Season 1

1. Crime Alley aka Cortlandt Alley

Photo: Jessica Miglio/FOX

OK! Stop us if you haven’t heard this before. After a night out at the theater, Thomas and Martha Wayne, along with their young son Bruce are trying to find a cab home. Thomas Wayne decides that the richest family in crime riddled Gotham City should take a shortcut through a dark alley. Halfway through the alley, a mugger pulls out a gun and demands the family’s money and valuables. The couple oblige, however Thomas’s wallet and Martha’s pearl necklace is not enough. Unless you are a complete Bat-novice, you know what happens to Bruce Wayne’s parents.

We are not psychologists, but we have a strong feeling that Bruce is not going to take the whole “dead parents” thing well. That walk into the alley is where Bruce Wayne died. Not literally, as the mugger leaves Bruce alive, but with his innoence and childhood destroyed; Bruce spends the rest of his life redeeming the guilt of his parents loss by becoming The Caped Crusader.

In Batman lore, the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne is a significant part of history in Gotham City. The alleyway where they met their untimely demise is forever known as crime alley. A symbol of hopelessness for the people of Gotham City. Who could truly be safe from the crime of Gotham if the richest and most powerful people in Gotham could be killed in cold blood.

To see where the death of the Wayne’s and the birth of the World’s Greatest Detective, head to 23 Cortlandt Alley in Chinatown, one of the city’s most popular film locations.

2. 72 Pearl Street

Detective Jim Gordon tells young Bruce Wayne that he will find the man who killed his parents. The investigation leads him and his corrupt partner Detective Harvey Bullock to the home of Mario Pepper. Pepper, who lives with his wife and daughter (who happens to really be into plants wink, wink) is suspected as being the man who murdered the Waynes. Believing he is being set up to take the fall, Pepper hightails it, leaving Gordon to chase him down on the rooftop of his building into the streets, where he is shot dead by Bullock, before he can cause permanent damage to Gordon.

For those who take the B,D,Q or N trains into Manhattan or Brooklyn everyday, this rooftop will look quite familiar. The rooftop on 72 Pearl Street in DUMBO features some distinct street art and graffiti. We noticed the rooftop before noticing the bridge itself, which has one of the city’s monumental arches. Chinatown, in general, serves as a major backdrop to Gotham.