Brooklyn and Uptown on film
STOP 1 OF 12
Columbus Circle
Uptown · Free to visit
The traffic circle at the southwest corner of Central Park.
EThe editors · 3 Classic New York films lists — switch
Brooklyn and Uptown on film
Ghostbusters and You’ve Got Mail on the Upper West Side, then Spike Lee, Tony Manero and Popeye Doyle in Brooklyn.
12 placesTwo or three daysRead the guide ↓
- 1. Columbus CircleThe traffic circle at the southwest corner of Central Park.Taxi Driver (1976)UptownFree to visit15 minutesFree
2. Lincoln Center and the Revson FountainThe plaza and fountain between the opera house and the concert halls.Ghostbusters (1984)UptownFree to visit15 minutesFree
3. 55 Central Park WestAn Art Deco co-op on Central Park West at 65th Street.Ghostbusters (1984) +1UptownFrom outside10 minutesFree
4. Gray’s PapayaThe 24-hour hot dog stand at Broadway and 72nd Street.You’ve Got Mail (1998)UptownFood & drink15 minutesA few dollars
5. Zabar’sThe Upper West Side food store, run by the same family since 1934.You’ve Got Mail (1998) +1UptownFood & drink20 minutesFree to browse
6. 91st Street Garden, Riverside ParkA volunteer-run flower garden on the promenade level of Riverside Park, between 90th and 91st Streets.You’ve Got Mail (1998)UptownFree to visit20 minutesFree
7. Columbia University, Low Library stepsThe domed library at the head of Columbia’s main lawn.Spider-Man (2002) +1UptownFrom outside20 minutesFree
8. Do The Right Thing Way, Stuyvesant AvenueA row of Bed-Stuy brownstones that Spike Lee filmed for eight weeks in the summer of 1988.Do the Right Thing (1989)BrooklynFrom outside20 minutesFree
9. Coney Island and Luna ParkThe boardwalk, the Wonder Wheel and Nathan’s.Annie Hall (1977) +1BrooklynPaid entry2 hoursFree to walk; rides extra
10. Bay 50th Street stationA D-train station on the elevated line through Gravesend.The French Connection (1971)South BrooklynFree to visit10 minutesFree from the street; subway fare to ride
11. 86th Street at 20th Avenue, Bensonhurst86th Street under the elevated tracks, at 20th Avenue.Saturday Night Fever (1977) +1South BrooklynFree to visit20 minutesFree
12. Shore Road promenade at the VerrazzanoThe promenade along the water at the bottom of Bay Ridge, below the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.Saturday Night Fever (1977)South BrooklynFree to visit30 minutesFree
Watch before you go
Official clips and trailers from the studios’ own channels. They load only when you tap play.
The guide
How to do it: Brooklyn and Uptown on film
The Upper West Side is Nora Ephron and Ghostbusters country, with Taxi Driver’s Columbus Circle at the bottom and Columbia at the top. Brooklyn has the block Spike Lee filmed Do the Right Thing on, and the elevated subway in Bensonhurst that runs through both Saturday Night Fever and The French Connection.
It splits into two days: the Upper West Side and Bed-Stuy on the first, the D train through south Brooklyn to the Verrazzano on the second.
- The order to do it in
- Day one: Columbus Circle, Lincoln Center, 55 Central Park West, Gray’s Papaya, Zabar’s, the 91st Street Garden and Columbia, then the A train to Bed-Stuy. Day two: Coney Island, Bay 50th Street, 86th Street and the Bay Ridge shore.
- When to go
- The Upper West Side on a weekday morning. Brooklyn in the afternoon, ending at the Verrazzano for sunset. Do the Right Thing Way looks its best in summer, the season it was filmed.
- Getting there
- Day one: 59 St–Columbus Circle (A B C D 1), then the 1 train to 116 St; the A from 125 St runs express to Utica Av for Bed-Stuy. Day two: the D or F to Coney Island, the D back to Bay 50 St and 20 Av, then the B1 bus or a walk to the Bay Ridge shore.
- What to bring
- A transit card for both days, cash for Gray’s Papaya and something warm for the waterfront.
- What it costs
- Free to walk. Subway fares and food: hot dogs at Gray’s Papaya and Nathan’s are the cheapest lunches on the list.
Worth knowing
- Several stops are residential streets. Take your photo from the sidewalk and keep moving.
- Columbia’s campus has had limited public access at times since 2024; if the gates are closed, look in from Broadway.
Researched and written by us from Movie-Locations.com — The Godfather, Movie-Locations.com — The French Connection, Movie-Locations.com — Saturday Night Fever, Movie-Locations.com — Taxi Driver, Movie-Locations.com — Manhattan and Movie-Locations.com — Annie Hall, among others. Episodes checked against episode guides; places and access checked October 2026. Private homes are view-only from the street.