The film your uncle will not shut up about every time it is on TV, The Godfather is one of the premier films set in NYC. Besides being nominated for 11 Academy Awards in 1973 and inspiring many filmmakers since its release, the film is known for helping launch the career of Al Pacino, one of NYC’s greatest living actors. In honor of the Academy Awards celebration this Sunday, we look back to one of the most beloved films of all time, by listing locations in NYC used in Francis Ford Coppola’s mafia classic.
1. The Corleone Family Home
The film opens on the wedding of Don Corleone’s only daughter Connie. The wedding brings out gangsters, family members and even policemen, who are outside the ceremony writing down license plate numbers of suspected gangsters. The home on 110 Longfellow Avenue in Staten Island belonged to the same family for over 50 years. The house, including the lawn where the celebration took place went up for sale in 2010 for $2.9 million. No word on if someone has purchased the house, or if there will be any more fantastic mafia weddings since the story broke in 2010.
2. Genco Pura Oil & Gas
The Genco Pura Oil and Gas Company was used as a front by the Corleone crime family in The Godfather. Don Corleone named his company Genco after his childhood friend and right hand man Genco Abbandando, who passes away the day after Connie’s wedding. The building used to be owned by the Meitz & Weiss Oil Engine Company in what was once a part of Little Italy, but today it is seen filled with Chinese markets as part of Chinatown.
3. Hotel Edison
Before Luca Brasi “sleeps with the fishes,” Don Corleone sends him out on a mission to meet with Virgil “The Tusk” Sollozzo. The Don wants a pledge of loyalty from Sollozzo and the promise that he will not bring drugs into the organization. Things do not work out to well for Brasi, but before his fated confrontation with Virgil, he walks through the rear entrance of the hotel on West 46th Street between 7th and 8th avenues.
4. The House of Peter Clemenza
One of the most loyal members of the Corleone crime family, Peter Clemenza is in charge of the family operations in The Bronx. He teaches Michael how to use a gun, eliminates enemies and proves to be a man who keeps his ear on the street so the family is never without good intelligence. While he may rule the Bronx, his home is actually in Brooklyn. Located on 1999 East 5th Street by Ocean Parkway, the house looks practically the same as it did in 1973.
5. Dempsey’s Broadway Restaurant
Photo via Wikimedia Commons by Maico23
After saving his father from another assassination attempt, Michael decides he is going to go against his father’s wishes, and take care of Sallozzo and the corrupt police captain Mark McCluskey. He arranges a meeting under the pretense of ending the dispute between their two families. The mobster and the police captain pick up Michael at 1619 Broadway, the location of the former restaurant owned by the former World Heavyweight Champion. Today, 1619 is vacant.
6. Louie’s Restaurant
The plan to whack Sallozzo and McCluskey worked to perfection. The three of them end up going precisely where Michael expected them to. Before their meal, Micheal excuses himself to the bathroom, where a handgun is waiting for him behind the toilet. When Micheal returns from the lavatory, he shoots both Sallozzo and McCluskey and flees to Sicily to avoid retribution. The restaurant, later a fabric store, can be found on 3531 White Plains Road in the Bronx nearly abandoned.
7. E. 118th Street & Pleasant Avenue
Don Corleone and Michael are not the only ones dealing with enemies to the family. Connie’s marriage to Carlo is not going well at all. When Michael’s brother Sonny gets word of Carlo beating Connie, he heads over to 118th street east of Pleasant Avenue. Sonny brutally pummels Carlo for hurting his sister in front of a group of children, leaving Carlo unconscious by an open water hydrant.
8. Calvary Cemetery
After surviving two attempts on his life, Don Corleone finally kicks the bucket due to a heart attack. The funeral is held at the Cavalry Cemetery in Queens. At the funeral, Michael learns who is the traitor in the family and sets in motion what will become one of the most famous sequences in the history of film. To learn more about the cemetery, read about our visit to the large and scenic cemetery.
9. New York Supreme Court Building
The New York Supreme Court is notable for its hexagonal shaped structure. It was built in 1919 by architect by Guy Lowell, who beat out other reputable architects for the assignment, and it opened in 1927. The location plays a crucial role in The Godfather, for it is the first location used in the famous massacre scene that Michael set up to take care of all his father’s enemies. The family’s main antagonist Emilio “The Wolf” Barzini and an associate exit the Supreme Court building and are both shot dead by a disguised police officer. To know more about this historic building, read our Inside The New York Supreme Courthouse article.
10. Old Saint Patrick’s
The baptism of Michael’s nephew, which happens during the massacre of his father’s enemies, takes place at the Old St. Patrick cathedral on Mulberry Street between Prince and Houston. The church was Manhattan’s only basilica until 2010. For more information on the church, read our Crypts of Little Italy post.
Only one time he will let you ask him about his affairs, contact the author at @TatteredFedora. Read more about Gang History in Hell’s Kitchen and Notorious NYC Crime Scenes, Part 1 and Part 2.