On July 5th, 1989 NBC debuted a new pilot called The Seinfeld Chronicles. It starred NYC comedian Jerry Seinfeld and focused on his stand up and those everyday conversations and situations that make up modern life. 25 years later, the show that became known across the world as Seinfeld did more than net NBC an incredible amount of money, it helped change television forever. Known as “The Show About Nothing,”Seinfeld was anything but: it was about love, friendship, family, work, all the things that most New Yorker’s could live without most of the time.
While the interiors were shot mostly in California, Seinfeld is still the quintessential NYC show and used stock footage of NYC for exterior locations. The topics of conversations and the situations these four self-absorbed, needy and iconic characters go through are timeless. In celebration of the show’s 25th anniversary, we present ten of our favorite locations and moments of Seinfeld.
10. Tom’s Restaurant
The red neon sign is known to anyone who has ever watched an episode of Seinfeld. While the interiors of the so called “Monk’s Cafe” were filmed on a soundstage in California, the exterior is located Morningside Heights. Tom’s Restaurant is still open, probably on account of its fame and because it’s where Columbia students come in to gorge themselves on eggs and hash browns in the mornings before tests, “or milkshake and gravy fries at 3am in the morning on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night.”