Bonus: Bushwick Hospital, 41 Howard Street
Like 328 Chauncey Street, the writers of The Honeymooners often included real Brooklyn addresses and locations in scripts although all scenes were filmed at the Adelphi Theater in Manhattan. In the episode “Pal O’ Mine,” Ralph is told that Norton was injured in a sewer explosion on Himrod Street and had been taken to Bushwick Hospital, a real infirmary when the episode aired November 19, 1955. Ralph rushes to the hospital and offers to give Norton a blood transfusion, only to find his pal has already been released.
Carney ad-libbed a line at the hospital that is beloved by Honeymooners fans. “For some reason or other it came to me,” Carney explained in The Official Honeymooners Treasury. “What would Norton say, when he was saying goodbye to a doctor, to give the doctor the impression he was in the know? What would he say? Rx! That was a goodbye.”
Bushwick Hospital was built in 1912. Today the building houses the Ella McQueen Residential Center, a New York State juvenile detention center.
Next, check out more NYC history from the author’s books on Manhattan’s Downtown and Uptown ghost signs; the secrets of rock concert venue Fillmore East; and rock n’ roll sites you can visit today.
