On screen
Backstage corridors and Riggan’s dressing room.
Made · switch on the seams to see where
One take, they say · 2014 · seven places
Birdman
The film is presented as one continuous take. It was made in pieces, from sets built in Queens to a Midtown street under smoke.
Sources
The take
Where the cuts hide
Seven stops run together as one strip, the way the film plays. Pick a stop to see what is on screen, then switch on the seams to see where it was made.
Sources
1 set built in Queens · 6 on Manhattan streets
Seams off. Stop 1 of 7: Kaufman Astoria Studios.
The street
Smoke over 43rd Street
DNAinfo reported on 31 May 2013 that the city had announced filming on the block that weekend, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., with smoke billowing over the street to mimic an explosion’s aftermath.
The report said police officers and firefighters would be on scene throughout. Untapped Cities puts the street scenes on 43rd Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues: Riggan wakes on a stoop and his Birdman persona follows him.
movie-locations.com says Riggan, as Birdman, levitates to the school’s rooftop and then swoops off along West 43rd Street. Untapped Cities calls the red-brick building De La Salle Academy, the former Holy Cross School, and places Riggan’s rooftop leap above it.
The photographer’s description on Commons says the Holy Cross School was built in 1887 in the Romanesque Revival style, to a design by Lawrence J. O’Connor.
A school building on West 43rd Street, seen from the pavement. It is an active school, so look from the street only.
Sources
Curtain
Walk the seams
The St. James, the Helen Hayes, the Hotel Edison, Times Square and the school on West 43rd Street are all outside and within a short walk. Kaufman Astoria and Sony are working studios behind gates. West 43rd Street is named by its block and not pinned.
Sources
Where it is now
7 places you can see, in Manhattan, Queens and Culver City, plus one street named by its block.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
Building reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working Broadway theatre between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. The front is on West 44th Street; inside only with a ticket.
Building reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. The hotel stands on West 47th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue. Whether the bar is open was not checked; ask at the front desk.
Building reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A school building on West 43rd Street, seen from the pavement. It is an active school, so look from the street only.
Building reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working theatre next to the St. James, on West 44th Street. Look at the front from the pavement.
Area reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Open at all hours as a public plaza, and crowded. The film’s run was shot after midnight.
The St. James Theatre on West 44th Street, May 2007, with the Helen Hayes Theatre at left. Andreas Praefcke · CC BY 3.0 Theater District and Hell’s Kitchen · 246 West 44th Street, Theater District
St. James Theatre
The St. James Theatre is at 246 West 44th Street in the Theater District, near Times Square.
A working Broadway theatre between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. The front is on West 44th Street; inside only with a ticket.
Sources
The entrance to the Hotel Edison on West 47th Street, May 2026. ajay_suresh · CC BY 4.0 Theater District and Hell’s Kitchen · 228 West 47th Street, Theater District
The Rum House, Hotel Edison
Wikipedia’s film page lists the Rum House on 47th Street for the bar scenes.
The hotel stands on West 47th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue. Whether the bar is open was not checked; ask at the front desk.
Sources
The Holy Cross School, 332 West 43rd Street, December 2010. Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0 Theater District and Hell’s Kitchen · 332 West 43rd Street, Hell’s Kitchen
Holy Cross School
The photographer’s description on Commons says the Holy Cross School was built in 1887 in the Romanesque Revival style, to a design by Lawrence J. O’Connor.
A school building on West 43rd Street, seen from the pavement. It is an active school, so look from the street only.
Sources
The Helen Hayes Theatre, 240 West 44th Street, May 2007. Andreas Praefcke · CC BY 3.0 Theater District and Hell’s Kitchen · 240 West 44th Street, Theater District
Helen Hayes Theatre
Untapped Cities says Riggan’s flying shots pass the Helen Hayes Theater on 44th Street.
A working theatre next to the St. James, on West 44th Street. Look at the front from the pavement.
Sources
Times Square at night, April 2013, weeks before the Birdman shoot. chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0 Theater District and Hell’s Kitchen · Broadway and Seventh Avenue, between 42nd and 47th Streets
Times Square
Wikipedia says the Times Square sequence was shot only twice, because the crew did not want to attract the attention of tourists.
Open at all hours as a public plaza, and crowded. The film’s run was shot after midnight.
Sources
Stay
A room in the middle of it.
A Midtown hotel a short walk from the theatres and Times Square.
ROW NYC
ROW NYC
Eighth Avenue, Manhattan
A hotel at 700 8th Avenue that its own site places about a minute from Times Square and five minutes from the Theater District. Pictured: Times Square at night, 2013.
Check roomsGo there
Walk the cluster.
Marketplace results for Theater District walks and film location tours.
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Broadway and Theater District tours
Theater District, Manhattan
Live marketplace results for walks of the Theater District, where the St. James and Helen Hayes stand on West 44th Street. Check each route.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
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New York film location tours
Midtown and Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan
Live marketplace results for movie and TV location tours in Manhattan. Check which routes pass Midtown and Hell’s Kitchen.
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No current dated events are listed. Check providers for the latest programme.
Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.
The archive
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
8 of 8 places · 8 of 8 stories
Kaufman Astoria Studios
34-12 36th Street, Astoria, Queens
The corridors
The backstage dressing rooms and corridors are sets built in Queens.
St. James Theatre
246 West 44th Street, Theater District
The stage
The stage, lobby and exterior on screen are the real St. James Theatre.
The Rum House, Hotel Edison
228 West 47th Street, Theater District
The bar
Riggan meets the critic at the Rum House, about three blocks from the theatre.
West 43rd Street, Eighth to Ninth Avenue
West 43rd Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, Hell’s Kitchen
The stoop
Riggan wakes on a stoop on West 43rd Street; the city announced smoke over the block.
Holy Cross School
332 West 43rd Street, Hell’s Kitchen
The rooftop
Birdman levitates to the school rooftop and swoops off along West 43rd Street.
Helen Hayes Theatre
240 West 44th Street, Theater District
The flight
The flying shots pass the Helen Hayes Theatre on West 44th Street.
Times Square
Broadway and Seventh Avenue, between 42nd and 47th Streets
The run
Riggan runs through Times Square after midnight, among real pedestrians.
Sony Pictures Studios
Culver City, Los Angeles County
The taped stage
A canvas-walled stage with tape markings tests the single-take idea in Los Angeles.
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