The Rittenhouse
The Rittenhouse
Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia
A hotel at 210 West Rittenhouse Square, a short walk from the Racquet Club and from City Hall and the BNY Mellon Center. Pictured: the Racquet Club on 16th Street, 2010.
Check rooms
Jonathan Demme · TriStar · 1993
Philadelphia
In January 1993 a crew spent two nights in the main room of Penn’s Furness library and lit it with their own generators. The scene needed any law library. This was the one they picked.
Sources
Generators
Switch the room on
The shoot brought its own power. Throw the switches in turn: each lights the room, and with it part of the record of those two nights.
Both generators are off. The room is dark.
Nothing to read yet. The library’s own lights were relatively weak, so the crew brought two generators.
Sources
Any law library
Who played the firm, the court and the club
The film’s settings were made-up; the buildings are real and are still there. Pick a scene to see which one stood in.
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The law firm · 1735 Market Street, Center City
BNY Mellon Center
Visit Philadelphia places the fictional firm in this tower, and Wikipedia says its lobby is in the film.
- Visit Philadelphia says the building housing the film’s law firm is the BNY Mellon Center.
- Wikipedia says the tower’s lobby appears in the film.
- Wikipedia gives the tower as completed in 1990, 792 ft to its structural top.
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Closing time
Go and find the rooms
City Hall and the BNY Mellon Center are seen from the street in Center City. The Racquet Club is private and is named, not pinned. The library’s reading room is a free gallery. The deli is a working corner shop, sold in 2024. The Spectrum was demolished and is not pinned.
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Where it is now
4 places you can see in Philadelphia, plus a private club and a demolished arena named by their streets.
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 city building at Broad and Market. Walk through the courtyard arches; the tower and courtrooms are for tours and business.
Building reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. An office tower with its entrance on Market Street. View it from the street; the offices are not open to visitors.
The courtyard of Philadelphia City Hall, 2013. Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0 Center City · 1 Penn Square, Center City
Philadelphia City Hall
Visit Philadelphia says the film’s courtroom scenes were filmed at City Hall.
A working city building at Broad and Market. Walk through the courtyard arches; the tower and courtrooms are for tours and business.
Sources
BNY Mellon Center on Market Street, October 2025. Wobbanight · CC0 Center City · 1735 Market Street, Center City
BNY Mellon Center
Visit Philadelphia says the building housing the film’s law firm is the BNY Mellon Center.
An office tower with its entrance on Market Street. View it from the street; the offices are not open to visitors.
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Stay
A room by the square.
A hotel a short walk from City Hall and the tower.
Go there
See it for yourself.
A free gallery in the library building, and walks and film tours of the city.
Arthur Ross Gallery
Arthur Ross Gallery
University City, Philadelphia
The gallery in the Furness building at 220 South 34th Street is free to enter. Its page gives 11 am to 6 pm Monday to Thursday and noon to 5 pm Friday to Sunday; check for holiday closures.
See opening hours
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Philadelphia movie location tours
Center City, Philadelphia
Live marketplace results for Philadelphia film and TV location tours. Check which pass City Hall and Center City.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare tours
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Philadelphia food walking tours
Queen Village, Philadelphia
Live marketplace results for food walks in South Philadelphia, near the corner deli at 4th and Bainbridge. Check each route.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursWhat’s on
No dates yet.
Nothing dated for the film is listed at these places now.
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.
Sources
6 of 6 places · 8 of 8 stories
Philadelphia City Hall
1 Penn Square, Center City
The courtroom
The film’s courtroom scenes are filmed at City Hall.
BNY Mellon Center
1735 Market Street, Center City
The law firm
Visit Philadelphia locates the fictional law firm in the BNY Mellon Center.
Racquet Club of Philadelphia
16th Street, Rittenhouse Square area
The sauna
A fan location list places Andrew Beckett’s sauna scene at the Racquet Club.
Fisher Fine Arts Library
220 South 34th Street, University City
Two nights in the stacks
The crew films in the Furness building’s main room over two nights, about ten minutes of the finished film.
Two generators
Two generators light the room instead of the library’s relatively weak fixtures.
Students as extras
About 20 students passing by are invited to appear as extras.
Famous 4th Street Delicatessen
4th Street at Bainbridge Street, Queen Village
The sandwich
The sandwich in Joe Miller’s sequence is bought at the deli.
The Spectrum
3601 South Broad Street, South Philadelphia
The summons
A fan location list says Joe Miller serves a summons at a ballgame at the Spectrum.