6. Park Slope
The iconic Park Slope neighborhood may top the list for the neighborhood with the most amount of films shot in the borough. As Donohue writes, “Park Slope was considered fancy and chic in the mid-twentieth century and later started falling into decay with the ‘white flight’ of the 1960s and the politics of urban planning in New York City until the 1980s.” Now home to quite a few famous actors including Patrick Stewart and Steve Buscemi, the neighborhood’s scenic streets, historic homes and buildings, and proximity to Prospect Park have all been showcased dozens of times in films old and new. Donohue’s guide lists 28 famous films with scenes taking place in Park Slope at sites like the Park Slope Armory, Community Bookstores, Prospect Park West, and brownstones off 7th and 8th Avenues.
Filmed in Brooklyn Walking Tour
Almost a dozen films have included the Montauk Club, the only social club still standing in Brooklyn. The 1899 building appears in The Chaperone (2018), The Associate, Rounders, City Hall and Definitely, Maybe. A number of other historic buildings were selected as lavish and ornate properties for films, such as the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture building at 53 Prospect Park West. In The Royal Tenenbaums, Henry Sherman, played by Danny Glover, lives in the building, and it is also where Royal (Gene Hackman) asks to divorce his wife Ethel (Anjelica Huston). The Grand Prospect Hall, which dates back to 1892, features in the 1984 film The Cotton Club, a Francis Ford Coppola film about the title Harlem jazz club. Both John Wick and The Departed feature the nearby St. Francis Rectory, which was built in 1904.