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Charlie Kaufman
File:Charlie Kaufman 2.jpg — KoljaHub · CC BY-SA 3.0

Producer · Writer/Creator · Director · 1958–

Charlie Kaufmanthe real places of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Charlie Kaufman is an American filmmaker and novelist. Follow Charlie Kaufman through Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, with the real places on one map.

  • 8Real places
  • 1World
  • 4Cities and regions
See the mapTheir WorldsAll people

Where it is now

8 placesyou can still find.

Numbered pins follow the story. A dashed ring is an approximate area, not an exact spot.

  1. A covered railway platform with a red station sign under a bright blue sky

    Montauk and the East End

    Montauk station

    Edgemere Street and Fort Pond Road, Montauk

    Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

    Montauk station is one of the film’s settings: the platform where Joel and Clementine meet again after their memories are erased.

    An open platform at the end of the Long Island Rail Road’s Montauk Branch. The old station house beside it is the Depot Art Gallery.

    Building

    Photo: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0

  2. An empty sandy beach with footprints, waves on the left and wooden steps down a dune

    Montauk and the East End

    Kirk Park Beach

    Kirk Park, Montauk Highway, Montauk

    Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

    Jim Carrey sat on a flight of wooden steps at Kirk Park Beach for the film. By 2017 the steps had all but disappeared.

    A public ocean beach on the western edge of Montauk village. The film’s steps have gone; the sand and the view have not.

    Site

    Photo: Giorgio Galeotti, CC BY-SA 4.0

  3. A white gazebo on a green lawn with a tall brick tower behind it

    Montauk and the East End

    The Plaza Restaurant

    752 Montauk Highway, Montauk

    Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

    Joel first sees Clementine, blue hair and all, in this small diner in one of the opening scenes. They do not speak until the train home.

    The building is on Montauk Highway at the Plaza, the green in the middle of the village. The diner has gone; look from the street.

    Building

    Photo: Jim.henderson at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0

  4. Westchester

    Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park

    Taconic State Parkway, Yorktown

    Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

    The frozen Charles River was filmed here, in Westchester County, not in Boston.

    A state park off the Taconic State Parkway in Yorktown, with Mohansic Lake in the middle. Look at the ice from the shore and stay off it.

    Site

  5. A long railway platform with a yellow edge beside four tracks

    Westchester

    Mount Vernon East station

    Elm Avenue and 1st Street, Mount Vernon

    Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

    Joel skips work here and crosses to the train for Montauk. The story puts the platform at Rockville Centre on Long Island; it was filmed at Mount Vernon East.

    A working Metro-North station on the New Haven Line, on the line from Grand Central. Entrances on Elm Avenue and off 1st Street.

    Building

    Photo: DanTD, CC BY-SA 3.0

  6. A red-brick former school on a sunny street corner

    Westchester

    Saratoga Avenue

    208 Saratoga Avenue at Caryl Avenue, Yonkers

    Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

    Joel follows Clementine past the market at 208 Saratoga Avenue. Each time he reaches the end of the building he is back where he began, and the shop signs go blank as the memory goes.

    Residential streets in Lowerre, south-west Yonkers. Walk Saratoga Avenue up from Caryl Avenue; be quiet, people live here.

    Site

    Photo: Jim.henderson, CC0

  7. New York City

    1958 · New York City

    New York City

    New York City

    Charlie Kaufman was born in New York City. The pin marks the wider area, not a home or address.

    Approximate area

    Photo: Fred Hsu on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

  8. New York University Tisch School of the Arts

    New York University Tisch School of the Arts

    New York University Tisch School of the Arts

    New York University Tisch School of the Arts

    Charlie Kaufman studied at New York University Tisch School of the Arts, according to the biographical record.

    Site

    Photo: atp_tyreseus, CC BY 2.0

Their Worlds

Walk into the filmseach in its own world.

  • Kate Winslet with short blonde hair, looking down and to one side

    2004 · Writer

    Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

    Lacuna: erase Joel’s memories newest first and watch each real place fade to its address, hide one in childhood, then meet in Montauk.

    13 places in the World · 6 on this page

    Enter the World

The story

2 chaptersand the places they happened.

  1. 1958

    Where it began

    Charlie Kaufman was born in New York City. The pin marks the wider area, not a home or address.

    Charlie Kaufman studied at New York University Tisch School of the Arts, according to the biographical record.

    Sources for this chapter (1)

  2. 2004

    Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

    Charlie Kaufman wrote for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).

    The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind World maps 6 of its real places, from Montauk station to Saratoga Avenue.

    2004 · WorldEternal Sunshine of the Spotless MindWriter · Montauk and the East End
    Sources for this chapter (4)

On screen and on record

The workwith the Worlds marked.

  1. 2004Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless MindWriterWorld

Keep exploring

People and citieson the same map.

Sources for this page (11)
How the Worlds are linked (1)
  • Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Registered World eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind; its research (lacuna-live.ts) names Charlie Kaufman. Linked by an exact Wikidata credit.
Photo credits (8)
  • A covered railway platform with a red station sign under a bright blue sky: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0 (from the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind World), 2013-06-17. Resized.
  • An empty sandy beach with footprints, waves on the left and wooden steps down a dune: Giorgio Galeotti, CC BY-SA 4.0 (from the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind World), 2023-10-02. Resized.
  • A white gazebo on a green lawn with a tall brick tower behind it: Jim.henderson at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 (from the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind World), 2007. Resized.
  • A long railway platform with a yellow edge beside four tracks: DanTD, CC BY-SA 3.0 (from the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind World), 2011-04-21. Resized.
  • A red-brick former school on a sunny street corner: Jim.henderson, CC0 (from the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind World), 2011-06-02. Resized.
  • New York City: Fred Hsu on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, Taken on 2. Resized.
  • New York University Tisch School of the Arts: atp_tyreseus, CC BY 2.0, 12 May 200. Resized.
  • Kate Winslet with short blonde hair, looking down and to one side: GabboT, CC BY-SA 2.0 (from the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind World). Resized.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Places are shown at the precision their sources support; filming locations are where the camera really was, not where the story says it is. Checked 28 October 2026.

Places to stay

Stay where Charlie Kaufman wasa night near their places.

What’s on

On near their places

  • 28 Oct · 19:00 · Arts & culture

    A Ghost in Your Ear

    Audible's Minetta Lane Theatre · 650 m from New York University Tisch School of the Arts

  • 28 Oct · 14:00 · Arts & culture

    Midnight

    Daryl Roth Theatre · 750 m from New York University Tisch School of the Arts

  • 28 Oct · 18:00 · Live music

    Francisco "Pancho" Cespedes Live in concert

    S.O.B.'s · 950 m from New York University Tisch School of the Arts

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