantz and Winston Zeddemore do while the climax of the first movie approaches. National Museum of the American Indian #1 Bowling Green The Alexander Hamilton US Custom House now houses this museum; for Ghostbusters II, it was the home of the nonexistent Manhattan Museum of Art, kind of a poor man’s Met. A portrait taken out of storage for a show leads to some supernatural shenanigans—so watch out before the next local exhibition of 16th-century Carpathian art.  Manhattan Bridge – Manhattan, NYC | Courtesy, Julienne Schaer 33 St. Mark’s Place Ray’s Occult Books, a fictional store meant to be at 33 St. Mark’s Place, becomes a hangout for the boys in Ghostbusters II after Ray Stantz sets up shop. It makes an encore setting in Frozen Empire (it’s as if Ray never left, which he never did). In real life, it currently serves as computer and phone repair shop. Regardless, the East Village does have a history of being home to occult shops (Enchantments, which sells books and tarot decks, still exists) and cool bookstores (you can find some supernatural tomes at East Village Books). Gracie Mansion East End Ave In the first movie, our heroes show up at City Hall for a meeting with the mayor; the second time around, the police escort them to the mayor’s Upper East Side home. No, the building filmed in the movie isn’t the actual Gracie Mansion—but at least the period furniture looks pretty cool onscreen. See if our current mayor has better taste by taking one of the Monday tours of the house.  Columbus Circle – Upper West Side, NYC | Courtesy, Lanna Apisukh Columbus Circle The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man seems an unlikely foe (the most “harmless” thing Stantz can think of), but as he plods through Columbus Circle near the end of the first film, cars crash in his wake and people flee in terror. 2 Columbus Circle (the current Museum of Arts and Design and, amusingly enough to us, home at the time of filming to the New York City Convention and Visitors Bureau) is in clear view, adding a nice brutalist touch to the proceedings. Washington Square Park The park is a Greenwich Village emblem, known for NYU students hanging around the fountain, wandering troubadours, a famous arch and, featured in Frozen Empire, a place for intense chess matches.  Coney Island – Brooklyn, NYC | Courtesy, Brittany Petronella Coney Island Surf Avenue In the City, Coney Island is a place for warm weather amusements and family fun, whether on the Wonder Wheel, on the boardwalk or along the beach. In Frozen Empire, well, you’ll have to tune in to see how it is transformed. *Cover Photo/Thumbnail Photo from Brand Story |
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