New York, You've Changed: <em>Taxi Driver</em> (Part 1)

Finding the locations used inturned out to be incredibly difficult; the film documents a city that has since been demolished, rebuilt, spit-shined, and stamped with a seal of approval.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

"New York, You've Changed" is a new Scouting NY site feature in
which the New York depicted in movies is compared with the city of
today. This is not the usual list of shooting locations and addresses
to visit next time you tour the city. Instead, this is a full
shot-by-shot dissection to see what New York once was and what it has
become, for better or worse. I've tried to recreate the angles and
framing as best as possible, and have presented the shots (more or
less) in the order they appear in the film.

If locations were billed alongside actors, Robert DeNiro would share co-starring credits on Taxi Driver with New York City.

The character of Travis Bickle is utterly co-dependent with the New
York of 1976, a spawn of all that New York had become at the time.
Without the tough, dangerous, smut-filled, immoral, seedy, dank,
sweaty, filthy, gritty streets of that world, Bickle could not exist.

That world has vanished. Travis Bickle is dead.

Finding the locations used in Taxi Driver turned out to be
incredibly difficult, largely because the film documents a side of the
city that has since been demolished, rebuilt, renovated, spit-shined,
and stamped with a seal of approval. Literally, entire blocks that
appear in the movie have been leveled since 1976, and only the brief
appearance of a building number or street sign gives any clue to the
actual location.

The movie begins with a blurry, surreal trip through Times Square
and the surrounding blocks. Though the footage is too distorted to be
sure of any locations, I'd love to know where that Modell's is (6th
Ave?).

The film opens with Travis Bickle heading to a cabstand on 57th Street to get a job.

In the background of the first shot, the now defunct West Side Elevated Highwayis visible. The elevated highway was shutdown in 1973 due to neglectand deterioration (a dump truck collapsing through a portion near 14thStreet sealed its fate). The highway was later dismantled and replacedby the mostly ground-level West Side Highway (though some of the oldelevated portions remain north of 57th St). The building on the riveris gone - anyone know what it is (maybe an old marine terminal)? Notethe view of New Jersey in the background; many of those same houses andbuildings still exist.

The building on the left in this next still has been torn down; a glass-and-steel highrise is currently going up in its place.

Sadly, thecab stand and surrounding buildings have all been demolished - I'mguessing another glass-and-steel apartment building will also be goingup on this spot soon.

Before we continue, a quick look around 57th Street to see what still remains from the Taxi Driver days:

This building on the corner is one of the few remaining structures that was around in 1976. Founded in 1897, Artkraft Strauss wasa sign manufacturer famous for creating Times Square's most iconic neondisplays, including the smoking camel, the Bond sign, and the MorganStanley ticker. Artkraft Strauss was also responsible for creating andmaintaining the National Debt Clock on 34th Street.

In 2006, Artkraft Strauss closed its manufacturing arm to focus on consulting.

I'm willing to bet this garage sign has been around since '76.

Finally, I'mnot 100% sure about Jamie's Foreign Car Service, but that font seemspretty dated...and when was the last time you saw a sign in Manhattanadvertising repair work on "Japanese Cars"?

Back to thefilm. Now equipped with a cab, Travis begins making the rounds (heseems to prefer the Times Square beat). For a brief moment, you get aglimpse out the rear window of the cab:

Bond Clothing, on the right in the Taxi Driver still,was once one of the most memorable buildings in Times Square. Famousfor advertising "two-trouser suits," the original building featured two50-foot statues of a man and a woman...

...and a50,000 gallon "waterfall" sign behind the main logo, spanning 120 feetat over 27 feet high. Note the sign declaring that "every hour, 3,490people buy at Bond" (very exact!). Sadly, the Bond store went throughmany renovations, and closed their Times Square location in 1977 (ayear after the filming of Taxi Driver). A new restaurant using the Bond name has opened on 45th Street.

As Travis isdriving along, you get a few very quick glimpses at some long goneTimes Square establishments. This eatery (location unknown), offers 2eggs and extras for the bargain price of 90 cents.

A small market (location also unknown) offers cigarettes for 45-50 cents.

Next, we get the iconic shot of Travis walking down 8th Ave south of 47th Street to go to a porno movie.

Yup, a DuaneReader on the corner, a Hilton across the street, and the porn theateris now a Gray Line bus company ticket center (I have to admit, there issomething satisfying about the thought of tourists buying NYsightseeing tickets there, totally clueless to the building'squestionable past). Marquee comparisons:

Travis goesthe Show & Tell theater at 737 8th Ave between 46th & 47th(DeNiro met his first wife, actress Dihanne Abbot, during the interiorfilming - she played the porno theater's concession stand girl). Thereare two possibilities for the current 737 8th Ave, and neither are veryrewarding:

A vacant lot midway up the block...

...or astrip of shuttered former porn video stores on the south corner. Eitherway, the Show & Tell is gone (though wouldn't this be the perfectplace for another glass-and-steel apartment building??).

After, weget a couple of totally random shots of New York, including this one on7th Ave at 33rd Street, with the Empire State building in thebackground.

Coney IslandPizza on the left is now a Sbarro's. The restaurant on the right islong gone. The building midway down the block is now the Old Navyflagship store. I miss NY's old yellow street signs. But at least wehave a new JC Penney's!

The moviethen takes us uptown to the Charles Palantine campaign headquarters atthe corner of 63rd St & Broadway, where Travis meets love interestBetsy. The building is completely gone, replaced by an ugly apartmenthighrise:

Oddly, the "Locations Then-And-Now" featurette on the Taxi Driver SpecialEdition DVD incorrectly identifies this building at 62nd & Broadwayas the campaign office, which I originally posted about:

Luckily, alert SNY reader David pointed out the mistake. Last time I'll trust a DVD featurette...

Today, the doors that once brought you into Palantine's campaign office now take you into a Bank of America.

The stoop Travis sits on is gone (oops - according to alert reader Alex, that's actually Scorsese and not DeNiro):

Betsy exiting the building:

After Travisgets Betsy to agree to a coffee date, he's back on his beat in TimesSquare. Here, we get a POV shot as Travis pulls over on the west sideof 7th Ave btw. 42nd & 43rd streets. Things have changed a bit:

The theater playing Anita Nymphet is the old Rialto Theater,sadly torn down in 1998 to make way for the glass-and-steel Reutersbuilding - check out an interesting comparison between buildings here. Playland is gone, of course.

And, on thecorner, you get a look at former New York City-based fast food chainNedicks, once famous for its orange drinks. The big arrow points to aKentucky Fried Chicken, now gone (you can see part of the white sign).

Depressed?Don't be - it only gets worse! Check out Part 2, coming Wednesday! And,if you've made it this far, think about subscribing to our RSS feed or Twitter account (if you're not already) for future updates!

-SCOUT

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot