“That’s why New York is so great.”
“Everyone you care about can despise you, and you can still find a bagel so good, nothing else matters.” As the Amazon original series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, about a housewife-turned-comedienne, zips around from the Upper West Side to Midtown to the Village, it reads like a love letter to 1950s New York.
With the fourth season just ended and a final fifth season on the way, the show spends much of its time at real-life locations in and around Greenwich Village, though it ventures around the city quite a bit. You can see many of the following spots on our Greenwich Village scavenger hunts for public and private groups.
In the Village…
Washington Square Park
Midge wanders into a protest here and, in classic Midge fashion, ends up in front of a microphone talking about herself. The protest is organized by the activist Jane Jacobs and touches on her ultimately victorious fight against Robert Moses, NYC Parks commissioner and “master builder,” and his plan to pave highways through the park.
The Music Inn
Midge and her, uh, rough-around-the-edges manager Susie Myerson visit the Music Inn early in season one—and Midge’s estranged husband, Joel, later hears a bootleg recording of Midge’s act here. You can visit the quirky, cramped shop at 169 W. 4th St., which opened there in 1958. Fun fact: Bob Dylan lived a couple doors down, at 161 W. 4th St., during the 1960s.
La Bonbonniere
Flashbacks to Midge and Joel’s dating days—and engagement—take place at La Bonbonniere, an old-school diner at 28 8th Ave. And when we say old-school, we mean it: This place has been serving up omelettes and burgers since the early 1930s.
Village Vanguard
Since 1935, Village Vanguard has made its home at 178 Seventh Ave. South. The joint was originally dedicated to poetry reading and folk music before jazz took hold there in the ’50s. In Mrs. Maisel, Midge stops by Village Vanguard to see her pal, the legendary comedian Lenny Bruce, open for a jazz band.
The Gaslight Cafe
Miriam “Midge” Maisel’s journey as a comedian begins at the Gaslight, which was a very real place in the ’50s and ’60s. The coffeehouse and music venue hosted the likes of Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and Allen Ginsberg. Before it closed in 1971, the cafe was located at 116 MacDougal St.—a cocktail bar called The Up & Up lives there now.
In Mrs. Maisel, the interior is shot on a set in Brooklyn, while the exterior is shot on St. Mark’s Place in Alphabet City.
Kettle of Fish
After bailing Midge out of jail (a police officer didn’t appreciate her bawdy jokes), Susie takes Midge to the bar Kettle of Fish. That scene takes place in 1958, at which point Kettle of Fish was next door to the Gaslight Cafe. Having moved several times since, Kettle of Fish can now be found at 59 Christopher St., near the legendary Stonewall Inn.
McSorley’s
In season two, Midge joins boyfriend Benjamin at this famous Irish bar at 15 E. 7th St. While the show filmed inside McSorley’s, it’s referred to as Cedar Tavern…because McSorley’s didn’t admit women until 1970, about 10 years after the scene in Mrs. Maisel.
Old Town Bar
Gosh, this show sure visits a lot of bars. Anyway, Joel Maisel frequents this watering hole at 45 E. 18th St. One bar or another has operated at that address since 1892, and Old Town’s mahogany furnishings and tin ceiling make it a popular filming location.
Albanese Meats and Poultry
This butcher shop at 238 Elizabeth St. has been a Little Italy staple since it opened in the ’50s. In Mrs. Maisel, Midge and mother, Rose Weissman, buy piles of meat here and boast that they “got the rabbi.” Though the shop is called Lutzi’s in the show, Albanese’s faded sign is left over from an earlier film that shot here: The Godfather Part III.
Beyond the Village…
Coney Island
The season four premiere ends with various members of the Weissmans and Maisels shouting confessions and revelations at each other from different cars on Coney Island’s famed Wonder Wheel. What a ride!
The Catskills
Remember that time Midge and company went on vacation in the Catskills for the whole summer? The show recreated that old Borscht Belt feel by filming at Scott’s Family Resort on Oquaga Lake, about 3 hours northwest of the city. (Sadly, the resort closed in 2020.)
Paris
When Midge’s parents run off to Paris in season two, so did the show. Rather than gussy up a nondescript street corner in New York, the show filmed in several places in Paris, including in Place Dauphine and the nearby Restaurant Paul.
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Tour the Sites with On Location Tours
For a full tour of all things Maisel in Manhattan, follow this link or clink on the image below to check out the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Sites Tour by our friends at On Location Tours.
Image credits
Lead photo by Emmanuel Kontokalos on Unsplash; Maisel in Washington Square Park by Nicole Rivelli, Amazon Studios; Mrs. Maisel at the Gaslight Cafe by Nicole Rivelli, Amazon Studios; Maisel at Albanese by Nicole Rivelli, Amazon Studios; Mrs. Maisel at Coney Island by Christopher Saunders, Prime Video; Maisel’s parents in Paris by Nicole Rivelli, Amazon Studios