5. Roosevelt Island Steam Plant / Seagate Prison

In the fourth episode, we see a flashback to Luke Cage’s earlier life as Carl Lucas – when he goes to Seagate Prison for something he maintains that he did not do. Seagate is where he meets Dr. Reva Connors and Rackham, a correction officer. To protect his friend, another inmate named Squabbles, Lucas agrees to illegal ring fights organized by the correction officers. The scene of the fight takes place inside the Roosevelt Island Steam Plant, a facility built starting in 1932. The large atrium portion the scene is filmed in was built in the 1950s. See photographs of our exploration inside this building here. The Friends of the Roosevelt Island Steam Plant was hoping to turn it into a museum for technology, art and science, but the project did not come to fruition.

Later in the episode, we see how Carl Lucas transforms into Lucas Cage. The doctor at the facility, Dr. Noah Burnstein, has been performing experiments on the inmates. Reeva convinces Burnstein to try to save Lucas, but CO Rackham interferes – causing the experiment to get overloaded. The device explodes and Lucas gains his superpowers.