Stairs

Death Wish (1974)

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The 1974 film Death Wish was shot in New York, Arizona and Hawaii. Early in the film, Paul Kersey, played by Charles Bronson, is seen riding in a taxi with his wife crossing the Queensboro Bridge. The bridge has been featured in countless films, such as “Manhattan,” “Home Alone 2: Lost In New York” and many more.

LOCATION: 61 Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge Path, New York, NY 10044 (seen from Sutton Square / Riverview Terrace, New York, NY 10022)

The apartment of Paul Kersey can be found in Manhattan. The entrance seen in the film faces W 75th St. During our visit, it was a classic example of New York City’s heavy use of scaffolding, often obscuring views of buildings.

LOCATION: 33 Riverside Dr, New York, NY 10023 (facing W 75th St)

There’s a couple famous stairs from the film. The short set of stairs where Paul Kersey is followed can be found at Riverside Park on Riverside Dr, New York, NY 10025, near W 99th St (GPS coordinates: 40°47’52.7″N, 73°58’27.7″W). The longer stairs seen near the end of the film, where Paul is confronted by three criminals, are at an entirely different location, also near Riverside Dr, about 1.5 miles away.

LOCATION: Near Riverside Dr, New York, NY 10027 (GPS coordinates: 40°48’59.9″N, 73°57’42.7″W)

These are the stairs famously depicted on many of the film’s posters, with Paul Kersey aiming his gun.

Related articles: Death Wish II (1982)

Joker (2019)

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The 2019 Todd Phillips film “Joker,” starring Joaquin Phoenix, was filmed in New York and New Jersey. The most famous location from the film likewise emerged as one of the most popular filming locations of recent years, which is of course the stairs where Joker dances. The stairs, previously known as the Shakespeare Avenue Stairs, or alternatively as the Gauson Stairs, connect Shakespeare Ave and Anderson Ave at West 167th St. The stairs were also featured prominently on the film’s poster image and are now most commonly known as the Joker Stairs.

LOCATION: Between 1161 Shakespeare Ave and 1150 Anderson Ave, The Bronx, NY 10452 (GPS coordinates: 40°50’09.3″N, 73°55’26.2″W)

Here is the area where Joker dances. Originally director Todd Phillips was inspired by a flight of stairs seen in the Ridley Scott film “American Gangster,” but upon scouting realized that area had since changed and no longer matched the aesthetic they were looking for in this film. Instead, other stairs around The Bronx were scouted and ultimately the right look was found.

Here is another view of the section of stairs he dances on.

Here is a view from the top of the stairs. Normally the stairs are not only heavily used by local residents, but it is also a highly popular tourist destination. We found a few minutes when the stairs were totally empty, but soon after, the place was crowded full of tourists.

The stairs are seen multiple times in the film. This view is seen early on as Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) walks to the top of the steps on his way home. The large, modern building in the background was replaced via visual effects with a an older, urban backdrop for the film.

Arthur’s apartment can be found at the top of the stairs, but it’s not the entrance closest to the top, right beside the market. It is instead the next entrance down, which is very similar looking, leading many to mix the locations up. Perhaps the easiest method to identify the correct, screen used entrance is to look for the two large poles to the left.

LOCATION: 1140 Anderson Ave, The Bronx, NY 10452

Arthur has a face to face encounter with Bruce Wayne at the Wayne Manor, which was filmed at the Webb Institute Livingston Library.

LOCATION: 298 Crescent Beach Rd, Glen Cove, NY 11542 (GPS coordinates: 40°53’00.4″N, 73°38’35.5″W)

The Arkham State Hospital building was filmed in Brooklyn near the intersection of 1st Ave / 58th St. Some visual effects were once again employed to make the building to the left taller and add Arkham State Hospital signage above the arches.

LOCATION: 80 58th St, Brooklyn, NY 11220

The Exorcist (1973)

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One of the most famous filming locations in the United States is the house and stairs from the 1973 William Friedkin film, “The Exorcist.” In the film, Chris MacNeil, played by Ellen Burstyn, lives with her daughter Regan, played by Linda Blair. Located in Georgetown, Washington, DC, the area gets a continuous stream of visitors every day, taking photos and walking the stairs. In reality a yard exists between the house and the stairs, so the filmmakers added a facade left wing onto the property, as well as an extended roof, in order to accommodate the needs of the story to be closer to the stairs. Only the exteriors were filmed here, with the interiors filmed at the former Ceco Studios in New York (460 W 54th St, New York, NY 10019).

LOCATION: 3600 Prospect St NW, Washington, DC 20007

The iconic stairs are located just to the left of the house, at the intersection of 36th St NW / Prospect St NW.

LOCATION: Top of the stairs are at 36th St NW / Prospect St NW, Washington, DC 20007, while the base of the stairs is next to 371 36th St NW, Washington, DC 20007

Here is the top of the stairs where you first approach from the street, which is also seen in the film.

Here is a view of the bottom of the stairs. Quite a lot of pedestrians and fans of the film pass through, so it was a slight challenge getting clean photos with no one in the shots.

Here is a view of the full staircase. The same stairs appear in the film “Ghosted,” where the characters visit specifically because of it’s famous filming location status.

On the wall to the right of the stairs is this plaque, noting the stairs as an historic filming location, commemorated on October 30, 2015.

Related articles: To Live And Die In L.A. (1985)