The New York City Filming Locations of The Warriors – Part 2


This is Part 2 of a then-and-now look at the New York City filming locations of The Warriors. Click here for Part 1!

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Resuming where we left off, the Warriors are on a train heading toward Union Square when a nearby fire forces them out into the the Tremont section of the Bronx on foot. This is definitely somewhere under the J train, most likely near Broadway Junction where the chase scene was filmed, but I wasn’t able to identify it. Any thoughts?

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Meanwhile, we find Luther and the Rogues gang (responsible for murdering Cyrus, then pinning it on the Warriors) cruising around:

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This was shot on First Avenue approaching 1st Street:

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They stop at a soda fountain to make a phone call, located at 17 First Avenue…

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…which is now a locksmith shop:

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Meanwhile, the Warriors continue through Tremont to the next stop. Except, they’re not in the Bronx…

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They’re on 45th Road (just off of 23rd Street) in Long Island City, Queens:

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45th Road, along with the extraordinarily beautiful 45th Ave one block north, are routinely used in movies because they can be easily faked as Any Borough, NYC. Here they’re given a down-and-out look, but they’re typically used as upscale neighborhoods:

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The Warriors run into the Orphans gang, who watch them from all sides:

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Across the street, the stationary store is now a barber shop:

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Just as it seems all will be OK, a woman named Mercy comes out to cause some mischief:

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Mercy convinces the Orphans to deny them passage, but the Warriors continue through anyway. So sad to see that great porch building is gone:

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The Warriors continue down the block and turn a corner…

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…and are magically transported to way way way out in Brooklyn at 62nd Street and 15th Avenue, a block away from the New Utrecht Ave subway station:

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The Orphans arrive, and it looks as though a fight will break out:

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As tensions rise, Mercy heads toward the scene, though she’s technically going in the wrong direction. This shot was filmed on 15th Avenue right around the block, but to find the gangs, she should head in the opposite direction to the corner, then turn left.

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But such is filmmaking, and she winds up at 62nd Street anyway:

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The two gangs square off…

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Then, one of the Warriors throws a Molotov cocktail, allowing them to escape:

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They run just up the block to the New Utrecht Ave subway stop…

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…head through the doors…

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…and the camera rises to catch them as they come out on the platform upstairs:

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This is one of my favorite shots in the film, as the layout of the subway perfectly facilitates this graceful, non-stop motion:

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Meanwhile, Luther and the Rogues stop at a gas station to make another call about the status of the hunt for the Warriors. I did a lot of searching, but wasn’t able to locate this one…Anyone recognize it?

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If it helps, there’s an insanely distinctive building right across the street:

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Back en route to Union Square, The Warriors find the train lingering suspiciously long at 96th Street station and decide to make a run for it.

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At first glance, you’d assume this was shot at the 96th Street and Broadway station, except…

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…why do the walls say Hoyt on them?

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That’s because this was actually filmed on the abandoned platform at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station in Brooklyn:

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Dozens of movies have been shot here, including The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 (remake), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the City Hall subway station), and Michael Jackson’s Bad music video.

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Unfortunately, the police spring on the Warriors, and the gang splits up:

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Four of the Warriors head up to street level…

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…and suddenly, they’re at the 72nd Street 1-2-3 station in Manhattan:

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They go outside…

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…and run into the totally creepy Baseball Furies gang. This was shot on West 72nd Street looking north-east from the station:

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The Warriors head south-west, with the Baseball Furies right on their tail…

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…passing this restaurant on the corner.

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From West 72nd, they then jump again to West 100th Street between Riverside and West End Avenue, heading toward the park:

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A second shot – always great to see how those trees have grown up:

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The Warriors rush into Riverside Park by way of the Firemen’s Memorial, another fantastic use of existing New York statuary:

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Despite the grittiness of New York circa 1979, this graffiti is a little too photogenic to be completely authentic:

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Stone benches have now replaced the old wooden ones:

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The Baseball Furies continue their pursuit:

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The action then moves a few blocks south, as the Warriors enter Riverside Park via the 97th Street ramp:

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Now in the park, they run north along the dirt path that still exists today. Compare the tree on the left for accuracy!

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A fight breaks out in the field just a few blocks north, and the Warriors are victorious:

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But they still have a ways to go to Coney Island…

Click here for Part 3! (and Click here for Part 1!)

-SCOUT


View The Warriors Filming Locations Map in a larger map


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28 Comments

  1. I absolutely adore your site and this series of posts has been particularly wonderful (I can’t wait to see tomorrow’s installment). The Warriors is one of my all-time favorite gritty NYC movies!

    Thanks for doing this.

  2. Take a look at the building at 14th ave and 60 st (also New Utrecht crosses over there. That might the yellow building by the gas station.

  3. I’ve been wondering if/when you’d do a Warriors then-and-now!! One of my all time favorites, and I’m not even from New York (which would probably explain why nobody ever wants to be a Baseball Fury with me for Halloween). Another excellent, gorgeous entry- thanks!

    1. Hi! I never reply to viewers comments, but your Halloween comment cracked me up!

  4. Yours’ has been one of my favorite blogs for years, and maybe it’s my love for ‘The Warriors’, but this is just a spectacular series.

  5. This. Is. Awesome! They way you write is so episodic. It’s great to see how they stitched together all the pieces of the city to make a picture.

    I would TOTALLY be a Baseball Fury for Halloween with you, Maria. They were my favorite (besides The Warriors themselves, of course).

  6. Wish I could help with the unknown El location, best I could do is suggest trying to figure out what engine and ladder companies are visible and maybe that’ll give you a hint as to where the el is…

  7. I can’t help but notice how gritty NY looked in the film. Even more so when compared to today’s photos. Was there really graffiti and such all over the place(like movies depict)? Or did the crew create the graffiti for the film?

    1. There really was graffiti all over the place. They may have created some specifically for the film, but the 1970s in NYC was pretty…atmospheric.

  8. I love comparing the trees then and now! So cool to see how things change and yet stay the same. “The Warriors” is one of my favorite movies. And now, on to part 3…

  9. Some really great shots.
    I published a simular but less extensive guide on my facebook group a few months ago. Im still not 100% convinced on the gas station location but we thought it was the corner of Great Jones st and the Bowery, just off E 3rd st. The lizzies location took a while to find but I got a couple of match ups.
    Take a look and compare notes.
    http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=336396003140263&set=pb.280170265429504.-2207520000.1369764993.&type=3&theater

  10. A very good friend of mine was involved with the production of this film. I was invited to the set one night (the 45th road) to watch filming. I remember filming was stopped as one of the residents of one of the buildings decided to go sit on his stoop during filming! Needless to say, it delayed filming while he was persuaded to go back inside. Something i’m sure you are familiar with!

    Even though I was born and raised in Coney Island, I did not see any of that part of the shoot though I can tell you where the crew ate.

  11. the scene involving the firemen putting out the fire under the elevated tracks was actually shot on 23rd st between 45th rd and 45th ave, right around the corner from the orphans street. there is still an empty lot ther were the fire was close to 45th ave.

  12. i lived in long island city when they shot this film it was really cool watching it being made.

  13. I was terribly astonished by the value of your research. I’d been thinking East Coast locations were over since the 60s, under Hollywoodian dictatorship but this bears witness to the Fordian tradition of moving from the Studios to explore the best places to be used to film one’s own idea. Yours is a hymn to New York which is not the noise of flowing cash.

  14. COOL COOL COOL COOL VERY NICE CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    PLEASE, PART 3!!!
    PLEASE, PART 3!!!

  15. I like how all the streets in the movie are wet like it just finished raining. The roads are even fully wet under the train trestles.

    Yeah, I know its a film photography technique. Every car commercial does. Still…

  16. OK, I’ve spent the last hour or so reading the first 2 parts – where’s part 3? Love the concept and execution, thanks for putting in the excellent work!

  17. I can clearly remember watching the Baseball Furry scene being filmed. We lived on 102nd street and my parents had friends who worked on the movie, David Streit, and John Stark. I was 8 years old. When I saw the movie I remember thinking how much work it took to get that shot and in the movie it lasted only a few seconds.
    I am going to forward this site onto David Streit. Maybe he can help you figure out some of the places you cant ID.

  18. That first one that’s suppose to be Tremont… Looks an awful lot like Myrtle near the Myrtle-Wyckoff stop.

  19. Take a look at 432 Harman St across the street i think thats the yellow building that is now red on the corner of Wyckoff Ave Brooklyn

  20. If I lived in New York I would go to the library and check out a 1979 Yellow Pages on microfiche. The business sign at the gas station/auto repair joint where Luther makes his second call looks pretty legit (not a movie prop). I’ve Googled “Cesar’s Auto Repairs Inc.” in New York and I got some results, but they didn’t match the scene when I checked them out on Street View. None of the above suggested locations seem correct to me either. Maybe someone here has the time to waste checking out those old Yellow Pages? I surely believe that would get us a definitive answer…and if I were there I’d totally make a mission out of it!!!

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