A FILM METROPOLIS

Which is the most movie-featured NYC spot? 10 contenders listed

Image: Luca Bravo

The "Big Apple", the "concrete jungle", the "city that never sleeps". Even if you have never set foot in New York City, you are probably more than familiar with all the magic and wonder this city has to offer, thanks to the countless times it has been portrayed in films and TV shows.

We have chosen ten NYC locations that have been heavily featured in several scenes on the big screen. New York City’s personality and charm make it stand out as another character in these films, and we are not sure if these movie moments would be as unforgettable if they hadn’t been filmed in this amazing city.

Image: Serena T

Contrary to popular belief, Tiffany & Co. doesn’t actually serve breakfast. Nevertheless, the company’s NYC flagship store is the place where Audrey Hepburn’s character chooses to have a cup of coffee and a pastry in the opening of "Breakfast at Tiffany's".

Based on the Truman Capote novel of the same name, this 1961 movie has made this store into a pop-culture icon. Tiffany & Co. symbolizes Holly Golightly’s desire for social status, materialized in the breathtaking jewelry that this store sells.

Image: Neil Cooper

We know which movie you are thinking of: It’s impossible to see the Empire State Building without picturing King Kong perched on the top, trying to grab the airplanes aiming at him. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that, in its 92 years of history, this NYC landmark has been featured in over 100 films.

While King Kong is most heavily associated with this majestic skyscraper, the Empire State Building has been featured in other major blockbusters, such as a memorable scene in Superman II in which the "Man of Steel" saves a woman from being crushed by the top of the building.

Image: Tomas Eidsvold

This museum’s architecture has been featured in several movies: The Guggenheim’s unusual shape has allowed its outer facade to appear in the background of many shots, and to inspire memorable action scenes in its interior.

Will Smith’s character in "Men in Black" chases after a speedy alien through the Guggenheim’s spiraling corridors. Moreover, the 2009 film "The International" features a gunfight inside the museum that makes use of its concentric shape. The director of this movie stated that he wanted to film inside the Guggenheim since he considers it to be "the most iconic and interesting piece of architecture that the twentieth century has produced."

Image: Jon Tyson

Did you know that the majestic marble lions that stand at the entrance of the New York Public Library are called "Patience" and "Fortitude"? While you might not know them by name, you are probably familiar with them from many establishing shots in films: After all, this iconic NYC building has appeared in countless pieces of media since it was inaugurated in 1911.

The New York Public Library has been featured in a wide variety of movies, that range from classic films like "Breakfast at Tiffany’s" to apocalyptic blockbusters like "The Day after Tomorrow" or "Beneath the Planet of the Apes."

Image: Simi Iluyomade

If you ever take a Sunday stroll through Washington Square Park, you recognize a particularly famous piece of architecture: the Washington Square Arch. This marble memorial arch, built to commemorate the centennial of Washington’s inauguration as president, has been used as an establishing shot of diverse movies that take place in New York.

Adam Sandler has a moving talk with his best friend’s son in Washington Square Park in the 1999 film "Big Daddy". More recently, it was featured in some adrenaline-fueled action films like "I Am Legend" and "Avengers: Infinity War".

Image: Aditya Vyas

After Ben Stiller starred in the 2006 comedy "Night in the Museum", visitors of the American Museum of Natural History don’t look at the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton the same way: Everyone is half-expectedly waiting for "Rexy" to come alive and turn into a playful prehistoric pet. And while that sadly doesn’t happen, the museum caters to this magical feeling by offering a "Night at the Museum" tour.

Other films that feature the American Museum of Natural History are "The Devil Wears Prada" (on which the ball scene was filmed) and the 2016 action film "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles".

Image: Chenyu Guan

Columbia University has seen several outstanding alumni walk through its corridors, including former presidents Barack Obama and Franklin D. Roosevelt, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, and aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. It has also welcomed many film crews, who have made use of emblematic locations like the Low Memorial Library for their movies.

Columbia University is the place that Peter Parker chose for his studies in 2002 "Spiderman". Not only that, the three original members of the Ghostbusters met while teaching in Columbia, before starting their game-changing paranormal business.

Image: Hannes Richter

The world’s first steel-wire suspension bridge has been the location of several classic scenes throughout the years. This comes as no surprise to anyone who has seen this majestic NYC structure: In its over 140 years of history, the Brooklyn Bridge has become a symbolic and instantly recognizable landmark of the Big Apple.

Some movies, like "Enchanted" or "Kate and Leopold", use the Brooklyn Bridge as the perfect setting for a romantic scene. However, some apocalyptic movies like "Cloverfield", choose to depict the destruction of the bridge as a tragic point of no return.

Image: Jen Dries

Every child raised in the 90s can tell you that they felt an insurmountable amount of envy for Kevin McCallister in the 1992 film "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York". Sure, the character portrayed by Macaulay Culkin was again left behind by his family, but this time he got to live a life of splendor in the luxurious Plaza Hotel.

While "Home Alone 2" definitively marked a generation, it was by no means the first movie to feature the iconic Plaza Hotel: It was featured in the 1959 classic Hitchcock film "North by Northwest". It was also depicted in the 2013 version of "The Great Gatsby", in which Leonardo Di Caprio plays the eccentric millionaire.

Image: Tony Wiek

We end this list with New York City’s most famous landmark. Lady Liberty is featured in everything related to NYC: keychains, T-shirts, and plastic crowns visitors take as souvenirs. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that the Statue of Liberty has appeared in numerous films. Curiously, only a few movies have filmed on Liberty Island, while most have recreated this NYC icon on film sets.

Several action films have used the Statue of Liberty as the place of a final confrontation between the heroes and the villains: For example, the final showdown between the X-men and Magneto in the first "X-Men" movie. Some apocalypse movies have used the destruction of this landmark as a climactic scene, like Charlton Heston's distraught screams in front of the remains of Lady Liberty in the original "Planet of the Apes."

People remember stories

Your knuckles know more than you think: Here’s what they can tell you

You might forget where you left your keys or your glasses, but some things are forever imprinted in your memory one way or another. And for those things you simply can’t seem to remember, some useful mnemonic devices can help you. For example, how can you remember the presidents on our bills? And what about all the spelling rules our language has? Is it "gray" or "grey"? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading and learn a few tricks.

You may handle bills every single day, but can you answer whose face is on each one? You don’t need to remember; this mnemonic device will do it for you: The phrase "When Jeff Left Home, Jack Got Fat" gives you the answer. As you can notice, the first letter of each word stands for the last name of the president or founding father: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Hamilton, Jackson, Grant, and Franklin.

Yes, we keep lots of calendars, but sometimes we have to double-check if a month has 30 or 31 days. Has this happened to you? If it has, next time you’ll want to use your knuckles. The rule is simple: Make two fists and count across your knuckles and the dips between them. Months that land on knuckles have 31 days. The dips are the shorter months, February being the shortest, naturally.

Have you ever had to try a few times before knowing whether you were loosening or tightening that screw? Well, with this rhythmic phrase, you won’t need to do that anymore. If you turn right, you’ll be making it tight. On the other hand, if you turn left, you’ll loosen it.

English spelling keeps everyone on their toes, and certain words have regional rules that make everything worse. Nobody can remember them all, so this device comes in handy. When you don’t know whether it is "gray" or "grey," think of it this way: Gray, with an A as in America. Grey, with an E, as in England.

"Necessary": This is another word with a spelling that can create a few problems. And the mnemonic device for this one is picturing a T-shirt. You know how a T-shirt has one "Collar" (that’s one C) and two Sleeves (that’s two S)? That’s it, spelling solved.

Back in school, memorizing the Great Lakes could feel like a geography pop quiz. Simply the word "HOMES" is a trick that many teachers share with their students. Why HOMES? Because each letter represents a lake: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and of course, Superior.

Just as with any other long list, remembering the order of the planets in our solar system is no piece of cake. But this fun phrase has the answer to your prayers, it’s not bout nachos, but about the names of the planets in order: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

This one sounds like breakfast advice, but it’s actually a compass lesson. The first letters match the four cardinal directions in clockwise order: North, East, South, West. Many kids learned this one in school, and plenty of adults still repeat it quietly when trying to picture a map in their heads.

This may sound silly, but many people struggle to point left; most need more than just a second to figure out which one is actually left. But many have discovered something quite useful: hold up both your hands and use your thumb and index finger to do an "L." Can you see which one forms a clear letter? That’s left, of course.

Is this connected to the Constitution? Yes, it is. Civics teachers sometimes lean on this unusual sentence to remember the seven articles of the US Constitution. Each word stands for one: Legislative, Executive, Judicial, States, Amendment, Supremacy, and Ratification. Now you just have to remember this funny phrase.