Manhattan movie locations – IAMNOTASTALKER

May 27, 2010June 16, 2011

The New York Public Library from “Sex and the City: The Movie”

In honor of today’s big premiere of Sex and The City 2, I thought I’d blog about a location from the original movie that I stalked this past October while I was in Manhattan – the New York Public Library. And even though I’ve actually blogged about this location once before, since I did not include any interior photographs, I thought the place was definitely worth re-visiting. In the original Sex and the City movie, Carrie Bradshaw (aka Sarah Jessica Parker) and her fiancé Mr. Big (aka Chris Noth) plan to hold their upcoming nuptials at the library because, as Carrie says, it is “the classic New York landmark that housed all the great love stories”. The New York Public Library was constructed during the years 1902 through 1911 on the site of the former Croton Reservoir and was designed by the architecture firm Carrere & Hastings. The Beaux-Arts structure, which is made of white marble and cost $9 million to build, encompasses two full blocks of New York City land and contains 88 miles of shelving which holds over seven million books. Amazingly enough, any one of those seven million tomes can be requested and delivered to the library’s main circulation desk within a period of ten minutes or less! The New York Public Library, which was named a National Historic Monument in 1965, is a truly amazing piece of architecture and, being that it is symbolic of the two great loves of Carrie Bradshaw’s life – New York City and writing – it is easy to see why producers chose it as the site of her ill-fated wedding.

The library shows up twice in Sex and the City: The Movie. It first appears in the scene in which Carrie, while returning the book “Love Letters of Great Men, Volume I”, spots a wedding being set up in the library’s mezzanine. She immediately decides the place is the perfect location for her own upcoming nuptials.

That first scene was shot in the extremely beautiful McGraw Rotunda, which is located on the library’s second floor.

The New York Public Library next appears in the big wedding scene, during which Mr. Big stands Carrie up at the altar. And I should state here that the wedding scene seriously annoyed me. I mean, honestly, how many times can we expect Big to screw up before Carrie leaves him for good???? The SATC writers really need to come up with a new way of creating tension, because the whole Big-breaks-Carrie’s-heart thing was already getting old way back in Season 3. We should be long past that storyline by now, but I digress.

According to the SUPER nice security guard I spoke with, producers had the McGraw Rotunda intricately decorated with thousands upon thousands of flowers and other adornments for the wedding scene, yet none of it was visible in the movie. The only time any of the wedding decorations can be spotted is in the above-pictured blink-and-you’ll miss it scene in which Anthony Marentino (aka Mario Cantone) tells an assistant to keep all of the wedding guests off of the main stairwell.

The scene in which Mr. Big tells Carrie via telephone that he “couldn’t get out of the car” and that he will not be going through with the wedding was filmed in the library’s Astor Hall area, just off of the main lobby.

Miranda (aka Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (aka Kristin Davis) immediately grab Carrie and rush her out of the library’s northernmost front door.

And, while I was stalking the library, I, of course, just had to reenact the scene in which a devastated Carrie drops her cell phone after finding out that Big has stood her up.

Sex and the City: The Movie was hardly the first production to film at the library, though. The building was also the site of the benefit gala in the Season 3 episode of Gossip Girl titled “Ex-Husbands and Wives”

In the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Paul Varjak (aka George Peppard) and Holly Golightly (aka Audrey Hepburn) stop into the library during their “things we’ve never done before” day. And while the real life exterior of the library appeared in that scene, I cannot say for certain that the actual interior was also used. The interior scenes quite possibly may have been filmed on a studio soundstage. The library also appeared in a later scene in the movie as the spot where Paul first tells Holly that he loves her. And I just have to say here that I find it absolutely amazing that Audrey Hepburn’s costumes are still stylish today, almost five decades after Breakfast at Tiffany’s was filmed! I mean, how adorable is the orange jacket pictured above? But, again, I digress.

In the original Spider-Man movie, Uncle Ben (aka Cliff Robertson) drops off Peter Parker (aka Tobey Maguire) at the library, where he is supposedly going to do some studying. Peter instead goes to a wrestling match dressed as Spider-Man. When Ben later comes to pick Peter up, he gets killed outside of the library’s main entrance.

Jenna Rink (aka Jennifer Garner) and Matt Flamhaff (aka Mark Ruffalo) stage part of their “Class of 2004” photo shoot in front of the New York Public Library in fave movie 13 Going On 30.

In 1997’s Picture Perfect, the library was the site of the Gulden’s Mustard party where Kate Mosley (aka my girl Jennifer Aniston) first becomes disillusioned with the advertising world.

And while a large portion of the movie The Day After Tomorrow was set in the New York Public Library, no filming actually took place there. Instead producers built a replica of the library’s interior on a studio soundstage that they later destroyed during the massive flood scenes. According to the security guard that I spoke with, set designers spent weeks taking measurements of the interior of the library so that it could be exactly replicated for the filming.

In The Thomas Crown Affair, the inside of the library stood in for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as the Met refused to let any interior scenes be shot on the premises.

The first Ghostbusters movie actually opens with a shot of the New York Public Library and its famous stone lions, who are named Patience and Fortitude. The library has also appeared in the movies On The Town, Pickup on South Street, A Thousand Clowns, The Clock, King Kong, and You’re a Big Boy Now, and in the television series Kings.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The New York Public library is located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and West 42nd Street in New York City. It is open to the public daily.

December 28, 2009December 28, 2009

Wollman Ice Skating Rink

I’m sticking with my Christmas stalking theme for one more day – even though it’s already December 28th – as I had originally intended to publish this post on Christmas Eve, but, unfortunately, ran out of time. As I’ve said many times before, though, it’s better to be late than never! So, here goes! One New York location that definitely belongs in any collection of Christmas movie locales is Wollman Ice Skating Rink, a spot which appeared in one of my very favorite holiday flicks of all time, Home Alone 2: Lost In New York. I had the pleasure of skating at Wollman Rink with my fiancé back in 2004 and absolutely fell in love with the place. With the Plaza Hotel and other New York skyscrapers towering in the background, the rink actually looks more like a picture postcard than a real life location. If you haven’t been there yourself, take my word for it, Wollman Rink is absolutely magical. 🙂

Wollman Rink was originally constructed in 1949 thanks to a $600,000 donation from New York philanthropist Kate Wollman. Kate had the ice skating rink built in honor of her parents, Jonas and Bettie, and her four brothers, William, Morton, Henry, and Benjamin. From the beginning, Wollman Rink was an immediate success, welcoming over 300,000 skaters in its first year alone. Today, it is visited by an average of 4,000 skaters per day.

Like practically everything else in New York, Wollman Rink is currently owned and operated by real estate mogul Donald Trump, who purchased and completely rebuilt the property back in the ‘90s. His name is displayed on almost every square inch of the rink, lest anyone ever forget who it belongs to. 😉 In the summer months, the rink is transformed into a small amusement park named Victorian Gardens. Wollman Rink is not to be confused with the similarly named Kate Wollman Memorial Rink, which was constructed in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park by the William J. Wollman Foundation upon Kate’s death in 1955.

Thanks to its picturesque appearance, Wollman Rink has long been a favorite of location scouts, appearing in countless movies and television shows over the years. In Home Alone 2: Lost In New York, Harry and Marv, aka “The Sticky Bandits”, plan their robbery of Duncan’s Toy Chest while skating at Wollman Rink. Ironically enough, though, before my first visit to New York, this stalker was under the mistaken assumption that the Home Alone scene had been filmed at the famous Rockefeller Center ice staking rink. It wasn’t until I started making a stalking itinerary for my first Big Apple vacation that I realized my mistake. As it turns out, New York has not one, but TWO cinematically historic ice skating rinks. But I’ll save the Rockefeller Center rink for a future post. 😉

Wollman Rink also appeared in the Season One episode of Gossip Girl entitled “Roman Holiday”, in the scene in which Blair Waldorf (aka Leighton Meester), along with her mother, her father, and her father’s new boyfriend go ice skating just a few days before Christmas.

On a side note – I am absolutely IN LOVE with the skates with the hanging pink pompoms that Blair wore in that scene!!!! I have GOT to get me a pair of those! 🙂

In Serendipity – one of my fave romcoms of all time! – Jonathan (aka John Cusack) and Sara (aka Kate Beckinsale) go for a late night skate at Wollman Rink after sharing a Frrrozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity 3 Restaurant.

After their skate, Jonathan draws the constellation of Cassiopeia on Sara’s arm while sitting on the rink’s benches.

And at the end of the movie, the two star-crossed lovers finally reunite at the rink. Wollman Rink has also been featured in Stepmom, Autumn in New York, Love Story, The January Man, The Devil’s Own, Odds Against Tomorrow, Carnal Knowledge, August Rush, A Journey That Wasn’t, Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, and the 2005 version of King Kong.

Celebrities also often visit Wollman Rink. In December of 2005, Tom Cruise took his then-pregnant girlfriend Katie Holmes there to celebrate her 27th birthday.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Wollman Rink is located inside Central Park, near the corner of Central Park South and 5th Avenue, in New York. Follow the footpath from the Park’s 59th Street entrance over Gapstow Bridge and the rink will be visible on the west. Wollman Rink is open from November through March. You can visit its official website here.

November 16, 2009November 16, 2009

Bethesda Fountain and Terrace

Just around the corner from the Central Park Boathouse Cafe, which I blogged about on Friday, is another New York landmark known as Bethesda Fountain and Terrace. Because the area is one of my favorite places in all of New York, I’ve actually stalked it numerous times during my many trips to the Big Apple, but, for some reason, never thought to blog about it. Which is actually quite ironic being that the fountain has been immortalized in countless movie and television productions over the years. So, with the mindset of ‘it’s better late than never’, today I thought I’d give it a go. 🙂 The first time I visited Bethesda Fountain and Terrace was back in 2004 during my very first trip to Manhattan. My fiancé and I happened upon the fountain while walking through Central Park and I immediately recognized it from an episode of fave show Sex and the City and just about flipped out. Since that time, I’ve made it a point to visit the area at least once whenever I’m in New York. On a side note – Due to the below freezing temperatures, fountains in Manhattan are turned off during the winter months, which is why Bethesda Fountain is not running in the above photograph which was taken in December of 2004.

Bethesda Fountain, which measures 26 feet tall and 96 feet in diameter and is one of the largest fountains in New York, was the only sculpture that was included in “The Greensward Plan”, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux’s original design blueprint for Central Park. In the plan, the fountain and terrace area were intended as a gathering place for park-dwellers, a picturesque spot for Manhattanites to congregate and socialize.

The statue that flanks the top of the fountain is named “Angel of the Waters” and was designed by Emma Stebbins, sister of Central Park Commissioner Henry G. Stebbins. The statue, which was built in Germany, took over seven years to construct and wasn’t unveiled until 1873, an additional five years after its completion. The idea behind the neoclassical statue was based on “The Pool of Bethesda”, a man-made bath in Jerusalem, which, as legend had it, was often frequented by angels who could cure the ailing. The fountain was built in commemoration of the Croton Aqueduct, Manhattan’s very first fresh water system, which had been completed thirty years prior. The statue’s largest angel measures eight feet tall and holds a lily in one hand symbolizing the purity of New York’s water, while blessing the waters of the fountain with her other hand.

The four cherubs which stand beneath the main angel represent Peace, Purity, Temperance, and Health.

British architect Jacob Wrey Mould designed the two large staircases which flank the terrace, as well as all of the area’s ornamental details, which include wildlife carvings and over 16,000 intricate Minton tiles.

The Terrace and Fountain area quickly became the focal point of Central Park and even boasted an outdoor restaurant at one time. But during the 1970s, Central Park fell into a terrible state of disarray and, sadly, remained that way for over a decade. When my parents checked into the Plaza Hotel during their very first trip to New York back in 1980, the concierge told them in no uncertain terms NOT to enter the Park under any circumstances. Today, Central Park is so incredibly beautiful and picturesque, that it is EXTREMELY hard for me to imagine it ever being a scary place. During that time, Bethesda Fountain became a haven for the homeless and drug addicted of New York and was even given the nickname “Freak Fountain”. It wasn’t until 1980, when the Central Park Conservancy stepped in with their plan to restore the Park to its original grandeur, that things began to change. The Conservancy’s first step was to renovate the fountain, which had actually been left dry for over a decade. A few months after the fountain was restored, the Terrace area was also renovated. Today, Bethesda Terrace is so grand and so tranquil that it’s hard to believe at one time it was one of the most dangerous areas of the park.

Because it is so incredibly picturesque, Bethesda Terrace is one of the most photographed areas of Central Park and has long been a favorite of movie producers. As mentioned above, I first recognized the area from a Season 2 episode of Sex and the City. In that episode, which was entitled “The Freak Show”, Carrie meets a “normal” guy while sitting by the fountain one spring day and, in an unprecedented move, gives him her unlisted phone number.

In Home Alone 2: Lost In New York, Kevin is chased onto Bethesda Terrace by Harry and Marv, aka the “Sticky Bandits”. He just narrowly escapes them by hiding in the trunk of a horse drawn carriage.

Not only does Nate run near the fountain in the Season 1 episode of Gossip Girl entitled “Poison Ivy”,

but in that very same episode the fountain shows up as the spot where Serena and Blair have a much needed heart-to-heart.

The Terrace is also the site of the grand finale of the “That’s How You Know” song and dance number from the movie Enchanted.

In Elf, while Will Ferrell is trying to save Christmas, Santa’s sleigh knocks off the tip of the “Angel of the Waters” statue and almost crash-lands on the Terrace’s top level.

The fountain is also the location of the New York City Junior Science Fair from which Mel Gibson and Rene Russo’s son is kidnapped in the 1996 movie Ransom.

It’s also the spot where George Clooney, Michelle Pfeiffer, and their two children frolic in some puddles while on their way to a soccer game in the movie One Fine Day.

The music video for the They Might Be Giants song “They’ll Need a Crane” was also shot in its entirety at Bethesda Fountain.

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The fountain has also been featured in the movies The Producers, The Way We Were, Deconstructing Harry, Sunday in New York, Eyewitness, Stuart Little 2, Hair, Godspell, Everyone Says I Love You, Angels in America, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, Tommy Boy, Bullets Over Broadway, It Should Happen to You, It Could Happen to You, Madigan, Green Card, and The Manchurian Candidate, and in episodes of TV’s The Amazing Race, Law and Order, and Lipstick Jungle.

Bethesda Fountain and Terrace is an absolutely beautiful spot and I honestly can’t recommend stalking it enough! It has long been considered “the heart of Central Park” and is definitely a New York must-see!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Bethesda Fountain and Terrace are located just off of 72nd Cross Street Drive in Central Park.

November 13, 2009December 6, 2013

The Central Park Boathouse Cafe

One of the locations that I was most excited about stalking while in New York last month was a little restaurant named the Central Park Boathouse Cafe, also known as the Loeb Boathouse. And although I’ve stalked this location once before – and even blogged about it – because the restaurant is not open for business during the winter months when we usually visit New York, I’d never been able to actually eat there. Until my most recent trip to the Big Apple, that is. This year, because my parents had only ever seen Manhattan during the cold winter months, we decided to change things up a bit and schedule our annual NYC vacation in early October. And I couldn’t have been more excited, as that meant that I’d FINALLY be able to grab a bite to eat at the famous Boathouse Cafe! 🙂

The first Central Park Boathouse was originally built in 1873 by park designer Calvert Vaux and cost $2,360 to construct. Vaux’s design consisted of a two-story Gothic inspired structure with open terraces lining the second level. For over eighty years, the Boathouse provided park-dwellers with a place to dock and store their vessels, grab a bite to eat, or just simply people-watch. But, in the 1950s it became clear that the eighty year old structure was in desperate need of a renovation. Thanks to a $305,000 donation from American Metal Company founder Carl M. Loeb and a $100,000 supplement from the Parks foundation, the original Boathouse was torn down and a new building was assembled in its place. The new structure, which was dubbed the Loeb Boathouse and was constructed in the neo-classical style by designer Stuart Constable, opened in March of 1954 and remains standing to this day. Although a bit more upscale than its predecessor, the Loeb Boathouse still provides visitors with a place to grab a bite to eat or an evening cocktail, rent a rowboat, or just simply take in the beautiful park scenery.

Because the Loeb Boathouse is so incredibly picturesque, it has, of course, been featured countless times over the years in various movie and television productions. With its lakeside setting, frequent rowboat passersby, and view of of the park and Manhattan skyscrapers in the distance, it’s really no wonder why producers have returned to film there time and time again.

Just inside the Boathouse’s main entrance is a large display of photographs from the many filmings that have taken place there over the years. So love it!

And, let me tell you, I just about died when I noticed an old picture of my girl Marilyn Monroe on the wall! As it turns out, though, according to the hostess that I talked to, the picture was not actually from a movie that was filmed on the premises, but was a candid that was taken while Marilyn rowed a boat one evening on the nearby Central Park Lake. You can just make out the outline of the Boathouse above her left shoulder in the photograph. So cute!

Ostensibly missing from the Boathouse’s picture wall, though, was a photograph of fave show Sex and the City, which filmed a VERY memorable scene from the Season 3 episode entitled “Cock A Doodle Do” at the restaurant. When I asked the hostess about it she said, “Sex and the City was filmed here? Really?” LOL LOL LOL In the episode, Carrie reluctantly agrees to a lunch date with Mr. Big at the waterside cafe, but, as often happens with those two characters, trouble, of course, ensues. Just before Carries enters the restaurant, she stops outside to make a quick call to Miranda on a nearby payphone. During the course of their conversation, Miranda makes Carrie promise that no matter what happens during the lunch she will NOT let Big kiss her. (On a side note – I tried to stalk Carrie’s payphone, but, unfortunately, it was nowhere to be found, which leads me to believe that it was either a prop that was brought in solely for the filming or it was a real payphone that was removed sometime after the filming took place. Such a bummer!)

Carrie then proceeds to enter the restaurant and spots Big waiting for her in the Bar & Grill area, which is pretty much the exact spot where my family and I sat while dining there. 🙂

Upon Carrie’s arrival, Big immediately goes to kiss her and, in backing away to avoid him, Carrie winds up falling into the water, pulling Big down with her. The two immediately collapse into fits of laughter until Carrie realizes that her Christian Dior purse has gone missing, at which point Big screams out “I’ll get it!” and then proceeds to heroically dive under the water to save the purse . . .

. . . with the whole rest of the restaurant looking on. LOL LOL LOL So love that episode! 🙂

So, of course, when I first visited the Cafe back in 2005, I just had to take a picture reenacting that scene. Too bad I couldn’t also reenact Carrie’s Richard Tyler dress from that scene, too! LOL 🙂

The Boathouse is also the spot where Sally lunched with her friends, one of whom was Carrie Fisher, at the beginning of the 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally.

In the more recent 27 Dresses, the Boathouse figures prominently as the place where Katherine Heigl’s character’s parents were married and where she also intends to someday hold her own wedding. As fate would have it, though, her younger sister gets engaged first and books the restaurant for her wedding instead. Towards the end of the movie, a scene takes place at the Boathouse in which Katherine attends a food tasting for the upcoming nuptials with her secret crush, who also just so happens to be her sister’s fiancé, Edward Burns.

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The Boathouse also appeared in the 2005 movie Little Manhattan and in an episode of the Showtime series Nurse Jackie. The upcoming Drew Barrymore/Justin Long movie entitled Going the Distance also apparently did some recent filming at the Boathouse and a fake Boathouse set was even built in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park this past summer for the Tina Fey/Steve Carell comedy Date Night.

Besides being a filming location, the boathouse has also long been a favorite dining spot for celebrities. In recent years, stars like Lindsay Lohan, Becky Newton, Orlando Bloom, and Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr have all been spotted eating at the Cafe. The Boathouse has also played host to numerous celebrity events, including the premiere after-parties for the movies Pride and Prejudice, Mamma Mia, and My Sister’s Keeper.

And while the Boathouse was at the very top of my list of locales to stalk during this year’s trip, as fate would have it, we actually got “stuck” there after being caught in a brief rainstorm while walking through Central Park. Because the Cafe was the nearest shelter we came to and because it was on my stalking list, we decided to kill two birds with one stone and ducked inside. 🙂 Thankfully the rainstorm didn’t last more than a few minutes and once it was over we immediately grabbed seats on the patio in the Boathouse’s Bar & Grill area (pictured above) and ordered up a few cocktails. And, I have to say, the place was A-MA-ZING! It is worth a visit just for the setting alone! I honestly can’t recommend stalking the Boathouse Cafe enough! It has to be one of my favorite places in all of New York. It is the absolute PERFECT place to spend a sunny – or even a not so sunny, as was the case for me – Manhattan afternoon.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Central Park Boathouse Cafe is located at East 72nd Street and Park Drive North in Central Park. The restaurant is seasonal and is only open from April through November. You can visit their website here.

November 12, 2009November 12, 2009

Pete’s Tavern

Yet another Sex and the City location that I stalked while in New York last month was a spot that touts itself as New York’s oldest continuously operating bar and restaurant. And while there are actually quite a few watering holes claiming to be New York’s most long-established, Pete’s distinguishes itself thanks to the fact that it first opened up in 1864 – when Abraham Lincoln was in office! – and has never closed since. Like not ever! Not in the 30’s during Prohibition – when it was disguised as a flower shop – nor more recently during the city-wide blackout of 2003. No, the small tavern on the corner of East 18th Street and Irving Place has been in existence as a drinking establishment of some sort or another for over 145 years! And because it’s also a frequent filming location, I just had to stalk the place!

Beginning in 1852, the space which Pete’s now occupies contained a small grocery store, so while it’s entirely possible that liquor was sold on the premises as far back as that year, the place didn’t officially become a tavern until 1864. The original bar was named the Portman Hotel and it enjoyed a 35 year run, until 1899 when brothers Tom and John Healy purchased the establishment and re-named it Healy’s Cafe. In 1932, a man named Pete Belles came on the scene and changed the bar’s name to Pete’s Tavern, as it has remained to this day. And, thankfully, despite a high rate of ownership turnover, aside from the name, little else at the establishment has been altered since 1864. Even the decor and the original rosewood bar have been left largely untouched since the drinkery’s opening almost a century and a half ago! And I’d say chances are pretty good that a hundred and fifty years from now, Pete’s will still look very much the same as it does today. Love it!

Pete’s Tavern has long been something of a celebrity hotspot. In fact, the watering hole’s walls are absolutely covered in photographs of its many rich and famous clients. I so love it, by the way, when restaurants display pictures of their celebrity patrons on the walls! 🙂 Just a few of the celebs who have dined at the tavern include Ben Stiller, Mike Meyers, Bruce Willis, Natalie Portman, James Gandolfini, Zack Braff, Ed Burns, Harvey Keitel, Jeremy Sisto, Julia Stiles, Johnny Depp, and Tom Cruise (pictured above). The Kennedy family has also long had ties to the tavern. Joe Kennedy was the one who provided the place liquor during Prohibition, JFK dined there with Jackie on more than one occasion during his presidency, and their son, JFK, Jr., also became a regular patron years later.

Pete’s has also appeared in countless film and television productions over the years. Robert Mitchum grabbed a drink there in the 1962 movie Two for the Seesaw and it was also at Pete’s that Kramer set up a sting operation involving Jerry’s nasally accountant in the Season 5 episode of Seinfeld entitled “The Sniffing Accountant” (pictured above).

And while the real Pete’s was used for the establishing shots shown in that episode, the bar’s interior (pictured above) was actually a set that was built on the CBS Radford lot in Los Angeles where Seinfeld was filmed. You can watch Seinfeld’s Pete’s Tavern scene here. Pete’s also popped up in the movies Ragtime, Endless Love, Across the Sea of Time, The Guru, and in an episode of Law and Order.

Pete’s Tavern is probably most famous for its significance in literary history, though. Not only did legendary author O. Henry set his short story “The Lost Blend” at the bar, which he called “Kenealy’s” in the tale, but in 1904 he wrote the “The Gift of the Magi” while sitting in one of the eatery’s booths. That very booth is still in existence to this day and even boasts a plaque commemorating the occasion. Children’s author Ludwig Bemelmans also penned the first Madeline book at Pete’s – on the back of one of their menus, no less! 🙂

Aside from the celebrity patrons and historical significance of the place, I actually wanted to stalk Pete’s Tavern for one reason and one reason alone – because it was there, on the restaurant’s front patio and over $3 beers, that Miranda Hobbs proposed to longtime boyfriend Steve Brady in one of my very favorite Sex and the City episodes of all time – the one entitled “The Ick Factor”. I honestly cannot say enough about that particular episode! It’s just simply one of the series’ best! In fact, I just got sucked into watching the entire thing AGAIN while making screen captures for this post. LOL Sadly, though, because Pete’s front patio was absolutely jam packed while we were stalking the place, we weren’t able to sit in the exact spot where Sex and the City was filmed. But even though I had to settle for indoor seating, I still could NOT have been more excited to finally be dining at Pete’s!

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I honestly cannot recommend stalking Pete’s Tavern enough! The food was excellent, the staff was super-friendly and also quite knowledgeable about the bar’s filming history, and the ambience was one hundred percent old New York! I absolutely loved the place! My only beef with the establishment is the fact that their chicken fingers meal is only made available to those patrons sitting at the bar, which I, unfortunately, wasn’t. 🙁 Being that chicken strips are my favorite food, I was pretty bummed out that I couldn’t order them from where I was seated. So much so, in fact, that I almost made our entire group of seven move over to the bar. LOL Memo to Pete’s staff –chicken fingers are not just a bar food. I mean heck, I’m even serving them at my wedding, for Pete’s sake (and yes that pun was intended LOL)! So, do us all a favor and please, please, please put the chicken fingers on your regular menu for all of us lowbrow foodies to enjoy. 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Pete’s Tavern is located at 129 East 18th Street, near Gramercy Park, in Manhattan. You can visit their website here.

November 6, 2009November 5, 2009

The “Big” Paddleball Court

Another day, another Big location. And, sadly, this is actually the last Big location that I have to blog about. 🙁 Well, from this year’s New York trip, anyway. Being that fellow stalker Owen recently tracked down both the MacMillan Toys headquarters and Tom Hank’s loft from the movie, it looks like I’ll have a few more Big locations to stalk during next year’s New York vacation. 🙂 But for now, the last and final Big locale that Owen, my fiancé, and I visited during our stalking day in Manhattan last month was the court where Josh (aka Tom Hanks) played a little game of paddleball against his MacMillan Toys co-worker Paul (aka John Heard) in the movie. In real life, that paddleball court, which Owen found thanks to fave stalking book The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations, is named Vesuvio Playground and it encompasses not only a paddleball court, but basketball courts, bocce ball courts, a sandbox, a mini pool, and a shower area, as well. When the park originally opened in 1929 it was called Thompson Playground and it consisted solely of a wading pool and a swing set and existed on a much smaller parcel of land than today’s .64 acres. In 1957, the City purchased an additional piece of land in order to expand the playground into what it is today. The park was then renamed Vesuvio Playground in honor of the nearby Vesuvio Bakery, which is owned and operated by longtime SoHo community leader Anthony Dapolito and his family.

In Big, Vesuvio Playground is the site of a very brief, but very memorable, scene in which the newly-adult Josh gets challenged to a paddleball duel by his douchebag of a co-worker, Paul. Because Paul is extremely jealous of his girlfriend Susan’s growing affection for Josh, he brings him to the paddleball court thinking he’ll teach him a lesson.

But Josh, who is a paddleball novice, ends up calling Paul out for cheating during the game which leads to a very juvenile – and absolutely hilarious – playground fist fight between the two. LOL LOL LOL

Unfortunately, even though it was mid-day, the paddleball court was absolutely JAM PACKED with children while we were stalking it, so we weren’t able to venture inside to take photographs. I mean, hello, shouldn’t kids be attending school during the middle of the day??? 😉 LOL I am happy to report, though, that the same pizza place which was visible in the background of the Big paddleball scene is still in business to this day, as you can see in the above screen captures and photographs. 🙂 So cool!!

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According to fave stalking book Manhattan on Film: Walking Tours of Hollywood’s Fabled Front Lot, Frankie (aka Nick Scotti) and Joey (aka Domenick Lombardozzi) play handball on the very same paddleball court in the 1997 movie Kiss Me Guido. And the playground was also featured in an episode of the NBC series Third Watch.

On a very sad side – During our stalking day, Owen, my fiancé, and I also tried to stalk Asti, the Italian eatery where Billy takes Josh for his birthday in Big. Unfortunately, though, that restaurant closed its doors on New Year’s Eve 1999, after 75 long years in operation. 🙁 Such a bummer! Asti, which was named after a town in Italy famous for its sparkling wine (LOVE IT!), was a New York institution ever since it first opened in 1925. Apparently, not only did such luminaries as Babe Ruth, Luciano Pavarotti, and Noel Coward frequent the restaurant during its heyday, but there was even an autographed photograph of Tom Hanks from the filming of Big displayed in the front window. Also LOVE IT! 🙂 Even the building which once housed Asti is famous – former President Chester A. Arthur once lived there! I can’t even begin to tell you how sad I am that this landmark restaurant is now gone. 🙁 Currently, in its place is another eatery – a steak restaurant named Strip House (pictured above). You can read more about Asti and its history here.

Big THANK YOU to Owen for loaning me his Big paddleball court pics to post here, as, for some reason, I did not take that many photographs of it.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Vesuvio Playground, aka the Big paddleball court, is located at 95 Thompson Street in New York’s SoHo area. The former Asti restaurant (now Strip House) was located at 13 East 12th Street in Greenwich Village.