When I was a young aspiring actor growing up in New York City, I was obsessed with the Broadway show “West Side Story”. I desperately wanted to play the role of “Tony” or “Bernardo” on stage. Unfortunately, that dream never happened. However, my love for the musical and the original 1961 feature film has only grown throughout the years. Yes, I even enjoyed the recent Steven Spielberg film adaptation that came out in 2021. So when I got the opportunity to interview legendary movie star George Chakiris - who won the Academy Award for playing “Bernardo” in the feature film “West Side Story” - I couldn’t contain my excitement!
During our fascinating one-hour conversation (Episodes 55 & 56), we spoke about several aspects of filming the original "West Side Story" including the fact that even though the story takes place in New York City the only footage filmed there - aside from the overhead opening shots of several of the city’s landmarks including Lower Manhattan, Battery Park, the Empire State Building, the original Yankee Stadium, the George Washington Bridge, the Triborough Bridge, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Pier 86, Rockefeller Center, the Stuyvesant Town projects, Central Park North, Columbia University, and the U.N. Building - was the opening prologue number where we see Riff and The Jets and Bernardo and The Sharks dancing in the city streets taunting each other.
The prologue scenes of “West Side Story" (1961) were filmed in two locations one on the west side and the other on the east side that were then edited together to make it seem as if they were both in the same neighborhood.
The first location (contrary to popular belief) was not filmed where Lincoln Center is now (which is between West 62nd and 66th streets). Rather, it was filmed on West 68th Street and Amsterdam Ave in what is now an area called Lincoln Center Towers—a group of large residential towers—which is north and west of Lincoln Center, stretching between 66th and 69th Streets. The street scenes were filmed on West 68th Street to be more specific. That area at the time was condemned and the neighborhood was in the process of being razed to make way for the new towers. As a matter of fact, the demolition of the neighborhood was delayed so that the filming of these sequences could be completed. The street itself, West 68th between West End Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue, no longer exist.
However, the second location, the school playground located on East 110th Street between 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue - is still there! It is located in what is now known as Spanish Harlem on the East Side! George confirmed this for me during our conversation. So when I went to visit my mother in New York this past September I made it a priority to see the only remaining location in NYC where they shot one of my favorite movie musicals!
As I got close to the site, the street sign changed to say “Tito Puente Way” and there was a graffiti tribute mural of Tito Puente (El Rey De Los Timbales) and his iconic hit, “Oye Como Va” on the corner of 3rd ave and 110th street welcoming me to the heart of Spanish Harlem aka “El Barrio”. How apropos! And even though the area has changed throughout the decades and the school that directly backs the playground has been remodeled and modernized you can still recognize the block from the remaining tenements overlooking the playground!
So much so that while I was there I was humming the Jets song to myself and visualized the talented Russ Tamblin and George Chakiris along with the other amazing dancers that played the Jets and Sharks gang members in the film dancing down the street - showcasing Jerome Robbins’ timeless choreography - into the school playground singing.....
“Here come the Jets, yeah”
“And we're gonna beat every last buggin' gang on”
“The whole buggin' street on the whole buggin' ever lovin' street”
“Yeah”
In case you were wondering the rest of the 1961 movie was filmed on soundstages at the Samuel Goldwyn Studios (now known as “The Lot”) at 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood.
Above are some photos I took of the playground on 110th Street as it looks today alongside screen shots of what it looked like on-screen in the 1961 film for you to compare.
Here's a photo of the night I met the incredible George Chakiris at his book sign event at the Chinese Theater.
And here's a photo of the hand and footprints of Rita Moreno ("Anita"), Russ Tamblyn ("Riff") and George Chakiris ("Bernardo") that are located in the forecourt of the Chinese Theater on Hollywood Blvd.
So if you are as obsessed with the Robert Wise 1961 Oscar-winning film “West Side Story" as I am, you now know where to go to see the last remaining location in NYC where one of the greatest musical films of all time was filmed!
