“I love this town!”
So ends the original Ghostbusters, with Ernie Hudson, covered in goo from the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, shouting that iconic line from the rooftop.
Not only is Ghostbusters considered one of the all-time great movies, it’s quintessentially New York. From the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan all the way up to Columbia University at 116th Street, the movie (and its sequel) filmed all over the city. We hear there’s a new movie out this week, so let’s look back at a few of Ghostbusters’ notable locations, some of which you can see on Watson Adventures scavenger hunts.
New York Public Library, 42nd St. & 5th Ave.
The film’s first phantasm famously appears in the stacks of the New York Public Library—specifically the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at 42nd and Fifth Ave. You’ll visit the library on the Midtown Madness Scavenger Hunt.
Columbia University, 116th St.
Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis—Venkman, Ray, and Egon—lose their jobs as parapsychologists at Columbia after the encounter at the library. They worked out of Havemeyer Hall (in the movie it’s called Weaver Hall) and debated the possibilities of opening a paranormal extermination service on the east side of campus. Check out the sights on the Columbia Crusade Scavenger Hunt.
Firehouse, N. Moore St. & Varick St., Tribeca
The Ghostbusters’ iconic headquarters is still a working FDNY firehouse today. Built in 1904, the firehouse at 14 N. Moore St. is home to Hook & Ladder Company 8, whose members were among the first responders on 9/11.
Dana Barrett’s Building, W. 66th St. and Central Park West
Sigourney Weaver’s Dana Barrett lives at 55 Central Park West, a 1929 Art Deco whose exterior was used (and augmented with special effects to add many more flights than the real building’s 19) in the film. Sorry, the interior shots and final rooftop fight scene were filmed on sound stages in L.A.
Next door is Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, which the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man steps on. And across the street in Central Park is Tavern on the Green, where Rick Moranis bangs on the window as he tries to escape a hellhound that crashed his party. You can see both 55 CPW and Tavern on the Green on the Secrets of Central Park Scavenger Hunt.
Alexander Hamilton Custom House, 1 Bowling Green
Much of Ghostbusters II revolves around the Alexander Hamilton Custom House, down in the Wall Street area. Across the street from Battery Park, it was built from 1902 to 1907 to house duty collections for the Port of New York City, and today it houses the National Archives, the National Museum of the American Indian, and more.
In the film, it poses as an art museum where Sigourney Weaver works. It’s also the scene of the ultimate confrontation between the Ghostbusters—with the help of a musically motivated Statue of the Liberty—and a haunted painting. (Boy, Ghostbusters II went off the rails a little bit, huh?) See the custom house on Hamilton: The Scavenger Hunt and the Secrets of the Wall Street Scavenger Hunt.
The New Movie
The new Ghostbusters, a reboot-ish adventure starring Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones as a whole new group of paranormal investigators, hits theaters this weekend. And though much of it filmed in the Boston area, those jumpsuits, proton packs, and even Ecto-1 popped up throughout Manhattan in September 2015—including at Columbia and the firehouse in Tribeca.
Who Ya Gonna Call?
For ghost removal, call the professionals. For public scavenger hunts in seven cities around the country, visit the Public Hunt schedule. To ask us about arranging a private scavenger hunt hunt for your group, contact us online or at 877-946-4868, extension 111.